Visit Shrewsbury, The Best Things To See, & What To Do

Shrewsbury is a nice and easy day trip from Birmingham and other places in the West Midlands. There are lots of things to see and do, including visiting a castle, an abbey, a prison, glorious gardens and other historical buildings. I really enjoyed my day trips to Shrewsbury to see the major tourist attractions.

Shrewsbury in the main is a historic and town with loads of grand architecture to see. The major shopping areas are a treat too. If you look up above the branded storefronts, the history lies there. One of the unique parts of the town was observing people in capes, witches’ hats and other attire relating to witchcraft. This was strange but trumped by the people in the crow’s masks, then a few in the plague doctors’ masks. A fascinating place that was fun overall and full of surprises.

About Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury is a large market town and is the county town of Shropshire in England. The town is on the River Severn, a prominent feature of the city. Shrewsbury town centre has an unspoilt medieval street plan and subsequently has over 660 listed buildings. These listed buildings include examples of timber framing from the 15th and 16th centuries.

Other highlights of the market town include; Shrewsbury Castle and Shrewsbury Abbey. The town is also the birthplace of Charles Darwin and he also spent 27 years of his life in the town. Thus, he is featured in a variety of places in the town, including a nice statue.

Things to See and do in Shrewsbury

There are loads of historical tourist attractions in Shrewsbury, and an enjoyable walk along the river. The list below are the places I saw or visited.

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Visit Shrewsbury Castle a Historic Tourist Attraction

Shrewsbury Castle is a prominent feature of the city and the first thing visitors see when arriving by train. They built the castle with red sandstone and it’s on a hill overlooking the river. The castle’s history dates back to 1067 when William the Conqueror ordered its construction. William expected to use it as a defensive fortification and base of operations for forays into Wales.

Currently, the castle is a tourist attraction where visitors can explore the castle grounds or visit the museum. The castle is home to the Shropshire Regimental Museum, which most of the exhibits show. This museum is rather fascinating and has many uniforms, weapons and medals relating to the regiment.

In the basement, the exhibit is about the history of the castle. This is rather informative. The grounds are very popular with artists who paint from various points in the complex. I enjoyed this visit.

Visit Shrewsbury Abbey

Also known as The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Shrewsbury Abbey is an ancient foundation in Shrewsbury. They founded the Abbey in 1083 as a Benedictine monastery. The Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery, was the founder of the Abbey.

It subsequently grew to become one of the most important abbeys in England. Shrewsbury Abbey is a Grade I listed building surrounded by the Abbey Foregate. The abbey is quite striking and has a nice churchyard with graves and memorials to peruse.

Much of the original Norman 11th century building survives in the present building and it is delightful. It is open for visitors to have a look around the exterior building at all times of the day. To visit the abbey, their opening hours are between 10 am and 3 pm typically.

Stroll through Abbey Gardens

Between the Abbey and the River Severn are Abbey gardens. Abbey Gardens is a lovely place for a walk or to sit down and enjoy the park with river views. The garden has many ornate features and is a haven for wildlife, including kingfishers that call it home.

See The Train Station

In most places, the train station is pretty bland, but Shrewsbury Railway station is pretty special and pleasing on the eye. They built it in 1848 and is now a grade II listed building and has some interesting features, including a prominent clock tower. The building style is imitation Tudor, that come complete with carvings of Tudor style heads around the window frames. The station is best viewed up-close or from Dana Walk alongside the castle walls.

See the Statue of Charles Darwin at the Library

The Charles Darwin statue is located out the front of the library building. They built the statue to honour the scientist in 1897. Charles Darwin was best known for his work “On The Origin of The Species” and his theory of evolution. He was born in the town and lived in Shrewsbury for many years.

The original timber-framed library building started was originally a school. They added stone buildings from 1594 to 160 into the special complex it is now. After the school moved, the buildings became the library. The library is a grade I listed building and very interesting to look at. You can join the Darwin Trail here and find out about the famous biologist and how he lived.

Explore The Quarry

This is an extensive park on the banks of the river with some excellent landscaped gardens and The Dingle, a botanical park. The Quarry has a bandstand, a nice gatehouse and statues including one of Hercules. People have used this site for recreational activities in Shrewsbury since the 16th century and still going strong today.

See The Dingle, a Stunning Garden

This is a must-see for garden lovers: it is absolutely gorgeous, particularly in the autumn months. The Dingle is a floral masterpiece, cultivated by world-renowned gardener Percy Thrower. It is a sunken landscaped garden with alpine borders, brilliant bedding plants and shrubbery.

It has charming water features and a long pond through the centre. The colours are vibrant and the features are very eye-pleasing.

Churches to See

There are lots of churches in Shrewsbury, and the spires make the skyline of the town distinctive. The spires are also a great navigation aid in the historic narrow streets. Many of these have histories dating back over 1000 years. There is one cathedral, one impressive abbey, and a variety of churches in the central areas of town.

Thus Shrewsbury is a great place to visit for those interested in Christianity, history or religious architecture. There was some fantastic religious architecture in Shrewsbury to admire and also to have a look around.

Cathedral Church of our Lady

Known as Shrewsbury Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of Our Lady overlooks the horseshoe bend of the river and the tennis club below. They completed the building in 1856, as this is not an old cathedral compare to many others. However, it is a grade II listed building and its denomination is Roman Catholic.

Church of St Mary the Virgin

They built the Church of St Mary the Virgin or St Mary’s in the gothic style and its renowned for its elaborate details. They made the church from both red and white stone. The church has some unique stained-glass windows. St Mary’s Church is a redundant Anglican church, it is a Grade I listed building.

One highlight of the visit is to see the Jesse Window, a splendid and historical stained glass window. The Jesse window had a nice display in the front, including some period costumes and information boards.

St Mary’s Church is a redundant Anglican church in the town. They have recorded it as a Grade I listed building. The Churches Conservation Trust manages the site. It was their first Conservation Church back in 2015. This is the largest church in Shrewsbury and equally impressive.

St Alkmunds Church

The intriguingly named St Alkmunds Church is over 1100 years old. They founded it in the year 900. They built the church to stand at the highest point in the town. In the early days, there was a Saxon market in the area surrounding St Alkmunds.

The current church building is part mediaeval and part Georgian. The tower and spire, which is 56 metres high, they built it in 1475 in the Perpendicular style. It is great to look at and is a very dominant part of the skyline of the city.

St Chad’s Church

Since medieval times, there has been a local church dedicated to St. Chad, who was the first bishop of Mercia. The building has some fascinating architectural history, including Thomas Telford predicting the building collapsing. In 1788, the original building in fact collapsed, as predicted.

The replacement church is fascinating in design and is big. It can house up to 1200 people. They baptised Charles Darwin here back in 1809. The church is distinctive because of its circular nave and tower with the cross at the top. This church very much reminded me of some of the architecture in Dresden.

St Julian’s Church

Near to St Alkmunds is the pretty St Julian’s Church. They built this on the foundations of an old Saxon church. Only the 12th Century Tower remains of its medieval origins. They rebuilt the nave in the 1770s. This church is distinctive in the way they build it from both red and white sandstone. This is open for visitors on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Saturdays.

United Reformed Church

Near to the English Bridge is unique in appearance United Reformed Church that dates back to 1863. The United Reformed Church is a 19th-century nonconformist chapel, which is also a Grade II listed building. Its unique appearance is down to the stones they built it with, white ashlar mainly stone with red sandstone bands with a welsh slate roof. The building is very eye-pleasing and one of the lesser-known churches in Shrewsbury.

Walk Along The River Seven

One of the most geographically dominant features of the town is the River Severn, that nearly surrounds Shrewsbury. The Horseshoe route of the river marks the boundary of the town centre, including the tourist attractions.

The River has road and footbridges to cross at various points, including the famous Welsh and English bridges. Its banks are a great place to have a walk along the river, this includes passing many parks and some magnificent views of the historical town.

See The English Bridge

Located to the East of the town centre on the way to the Abbey is The English Bridge. The English Bridge is a masonry arch viaduct, and a is a Grade II* listed building. They rebuilt it in 1926 using the original masonry of the original one from 1774, Queen Mary officially opened the bridge in 1927.

A bridge has been at this spot since Norman times, historically they knew this bridge as the “Stone Bridge”. This is a brilliant spot to view the river up and downstream, including at sunrise.

See The Welsh Bridge & Do a Boat Trip

Located to the West of the town centre is The Welsh Bridge, also a masonry arch viaduct and is a Grade II* listed building. They built the bridge between 1793 to 1795; it replaced the medieval St George’s Bridge. The bridge is a nice place to sit and watch those taking part in rowing and watersports on the river.

This is near some fantastic restaurants on the waterfront, including Hickory’s a smokehouse. Boat trips on The Sabrina leave from near to the Welsh Bridge on the hour. The Sabrina is a triple deck, modern passenger boat. It can carry 60 passengers in comfort. The boat has a retractable roof and sides on the top deck.

Visit The Old Market Hall

The Old Market Hall is in Shrewsbury square right in the centre of town. They repurposed of late to use as an independent cinema in the historic hall. The cinema screens the latest release movies, it also has a cool vaulted cafe-bar.

Historically, the Corporation of Shrewsbury built The Old Market Hall or Market House in 1596 and is one of the town’s nicest buildings. There were market buildings at the site before this building, some dating back as far as 1260.

Buy Local Produce at The Farmers Market

Every Friday near the Old Market Hall is Shrewsbury Farmers Market, where you can purchase local produce. The stalls are fantastic and sell a range of locally grown or produced food from wine to honey. The wine stall was rather good, with the proprietor giving out samples of wines from the West Midlands region.

Drapers Hall

Another pleasant building to see when sightseeing in the medieval town of Shrewsbury is Drapers Hall. This is a black and white timber-framed building that has been a meeting place for the town’s drapers since 1485. They built the current building, the guildhall, between 1576 & 1580.

The company was prosperous in the Welsh cloth trade and was an important part of the town from the 1500s until 1700. Nowadays Drapers Hall is a hotel and restaurant. In the restaurant, you can still see the original oak furniture from the 17th century.

Go Shopping

Shrewsbury has a range of chain and independent shops in most genres so you can purchase most things in town. One of the unique parts of shopping here is above the branded shop fronts the buildings go back into history. The fascias of the upper floors of the shops are fascinating to look at.

Go to the Town Wall Tower

This is a 14th-century stone watchtower, which was part of the town’s walls, one of the few surviving parts of the wall in fact. King Henry III built the wall to protect Shrewsbury from Wales. This tower owned by the National Trust is open on limited days throughout the year. Sadly, I was out of luck seeing the interior by it is interesting from the outside and the views must have been a great early warning from invasions.

See The Gateway House

Both The Gateway House and the Council House are both hidden away on the left, going uphill from the castle. These both have a blue badge and are very interesting to look at. A YouTube clip highlighted these for me before visiting, otherwise I would have missed altogether.

The timber-framed gateway built in about 1610 was the entrance to the 16th-century council house. King Charles 1st stayed at the property in 1642, the year the English Civil War started.

Visit Shrewsbury Prison a Popular Attraction

I only got to visit the gates of Shrewsbury Prison, which is quite disappointing because of reading good things about the attraction. The prison does a few types of tours, including a ghost tour.

HM Prison Shrewsbury was a Category B/C men’s prison. It’s now decommissioned, however, is now open to the public. There has been a prison on the site since 1793. They built the original from the plans of Thomas Telford. They constructed the current prison building in 1877.

Castle Gates House

Another beautiful building to see is Castle Gates House, near the entrance to the castle. This is a timber-framed building painted yellow and is a grade II listed building. The house dates from the late 16th century, however its been restored singe then in 1912. An interesting fact is that this building was originally elsewhere and moved here in 1702 by the Earl of Bradford.

Hiking & Cycling

Shrewsbury is a fantastic place for hikers and walkers to visit because of it being on 2 major routes. First, it is on The Severn Way a long-distance walking path, a route that follows the whole River Severn.

For cyclists, there are many bike shops and places to cycle in the local countryside. The town is also on the Sustrans cycle route 81. The Sustrans cycle route 81 is a 118-mile long route from Aberystwyth to Wolverhampton.

Rowley’s Mansion – The First Red Brick Building in Shrewsbury

One of the best things to do in Shrewsbury is to see the variety of architecture in the town. Rowley’s House & Mansion caught my eye when exploring. William Rowley, a draper and brewer, established himself in the town. He started with the timber-framed house during the reign of Elizabeth I. Because of his success, in 1618, he built this mansion. Rowley mansion was the first red brick building built in Shrewsbury.

Watch a Rowing Regatta on the River Severn

Pengwern Rowing club practice and host regattas on the River Severn in the town. In fact, Ive raced in a few some years back. These are great for competitors or spectators to enjoy the vibe. You can find out about future regattas on the rowing club’s website. When walking the banks, you can often see boats out training.

Refreshments in Shrewsbury

On my visits I found some great places to eat or drink in the town. My favourite was Hickories for food as the barbequeu was great. I also enjoyed many of the towns historic pubs when visiting.

Getting to Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury is very easy to reach from Birmingham on the train and not too costly. Trains leave New street on the hour and 25 past, throughout the day. Return tickets cost between £13 and £16, depending on the flexibility you need. The £13 ticket from the machine at the train station allows only travel on the Transport For Wales Trains on both inbound and outbound trips.

The train is the easiest and most frequent by far. National Express Coaches only have one trip per day. This leaves the Digbeth Coach station at 16:20 and costs £6.20 each way. This option is maybe better value if you are staying the night but takes 40 minutes longer.

Is Shrewsbury Worth Visiting?

Shrewsbury is a fantastic and historic town that’s well worth visiting. There are many options for things to see, including some stunning gardens, riverside walks and historic sites. The foodie scene here has some real treats, and people were friendly. It’s a great option for a day trip or a long weekend away.