On leaving Symonds Yat we headed a short way north towards Shrewsbury. Chosen as we have never really visited this area, not really coast or country it seems to be a little neglected by us campers…
We had already had to change our plans slightly; with the lockdown being reimposed further north we decided against visited Ingleton (it didn’t help that the weather forecast would also have meant pretty much being stuck in the van rather than out walking and enjoying the scenery). We’ll have to save that delight for another time.
We were able to stay an extra night at Greenacres and Felicity at Marton House was very, very helpful. The friends that we had been due to meet up with in Yorkshire were able to book in as well, so all was good.
We arrived the day before Steve and Denise, finding the wonderful (if expensive) farm shop a couple of miles down the road (Moor Farm Shop – located next to a polo club if my memory serves me well). It was empty on our first visit, and we gave into several edible temptations! On our 2nd visit, with Steve and Denise, it was very busy, which, as you all know by now, was exacerbated by all the Covid measures in place.
On our first day, and before Steve and Denise arrived, we decided to take a trip to Oswestry. We actually liked the town located just 5 miles from the Welsh border. It’s impossible to ignore that it’s rather run-down, but there was a nice atmosphere there and some interesting buildings. We also liked the individual decoration hanging outside the town centre buildings, including the many pubs (Oswestry is know for the number of pubs it has!)
We found the remains of the castle (just a mound now really) and also the park on the edge of town featuring lovely flower displays and a statue of Wilfrid Owen, who was born in the town, as well as mini-golf, bowling, a bandstand and many other leisure activities.
Once back at the campsite and with Steve and Denise also settled we set about trying to book a table in 1 of the local pubs. The trouble was this was just as the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme had started and there were literally no tables to be had 😦 So we headed to Baschurch Chippie which Calv and I had driven past on our travels, after having visited one of the local pubs of course (The Red Lion in Myddle) and managing to book an early table for the following day (a day not included in the scheme!) It was well worth it though – the fish and chips were good and so was the meal the following day in the pub 🙂
The following day had been reserved for a day trip to Shrewsbury. I’d heard great things about Shrewsbury so was really looking forward to this. Unfortunately I was left a little underwhelmed, although I genuinely believe this was in part due to covid restrictions, which left me feeling as though the town had little soul, there was very little open and I felt that there could have been more information available to help bring the history alive. eg. Walking back to the car parked near the Abbey, we discovered Wyle Cop. This hill leading back down to the river is full of history and, now, independant shops. But the only reason I know anything about the history is because one of the, closed, shops had put up a display in their window detailing it.
We seemed to do alot of walking for little reward, but maybe we just took the wrong paths… We did find the castle (closed) and from there the magnificent railway station. We then took a rather long route back to the car, by mistake! We failed to find The Quarry which was probably another mistake. All in all I do think we should visit in happier times to give Shrewsbury a 2nd chance…
On our final day we drove out to Ellesmere, which was lovely, and busy. Definitely worth a visit and helped by the warm weather breaking through 🙂
Whilst I say we would give Shrewsbury another chance, we would only do so if we were passing on our way somewhere else, maybe on our way to Snowdonia..?
Our next stop on this mini roadtrip was to be the highlight (yes, even after Lymouth & Lynton and then Symonds Yat!!) when we headed up to Derbyshire to stay near Buxton.
We stayed at: Marton House Campsite (CL)
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