Keeping It Local – Discovery Isn’t Far Away

Travel and exploration doesn’t have to be a million miles away from home. We found this when we first set off in April 2019.

The same has happened this time round. The first week of our latest adventures has taken place within 60 minutes of our work base in Shropshire.

Starting Close By

There were a few places we had spotted over the course of our stay that looked interesting so we decided to hit them up first before leaving the area.

We started with Whittington, or more specifically, Whittington Castle Which was about 12 miles away. Romantic ruins that sit perfectly nestled in to their village backdrop. Not particularly imposing at first glance but with an understated beauty and a definite presence.

Never Underestimate A Small Landmark

We first spotted the ruins on our way back a few weeks ago and absolutely knew we had to visit. Well it didn’t disappoint. To some it might seem like there is not a lot here but to us, it was stunning.

The small bridge over the water to the entrance gateway captivated our imaginations straight away. Once through, you see the remains of some of the inner bailey to your left, which you can walk across to and then see the bandstand on the hill over to your right. The perfect place to spend a sunny afternoon.

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We did get lucky as we had said glorious sunny weather when we visited. The reflections of the ruins in the sparkling water were beautiful. All of the green looked extra lush and with the Ducks and Swans milling about, the whole setting just came alive.

Thankfully, the car park wasn’t too full so we didn’t struggle at all to park the Motorhome either.

It turns out it is free to visit but there is a charitable donation of £2 for parking. They also have a tea room and a small gift shop, both of which help towards the maintenance and running of the place. It is managed by the local community and funded by donations/visits/events so every little really does help after lockdown.

Supporting Local

We fancied going for a drink to finish our afternoon/evening off and so went to the pub opposite the Castle. A placed called Ye Olde Boote Inn. The landlady was lovely and she agreed we could stay in the car park overnight – bonus!

It was a cool place with charming old fashioned decor and finishing touches. Turns out its a hotel as well. We heard the landlady chatting to some locals and saying how quiet it had gotten all of a sudden since the new guidelines were announced a couple of days prior.

It made us glad we went in as we are happy to spend money in a local area. It meant we got to stay right opposite the ruins as well which was lovely to wake up to in the morning!

Spooky Goings On

There was also a paranormal team at Whittington Castle investigating in one of the towers that evening, they were turning up as we were leaving. (We asked the Castle manager what was going on as we thought it might have been an event or something!). We did go back out after we had been to the pub to see if we could see or hear any of the activity but we couldn’t (I don’t think I would have slept if I had anyway!).

The next day we ventured back to Ellesmere. We had ridden through briefly before and remembered there was a large car park near to The Mere. We needed somewhere to stop whilst we decided what to do and have some lunch. So we tried our luck and there was space for us.

It’s only £2.30 to park for the day, no matter your size of vehicle. It was super busy though and we ended up getting blocked in but we were in no rush so we weren’t bothered. We decided we had no choice but to have a lazy afternoon. By 6pm everyone had left anyway so we were able to move on to our next stop; another pub stopover.

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Another Stop, Another Pub

We only found that one on the day and realised its one we’ve driven past before. The Horse and Jockey was awesome, old looking on the outside and modern on the inside. As before, the owners were lovely and we had a nice little chat with them and the locals.

Once again we were happy to be spending some money locally, even on one cider and some soft drinks. It all helps. They didn’t bat an eyelid either when we said we had Cats with us and we needed to call it a night to go and feed and walk them!

We had a super peaceful nights sleep as its in a rural setting, just outside a place called Wem. We could see the stars clearly and heard nothing until 5am when some Cows in a field nearby started making noise.

Not Always Smooth

The next day was one of those days you get when travelling where nothing quite goes right. Jon wanted to head to the Albrighton area ready to visit the RAF Museum the next day. Whilst there, we saw signs for the White Lady’s Priory ruins and Boscobel house.

I looked it up and the website does state that the Priory has limited parking. Turns out its very limited, like one car just off a single track country road kind of limited so we didn’t manage to park there. We then tried at Boscobel house as it said there was parking there and you could walk to the Abbey but that is closed for conservation work and subsequently, so is its car park.

After lots of driving down single track roads, both forward and in reverse for lots of oncoming traffic, we decided to call it a day and find somewhere to stop. You guessed it – another pub stop. This one turned out to be about a 10 minute drive from the RAF museum at Cosford though, so it was a winner.

I’ll leave it there for now and pick up the next bit of our travels in the next blog post! To say it’s been amazing to be back on the road again would be an understatement, we can’t wait to share more!