Ironbridge Gorge

Designated a World Heritage Site in 1986

Set in the heart of the beautiful Shropshire countryside, Ironbridge is known throughout the world as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and the home of the world's first iron bridge. Once described as "the most extraordinary district in the world", the Ironbridge Gorge is still a remarkable, and beautiful, place to visit today.

The Iron Bridge was built over the River Severn at Coalbrookedale in 1779, and had a far-reaching impact on local society and economy, technology, architecture and the use of cast iron in building.

Nowadays, nature has reclaimed most of the former industrial sites, leaving a unique and beautiful wooded valley. The gorge is now a maze of footpaths, bridleways and country lanes. The former homes of Victorian Iron Masters and their workers can still be found in the communities around the Gorge, but the homes are now set in picturesque villages dotted across the valley.

There are 10 award-winning museums spread along the valley beside the River Severn, where you can see the products that set industry on its path and the machines that made them. Watch and talk to the Museums' craftsmen and costumed demonstrators as they work iron, fashion, china and glass, and bring alive the people who lived and worked here.