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Published: August 21st 2018
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Today we explored Shrewsbury. It is such a photogenic town with its picturesque half-timbered buildings and dramatic abbeys, cathedrals and churches not to mention an attractive bridge or two!
We had only just started out this morning when we glimpsed St Mary’s Church appearing to perch atop St Alkmund’s Church when we looked up Fish Street from High Street. With a row of colourful planter boxes on the fence in between it looked beautiful. We continued down towards the Abbey Foregate past some of the multitude of half-timbered buildings. It was hard not to photograph every single one of them!
We crossed English Bridge and made our way to Shrewsbury Abbey. The Abbey was founded as a Benedictine Monastery by Roger de Montgomery in 1083 on the site of an existing Saxon church. It was substantially demolished during King Henry VIII’s reformation, but part of it was retained to continue as a Parish Church from the 16th century to this day.
From the Abbey we returned across English Bridge to take the riverside walk alongside the River Severn. We wanted to photograph the old city walls and the Roman Catholic Cathedral sitting above, but we were stymied by
the fencing surrounding the bowling club, the tennis club and the lawn tennis club! We walked up to Beeches Lane, but then we were too close to fit the cathedral into the frame. Ah well, we settled for a photo of the last remaining Town Walls Tower.
Back down to the river to continue our walk along the River Severn before looping up to The Quarry and The Dingle. The Quarry is a 29 acre recreational park created in 1719. One of its most famous features is the picturesque Dingle Flower Garden which has seasonal floral displays all year round. The Quarry parkland also hosts the annual Shrewsbury Flower Show.
And, wouldn’t you know it, the flower show was on last weekend so it was difficult to take a good photo of the imposing St Chad’s Church because the massive marquees were still being packed up in the part of The Quarry directly beside it. Maybe by Sunday we’ll be able to take a photo of St Chad’s without the riggers busily working at dismantling the frames of the marquees?
A bite to eat at the cafe beside the Swimming Centre before continuing along the river past
the Porthill Footbridge and the Welsh Bridge making for The Quantum Leap. We had no idea what this was, but it was marked on the map so we were determined to find out. Ah, ha - it is a sculpture that was created to celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of evolutionist Charles Darwin, who was born in the town in 1809.
With the weather deteriorating we decided to head back to our apartment and save the rest of the river circuit for another, hopefully finer day during our stay. Wandering up Mardol Street Bernie spotted the King’s Head and decided to pop in for a pint. There was a Watson & Thornton fabric shop opposite so I happily went in to look at fabric and yarn and ribbon and buttons ... because I haven’t been into Spotlight for a couple of weeks so I needed a craft fix. There were no amazing bargains to be had so I managed to get out of the store without buying anything to add to my stash of fabric and bric-a-brac!
We ventured out for dinner this evening to the Old Post Office Hotel before breaking out the cards. Yup, Bernie’s
luck has definitely turned. Three games of Jo now - on the trot - AND he won a game of 31s tonight too. His money jar overfloweth!! Kath and I didn’t get a look in, but Albert also managed to add a game of 31s to his tally tonight.
Steps: 17,018 (12.77kms)
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Janet
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Stunning gardens
Hi again. What a fantastic location you have chosen for your getaway. Love the colourful garden displays, and the half-timbered houses are delightful. Hope you continue to enjoy exploring and make the most of your last few days before you head home. I am feeling much better today, Phil too so now I need to work on getting more active again. The cold is a bit of a disincentive though! Luckily we soon have a weekend in Nelsons Bay to defrost temporarily!