UK Trip Day 7, Shrewsbury

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Taming of the Shrewsbury

2009, Oct 23rd and 24th

Well, I did something a bit silly which I do more often then I should. I decided to catch the earlier train to Shrewsbury which means I needed to skip breakfast at the B&B and run to make the train. I did in fact make the train but running with a pack and bag in hand on a hard surface at my age isn’t (I am sure) a pretty sight and it certainly is a bit painful.

For this effort I will be rewarded with no breakfast and arriving in Shrewsbury at 10:31 instead of 11:17. Yeah! Now why did I do that? Although there was a really cute lady with lots of tattoos and a few obvious (and I’m sure not so obvious) piercing. Mental note number 2, really don’t let wife, girlfriend, or mistress (I wish) read blog.

So I want to pause and chat a bit about traveling alone. I have mixed feelings about it. I love traveling with my wife Lori. It is so much fun to share things with her. You have a companion to be excited with or even be tired with. Both are nice to have someone with you.

Plus I find myself in a somber mood for which I am not entirely certain why. It could just be decompressing from work which has been hectic and tiresome of late.

Still, I think there may be sometime unexpectedly positive about going solo. I figured the obvious thing would be you can do what you want when you want and that is certainly true. However, I find myself enjoying in a more relaxed tepid fashion the journey. The chance to right down my thoughts is turning out to be fun and I am also looking forward to returning home and spending the last of my vacation there.

I think this sort of thing my be fun to do again in the future but I will need to reflect on things more and see.

Well, I am at a place called Ruabon (Rhiwabon) and I think I am about 30 minutes away from Shrewsbury. And just for the record (however I won’t elaborate on this point) there are stupid annoying people here in the UK as well. Sigh.

So back in 2000 Lori and I stayed in Shrewsbury at a place called Severn Cottage. The B&B was no longer in operation a fact I found out about when I knocked on the door and asked. However the proprietor from 2000 was still there and we recognized each other. He invited me in for coffee and we had a chat for about 20 minutes after which he recommended a place in town. Now that is hospitality.

So I decide to stay at the Lion Hotel in downtown Shrewsbury for two nights (Friday and Saturday). After traveling around and all the walking/hiking a extra day here to rest up and maybe wonder around the shops is in order.

After checking in I walk toward the English bridge across the Severn river. There are several bridges over the river in Shrewsbury the two larger ones being the English bridge (on the English side) and the Welsh bridge (On the Welsh side).

Just over the bridge is Shrewsbury Abbey. This is of specific interest for me as I am very fond of the Ellis Peters Cadfael series. Cadfael is the fictional Monk/Detective during the time of King Stephen and his cousin Maude. If you like historical mysteries then you may very well like these. There are also 4 seasons of BBC series based on the books with Derek Jacobi in the role of Cadfael. Once again top notch.

I took the time to visit the various bookshops in town as well as the local markets and antique shops. It is a lot of fun to just wonder through and see what they have to offer although I couldn’t really find anything that was at a price I thought was good and easy enough for me to carry. Perhaps I will find something in Bath which will be the last place I am going to stay before catching a train or bus to Heathrow to return home.

Besides the abbey there is a castle with a nice regimental museum to see. I find seeing the various regimental museums to be of great interest. Each regiment often has an interesting history of its own and it can be great fun to find some of the particulars. In addition there are several interesting churches and a great river walk along the Severn river that takes you past both the English and Welsh bridges and the ones in between. If you do this walk be sure to see The Dingle which is a nice little water garden in the center of the park near a pagoda. If you pick up the free Shrewsbury map from any information center you will see all of these marked.

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Photos

shrewsbury_Abbey
The Abbey at Shrewsbury. This is the abbey from the Ellis Peters Cadfael series. The abbey is well worth a visit and the books are well worth reading.

abbey_Foregate
The forgate at the Abbey in Shrewsburry.

english_Bridge_Shrewsburry
The English bridge in Shrewsburry.

reflections_Shrewsburry
Some refelctions in the Severn river in Shrewsburry.

welsh_Bridge_Shrewsburry
The Welsh bridge in Shrewsburry.

bridge_Severn_River_Shrewsburry.
A small bridge over the Severn in Shrewsburry with a nice reflection.

reflectons_Shrewsburry
Some final reflections on Shrewsburry.