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The
Ironbridge Gorge & Museums
Some
local information to help you enjoy your visit to
The Ironbridge Gorge
Walk
approximately 5 minutes from Coalbrookdale Villa
and you will be at the Museum of Iron where
you can see the original Darby furnace where ground
breaking technology was used to smelt iron with
coke resulting in the construction of the worlds
first iron bridge built across the River Severn.
A recent grant of approx. £6 million is giving this
site a completely new opportunity to show how Coalbrookdale
led the world in this field of engineering. You
can also visit the beautifully restored Darby Houses
where you can experience what life was like during
the reign of Queen Victoria.
Walk approximately 5 minutes in the opposite direction
and you will be enjoying the Wharfage where you
can visit the Museum of the Gorge that stands
on the bank of the River Severn. Here you can watch
a short video in the auditorium, which will give
you a flavour of what the gorge has to offer. There
also is a scale model showing how busy the river
was in Victorian times when it played a vital role
transporting goods from place to place. (Prince
Charles was very impressed with the model when he
planted a miniature tree during one his visits to
the Gorge).
Stroll
a little further along the Wharfage and you will
see the Iron Bridge itself in all its glory. Built
in 1779 it has recently been refurbished and painted
and looks much younger than its years.
By
this time you will also have passed an array of
pubs, wine bars, unusual gift shops and the Information
Centre where the staff are always on hand to give
you expert advice and point you in the right direction
so that you don’t miss out on anything of interest.
Proceed
along Waterloo Street and you will come in stark
contrast to our "new" cable stay bridge which is
an example of modern engineering and who knows -
perhaps people will be coming to admire this bridge
in a couple of hundred years.
Of
course you must not leave our area without visiting
Blists Hill Open Air Victorian Museum which
is approximately 2 miles away. This is a splendid
place where you can quite easily spend most of the
day "back in time" even changing your money into
old £. s. d and spending your farthings & halfpennies
on sherbet and aniseed balls. But don’t eat too
many in case you get tooth ache (see the dentist
in the old chemist shop!! Not to be recommended.)
The
Coalport China Museum is just around the
corner from here and a good place to round off a
wonderful day.
Add
to these the Jackfield Tile Museum, The Tar Tunnel,
the Bedlam Furnaces and the Broseley Pipe Works
and you can see that this truly is a place deserving
of its UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
All
this and beautiful countryside – no wonder Shropshire
is referred to as Britain’s Best Kept Secret.
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