Shifnal
With the town’s history dating back to Saxon times, Shifnal was once an important staging post on the London to Holyhead route. Famous visitors along the route include Charles Dickens, who stayed here and featured some of the timbered buildings in ‘The Old Curiosity Shop’. Little Nell is buried in Tong Church yard nearby.
Shifnal has many pubs and inns and several good quality hotels and a grand main street that was widened to celebrate Shifnal getting its market charter in the 13th century.
Nearby is Boscobel House, a fully restored black and white building with priest holes, panelled rooms and secret hiding places. Also the site of the Royal Oak (no! not the pub, the tree!) where Charles II hid to evade capture, after the battle of Worcester in 1651. A must see.
White Ladies Priory, a ruin dating back to the Middle Ages, is also nearby. Guinevere retreated here after the death of King Arthur.
Weston Park, a magnificent stately home with parkland and gardens, the Royal Air Force Museum at Cosford and the home of the English Rose at David Austin Roses, are all a stone’s throw away and well worth a visit.
Must see and do
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