7 Best Sights in Stratford-upon-Avon and the Heart of England, England

Built in 1785 by George Steuart (architect of the church of St. Chad in Shrewsbury) for the first Lord Berwick, this elegant stone mansion has a three-story portico, with a pediment carried on four tall columns. The building overlooks a sweep of parkland, part of which is home to around 300 deer. Inside the house are painted ceilings and delicate plasterwork, a fine picture gallery designed by John Nash (1752–1835), and 19th-century Neapolitan furniture. Attingham Park is four miles southeast of Shrewsbury.

On a hilltop west of the town center, this church designed by George Steuart, the architect of Attingham Park, is one of England’s most distinctive ecclesiastical buildings. Completed in 1792, the round Georgian church is surmounted by a tower that is in turn square, octagonal, and circular, as well as topped by a dome. When built, it provoked riots among townsfolk averse to its radical style. The interior has a fine Venetian east window and a brass Arts and Crafts pulpit.

The cluster of restored half-timber buildings that link Fish Street with Market Square is known as Bear Steps. This mansion, built in 1575 with elaborate Jacobean timbering and richly decorated with quatrefoils, is the most notable. It’s not open to the public, but it's worth a look.

Now unbecomingly surrounded by busy roads, the abbey was founded in 1083 and later became a powerful Benedictine monastery. The abbey church has survived many ups and downs and retains a 14th-century west window above a Norman doorway. A more recent addition is a memorial to World War I poet Wilfred Owen. To reach the abbey from the center, cross the river by the English Bridge.

Guarding the northern approaches to the town, the sandstone castle rises over the River Severn at the bottom of Pride Hill. Originally Norman, it was dismantled during the Civil War and later rebuilt by Thomas Telford, the Scottish engineer who designed many notable buildings and bridges in the early 19th century. Military history buffs will enjoy the Soldiers of Shropshire Museum within the castle, although there’s enough history about the area and its people thrown in to satisfy even the casually interested. The numerous benches in the gardens are good for a quiet sit-down.

Located in the the town’s former Music Hall, this museum chronicles the history of the area, from prehistoric times to the present day. One gallery tells the story of Roman occupation; some genuine finds include a unique silver mirror from nearby Wroxeter. Another gallery focuses on the boom years of the 19th century, including a display on the life of Shrewsbury’s most famous son, Charles Darwin. Special exhibitions change regularly.

If you head south of Shrewsbury on B4380 for around five miles, you can see, rising on the left, the Wrekin, a strange, wooded, conical, extinct volcano that is 1,335 feet high and which may have been the inspiration behind Middle Earth in the Lord of the Rings series of books; J. R. R. Tolkien lived nearby. The walk to the summit, which has panoramic views, is about five miles. A few miles farther on, you enter the wooded gorge of the River Severn.