Mist over the Severn

What a day we chose to travel into Shropshire to visit one of our favourite places. The rain was persistent and the mist hung heavily over the River Severn giving an almost ethereal quality to both the light and the views.

This is the river Severn at Ironbridge - yes the famous iron bridge is there, honestly!

The bridge was the idea of an architect from Shrewsbury called Thomas Farnolls Prichard who suggested an iron bridge to local iron master John Wilkinson. Pritchard designed the bridge but died a month after the building started so never saw it in situ. It was built by Abraham Darby III.

When we visit we always like to walk over the bridge to the toll house which now houses the tourist information centre and a display about the building of the bridge. Above is the view back towards the town across the bridge.

We walked back into the town. Not surprisingly it was very quiet. The pavements were shiny and slippy with rain, the river was high and swollen but there were no flood barriers in evidence.

The bears in the Bears on the Square shop window were taking it all in their stride, safely tucked up and warm inside the shop.

We set off towards the Coalport China Museum and drove past the Ladywood bridge over the river on the way there. The bridge is also known locally as the Gateway to Broseley, the town famous for clay pipe manufacture.

The old china works stands between the River Severn and the Shropshire Canal. China was made here from 1796 until 1926 when manufacture moved to Stoke-on-Trent firstly to the Cauldon Potteries in Shelton, then to the Crescent Works in Stoke around 1955, later it moved to the Foley and Minerva works at Fenton before becoming a part of Wedgwood at Barlaston. The Coalport site became one of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums in 1976.

Inside it was very similar to the Gladstone Pottery Museum - which is not far from from where we live - but there were many differences too especially in the way the bottle ovens or kilns were built.

It was good to get into the warmth of the museum and out of the rain for a while. Below are more scenes from in and around the Museum.