Shrewsbury: Best Things to Do
SIGHTSEEING
Our picks for sightseeing in Shrewsbury are Shrewsbury Castle and The Quarry. Shrewsbury Castle is easily the most popular tourist spot in the town. It’s a home for historical collections of the Shropshire Regimental Museum Trust such as pictures, uniforms, medals, weapons, and many more. The castle also often used as licensed civil ceremonies such as weddings. This place is perfect for such occasion because of its beautiful and lovely setting.
The next place for sightseeing is The Quarry. It’s a beautiful 29-acre park, surrounded by the loop of River Severn. It’s a perfect place to have a quiet and peaceful stroll while looking at their scenic bedding plants and shrubbery. It also hosts the biggest annual event of Shrewsbury Flower Show, with arena entertainment, fireworks, bandstand, lecture marquee, food hall, children’s area, and many more.
Shrewsbury Castle
The Quarry
DOWNTOWN
If you want to experience downtown ambience of Shrewsbury, go to Shrewsbury Abbey and Church of St Mary the Virgin. Both are places to worship in Shrewsbury, with its own majestic architectural setting. The Abbey Church is open for private prayer, meditation, and reflection. It was first found in 1083 and survived until now as a Parish Church.
Just like Shrewsbury Abbey Church, Church of St Mary the Virgin is also historical with world famous stained glass as well. The spire is one of the tallest in England, dominated the skyline of Shrewsbury town for over 500 years.
Shrewsbury Abbey
Church of St Mary the Virgin
SHOPPING
The Darwin Shopping Centre is located at the heart of Shrewsbury’s shopping district. It’s a home for a wide range of shops: from well-known fashion stores such as Topshop, Topman, H&M, JD Sports and River Island to household favourites, and cafes. Each shops has its own theme and atmosphere – certainly making efforts to be as attractive as they can be for customers.
Darwin Shopping Centre
FOOD & DRINK
While in Shrewsbury, you should try their classic English dessert, Shrewsbury cakes or biscuits. What makes it unique is that they have crisp texture and sometimes it features fruits. Generally, Shrewsbury cakes has a hint of lemon in its taste. As for the beverages, you can try their local beer and sodas.
CULTURE
In terms of culture, Shrewsbury has a lot to offer especially its music and art. The town hosts many festivals especially in spring and summer, such as Shrewsbury Folk Festival, Cartoon Festival, Shrewsbury Bookfest, Cycle Grand Prix, Dragon Boat Festival, and Coracle World Championship.
The town is also home for many museums, such as Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery, Shrewsbury Castle which houses the Shropshire Regimental Museum, and Coleham Pumping Station.
BEST TIME TO VISIT
Because of its festive atmosphere, Shrewsbury is mostly visited by tourists during Spring and Summer. You can enjoy the local ambience and experience participating in their festivals. However, in terms of weather, the best time to visit Shrewsbury is from June to September. It’s when Shrewsbury reach its warmest temperature.
HOTEL
Our picks for hotels in Shrewsbury are The Shrewsbury Hotel and Lion & Pheasant Hotel. The Shrewsbury hotel has a very close distance to the Shrewsbury Castle and Darwin Shopping Centre, reachable only in 10 minutes by walking. The hotel is overlooking the Severn River, which is the perfect scenery to make yourself feel relaxed.
Lion + Pheasant Hotel is also a perfect place to wind down and rest after touring in Shrewsbury. The building is a combination of historic quality and contemporary design, making your stay feel even more relaxed. The room’s theme is dominated by white color and wood material.
The Shrewsbury Hotel
Lion + Pheasant Hotel
RESTAURANT
For restaurants, we recommend you to visit Henry Tudor House and Riverbank Bar + Kitchen. Henry Tudor House is a restaurant in Shrewsbury famous for its building’s location. The restaurant is located in one of the most historic half-timbered buildings in Shrewsbury, where Henry Tudor sought refuge on his way to the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
Another restaurant we recommend you to visit is Riverbank Bar + Kitchen. This restaurant is a combination of Mediterranean cuisine and British classics. The atmosphere in this restaurant is more informal, so you can enjoy your mean in an unpretentious restaurant – just yummy foods and comfortable place.
Henry Tudor House
Riverbank Bar + Kitchen
CAFE
You certainly will want to wind down and relax after taking a stroll around Shrewsbury, and visiting a café is always a good idea. The Shrewsbury Coffeehouse is ready to serve you excellent coffee, complemented with delicious bites and awesome staffs. The location is very convenient as well.
However, a café isn’t always indoor – you can get outdoor café experience in Lily’s Riverside Tea Garden. The flowers and trees around the tables will spoil your eyes, not to mention that it’s overlooking the river. It’s like you’re in a fairytale. They serve breakfast, light lunches and afternoon teas. We don’t know what’s more peaceful than sipping your tea with a lovely setting like this one offers.
The Shrewsbury Coffeehouse
Lily’s Riverside Tea Garden
BAR AND NIGHTLIFE
Enjoy an exciting nightlife in Shrewsbury by Albert’s Shed. Not only serving foods and a wide range of wines and cocktails , Albert’s Shed often features singers and bands to play in the bar.
Albert's Shed
INTERESTING PLACE
Let’s get back to history and immerse the atmosphere of it by visiting Wroxeter Roman City. It’s a museum with audio tour and objects kept from 2,000 years ago. The museum area features ‘The Bath House’, ‘The Old Work’, ‘The Roman Town House’, and many more. You’ll get to relive the era by visiting this place in Shrewsbury.
Shrewsbury Prison or ‘The Dana’ is another interesting place in Shrewsbury you can visit. It was a functioning prison from 1793 to 2013, and then transformed into a tourist place intended for education. The guided tours are led by ex-prison officers. There is an area dedicated for laser maze, an escape room, and axe throwing. You can see what happened behind a high prison walls from the Victorians to the 21st century.
Wroxeter Roman City
Shrewsbury Prison
INSTAGRAMMABLE SPOT
Shrewsbury certainly has lots of instagrammable corners including all the places we mentioned above, but our honorable mention goes to Haughmond Abbey. It’s a ruined medieval monastery located only a few miles from Shrewsbury. The site is now under the management of English Heritage and open to public during summer. You can story-tell to your Instagram followers about this historical ruins.
Haughmond Abbey
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