Shrewsbury

The Severn loops almost the whole way round the old town, leaving a neck of about three hundred metres, which is why the Normans put a castle across it and why the medieval street plan survives so completely: around six hundred and sixty listed buildings, many of them timber-framed, in a tangle of lanes called shuts that cut between the main streets. Names include Grope Lane, Dogpole and Wyle Cop. Charles Darwin was born here in 1809 and went to the school that is now the library, with his statue outside it. Ireland's Mansion and Rowley's House are among the more elaborate timber frames. The Quarry is a riverside park with the Dingle, a sunken flower garden laid out by Percy Thrower, and the Shrewsbury Flower Show has run there since 1875.

What you actually see

• The shuts - narrow medieval cut-throughs between the main streets.
• The timber frames - Ireland's Mansion and Rowley's House among 660 listed buildings.
• The river loop - a neck of land three hundred metres wide holding the old town.
• The Quarry and Dingle - a riverside park with a sunken garden.

When to go

April to October; the Flower Show in August is one of the oldest in the world and fills the town. Weekday markets in the Victorian market hall are good and much quieter.

Honest expectations

The loop means traffic funnels over two bridges and driving in the centre is awkward, with limited parking. The town floods, sometimes seriously, in winter. Some timber frames are Victorian imitation rather than genuine Tudor.

Nearby

Ironbridge Gorge lies southeast; the Long Mynd and Church Stretton are south.