Bridgnorth, Shropshire

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Nestled in beautiful Shropshire, Bridgnorth is a fabulous little town. The town is easily accessible by road but in my book, the best way to travel to Bridgnorth is to let the train take the strain, especially as it can be done by steam locomotives. The Severn Valley railway is one of England's longest preserved railways running for 16 miles from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth.

Heading out of Bridgnorth station, crossing a long iron footbridge, you then have the option of walking up the steep hill towards the town. Alternatively, if you cross the road, on the right hand side you will see a flight of steps leading up the hill. When you reach the top you are rewarded with the impressive Castle Gardens. In these gardens sits one of Bridgnorth's most important buildings, or at least the remains of it. This is the tower of a Norman castle, which was almost completely destroyed by the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War.

Today it would probably be appropriate to christen this landmark "The Leaning Tower of Bridgnorth". That's because its tilt at 15 degrees is 4 times that of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.



Due to its geography, Bridgnorth is commonly described as a town of two halves; the "High Town" and "Low Town". The high town is the busier of the two. It has an excellent high street of historic buildings; the focal point of which is the town hall built in 1652. If you like historic pubs, The Swan Inn dates back to 1580 and other than being a nice place to stop for lunch also offers Bed & Breakfast accommodation.





There are many shops in the high street and although many are typical high street chain stores, Bridgnorth is well stocked with independent shops and businesses.

There are eight sets of steps which link the low town to the high town. However, a visit to Bridgnorth would not be complete without a ride on Britain's only inland funicular cliff railway . For just £1.20 for a return ticket, you can have the pleasure on riding this historic attraction.



Having enjoyed the ride we are now in the low town. It was very pleasant to wander beside the genteel banks of the River Severn. In the low town you can find the Old Mill Antiques Centre Lovers of antiques and collectables can browse three floors of such items complete with café offering light refreshments.



Having made the return journey on the cliff railway, I decided to stop off at The Winding House Tea Rooms next door for afternoon tea. On a nice day you can enjoy sitting in the outdoor courtyard where you can watch the cliff railway cars come and go.

There is so much more to Bridgnorth to see but time was against me. If you want to visit an historic English town which has a wide range of attractions to suit just about everyone, Bridgnorth is the town for you.

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