Escape to the Country

Along with 14 other intrepid like-minded travellers from around the world, we set off for our 5 day Rabbies ‘Heart of England‘ tour. Led by our gallant Irishman, Ambrose, gifted with a dry humour, an uncanny memory for historical facts, as well as contemporary tidbits and an astounding playlist of British music, we set off for Shopshire where we’ll be based to rest for two days in the town of Shrewsbury on the river Severn.

This part of the England is everything we thought it would be… narrow winding country lanes, old stone bridges, babbling streams, ancient architecture, medieval walled towns, magnificent vistas, misty peaks and harrowing cliff-edge drives.

On day one we visited Shakespeare country, Stratford-upon-Avon, with crazy Tudor buildings with gravity-defying walls at all angles. Next was the iron bridge over the river Severn which was opened in 1781 and was the first arch bridge in the world to be made of cast iron – a world heritage site. The town of Ironbridge is also quite famous for it’s teddy bears. All in all, this first day offered many photo opportunities and of course we gladly took advantage of this.

Day two – More of picturesque Shropshire, then on to the rolling hills of North Wales stopping for a great view of an ancient viaduct bridge that was originally built as a canal for transport. These days it is used by tourist barges. What an incredible way to see the English countryside! Our next destination was Snowdonia National Park, an area of high peaks, glacial valleys and spectacular walking trails. We then spent a lovely few hours spent in the small medieval walled market town of Conwy, with the large castle still dominating the town. We walked along the ancient castle walls and explored the narrow streets and interesting shops, including sampling the fish & chips by the water.

Our accommodation for two nights in Shrewsbury was an old pub by the river with very friendly staff, was very clean and had a great shower. Apart from having to evacuate the building and waiting around in the carpark at 3.15am due to a fire alarm, it was an okay place to stay.