Industrial heritage

Having a day out on our way to Bristol.

We are in Shropshire again but this time we are seeing some of the counties industrial heritage.

Ironbridge Gorge has been on my 'to visit' list for many years but we have for some reason never made it. We are going to see daughter Grace in a show tomorrow night at Colston Hall in Bristol but are spending tonight in Ironbridge as she is busy rehearsing.

We started our visit at Blist Hill Victorian Town and spent most of the afternoon there. Lots to see and do and very helpful people in costume to tell you how it really was in a Victorian industrial town. The town is based around a foundry, mine and blast furnace for the production of iron, but there are lots of other features that would have been found in such a community at that time. Shops, pubs, manufacturers of goods such as candles, as well as a school and houses for the workers. It was interesting that most of the houses had a pigsty and some a small plot of land to grow vegetables.

Too much to describe but I couldn't resist a picture of the photographer's studio and the swingboats at the small fairground as they were my absolute favourites when I was a child.

We are about to go out to eat and tomorrow we may visit one or more of the 9 other museums available in the gorge created by the River Severn.