Hotels in Shropshire +
Hotels
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Shrewsbury Hotels +
Houses to Rent in Shropshire
Numerous people may want to have vacations in Shropshire. Some may want to stay at large or small hotels or houses in the region. Some may want to stay at high quality hotels. Some may want to stay at old or new hotels. Some may want to stay at high quality hotels and houses. Some may want to stay at an old or new hotel or house. Some may want to stay at high quality hotels and houses. Some may want to stay at luxury or cheap houses and hotels.
Numerous people may want to have vacations in Shropshire.
The county is centred around six main towns starting with the county town of Shrewsbury, which is culturally and historically important, although Telford, which was constructed around a number of older towns, most notably Wellington, Dawley and Madeley, is today the most populous. the other main towns are are Oswestry in the north-west, Newport to the east, Bridgnorth in the south-east, Ludlow to the south, 2 towns of Whitchurch and Market Drayton in the north of the county these are smaller towns and are generally quieter than the six main towns in Shropshire.
Shropshire covers about a quarter of the county, mainly in the south. The Wrekin is one of the most famous natural landmarks in the county, though the highest hills are the Clee Hills, Stiperstones and the Long Mynd. Wenlock Edge is another significant geographical and geological landmark, and the River Severn, Great Britain's longest river, runs through the county, exiting into Worcestershire via the Severn Valley. Shropshire is landlocked, and is England's largest inland county.
Geographically, Shropshire is divisible into two distinct halves - North and South. The county has a highly diverse geology.
North Shropshire
The River Severn is
the primary waterway of the county.
The Wrekin is a prominent geographical
feature located in the east of the county.
North Shropshire is composed of Oswestry district, North Shropshire district, Shrewsbury and Atcham borough and the borough of Telford and Wrekin.
The North Shropshire Plain is an extension of the flat and fertile Cheshire Plain. It is here that most of the county's large towns, and population in general, are to be found. Shrewsbury at the centre, Oswestry to the north west, Whitchurch to the north, Market Drayton to the north east and Newport and the Telford conurbation (Telford, Wellington, Oakengates, Donnington and Shifnal) to the east. The land is fertile and agriculture remains a major feature of the landscape and the economy. The River Severn runs through the lower half of this area (from Wales in the west, eastwards), through Shrewsbury and down the Ironbridge Gorge, before heading south to Bridgnorth.
The area around Oswestry has more rugged geography than the North Shropshire Plain and the western half is over an extension of the Wrexham Coalfield and there are also copper deposits on the border with Wales. Mining of stone and sand aggregates is still going on in Mid-Shropshire, notably on Haughmond Hill, near Bayston Hill and around the village of Condover. Lead mining also took place at Snailbeach and the Stiperstones, but this has now ceased. Other primary industries, such as forestry and fishing, are to be found too.
The A5 and M54 run from Wolverhampton (to the east of the county) across to Telford, around Shrewsbury parallel to the line of Watling Street an ancient trackway. The A5 then turns north west to Oswestry, before heading north into Wales in the Wrexham area. This is an important artery and the corridor is where most of Shropshire's modern commerce and industry is found, notably in Telford new town. There are also a number of railway lines crossing over the area, which centre at Shrewsbury. To the south west of Telford, near the Ironbridge Gorge, is Ironbridge Power Station.
The new town of Telford is built partly on a former industrial area centred on the East Shropshire Coalfield as well as on former agricultural land. There are still many ex-colliery sites to be found in the area, as well as disused mine shafts. This industrial heritage is an important tourist attraction, as is seen by the growth of museums in the Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale and Jackfield area. Blists Hill museum and historical (Victorian era) village is a major tourist attraction as well as the Iron Bridge itself. In addition, Telford Steam Railway runs from Horsehay.
South Shropshire
Politically,
the area is composed of South Shropshire district and Bridgnorth district.
South Shropshire is more rural, with fewer settlements and no large towns, and its landscape differs greatly from that of North Shropshire. The area is dominated by significant hill ranges and river valleys, woods, pine forests and 'batches', a colloquial term for small valleys and other natural features. Farming is more pastoral than the arable found in the north of the county. The only substantial towns are Bridgnorth, with a population of around 12,000 people, Ludlow and Church Stretton. Inside this area is the popular Long Mynd, a large plateau of 536 m Stiperstones and 516 metres high to the East of the Long Mynd, overlooking Church Stretton.
The A49 is the main road through the area, running north to south, from Shrewsbury to Herefordshire. A railway line runs through the area on the same route as the A49 with stations at Church Stretton, Craven Arms and Ludlow. The steam heritage Severn Valley Railway runs from Bridgnorth into Worcestershire along the Severn Valley.
Because of its valley location and character, Church Stretton is sometimes referred to as Little Switzerland. Nearby are the old mining and quarrying communities on the Clee Hills, notable geological features in the Onny Valley and Wenlock Edge and fertile farmland in the Corve Dale. The River Teme drains this part of the county, before flowing into Worcestershire to the South and joining the River Severn.
One of the Clee Hills, the Brown Clee Hill, is the county's highest peak at 546 m.
South West Shropshire is a little known and remote part of the county, with Clun Forest, Offa's Dyke, the River Clun and the River Onny. The small towns of Clun and Bishop's Castle are in this area. The countryside here is very rural and is in parts wild and forested. To the south of Clun is the Welsh town of Knighton. Wellington is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England and now forms part of the new town of Telford. Its name was originally Weoleahington, meaning 'The settlement by the temple', or 'by the sacred grove' An alternative suggestion that the name derives from 'Watling Town', because it lies on Watling Street, a Roman road that linked London with the town of Viroconium Cornoviorum (now Wroxeter), seems to be unlikely, due to several factors, including the earliest written names of the town. Evidence suggests that the site of the sacred Druid grove and temple was on the site of All Saints Parish Church on a raised area in the centre of the town. A church has been on that site for almost 1000 years and the priest was mentioned in the Domesday Book. The original churchyard still remains. A new church, designed by George Steuart, was built in 1789.
Wellington's first market charter is dated 1244 and the market still exists today. The market had an open-sided market hall by 1680, but this was dimantled in about 1800. This was replaced in the 19th century by a town hall (with the butter market held under it) built in 1848 by a company (formed in 1841) which purchased the market rights from Lord Forester in 1856. In 1642 King Charles I was staying in Wellington (in a building that stood in what is now Crown Street, next to the former Crown Inn, which is now the premises of Wellington News), shortly before the first pitched battle of the English Civil War, when he said in his Wellington Declaration that he would uphold the Protestant Religion, the Laws of England, and the Liberty of Parliament.
Shrewsbury is a historic market town with the town centre having a largely unaltered medieval street plan. The town features over historic buildings, including several examples of timber framing from the 15th century and 16th century. Shrewsbury Castle, a red sandstone castle fortification, and Shrewsbury Abbey, a former Benedictine monastery, were founded in 1074 and 1083. Shrewsbury is located approximately 14 miles to the west of Telford, 43 miles west of Birmingham and the West Midlands Conurbation, and about 150 miles north west of the capital, London More locally, the town is to the east of Welshpool, and Bridgnorth and Kidderminster are to the south-east. The border with Wales is 9 miles to the west. The town centre is partially built on a hill whose elevation is, at its highest, 75 metres above sea level. The longest river in the UK, the River Severn, flows through the town, forming a meander around its centre.
The town is situated near Haughmond Hill, a site where Precambrian rocks, some of the oldest rocks in the county can be found, and the town itself is sited on an area of largely Carboniferous rocks. A fault, the Hodnet Fault, starts approximately at the town, and runs as far as Market Drayton.
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