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Families concerned at state of new traveller site in Telford

Families who have been moved to new traveller site provided by Telford & Wrekin Council have complained it is dangerous for their children.

They say temporary fencing around the £2.6 million site in Donnington Wood does not stop children running on to busy main roads.

Further issues, they claim, include a lack of decent toilet facilities, unfinished groundwork and constant monitoring.

Telford & Wrekin Council said the temporary fencing at the traveller site in Donnington Wood had been inspected by independent health and safety auditors and work had started on Monday to put up two metre high permanent security fencing.

It said 10 plots had been supplied with an independent toilet, shower, kitchen facilities and living space and the buildings were designed to central government guidelines.

By the end of completion there will be 25 plots in total and a community building complete with a hard standing play area.

Ben Foster, whose mother-in-law lives on the site, said he had planned to move from Northampton with his partner and young daughter to live next door. But after seeing the conditions there he has called on the council to make improvements.

"There is a patrol car driving up and down here 24-7 and the families also have cameras pointing at them all the time," he said.

"There is no adequate fencing for the children and rubbish has been left piled up for years. A lot of the tenants have cleaned the place up themselves but there is still the constant smell of sewerage."

Mr Foster said families had not wanted to move to the new site last week because it had no shelter from the wind and surfaces for their caravans to park on were uneven.

"The families had been on the old site for 30 years but a lot of them have now had enough of it," he said.

"The council has provided one cupboard for all their food, one for cutlery and one for the boiler, which isn't enough space."

He added: "The old site had rotting doors and window frames, the floors in the kitchen were slippery and the electricity would often come on and off all the time.

"There was nothing protecting the electric hook-ups from children putting their hands in where the electricity was running. But nobody wanted to move, they just wanted the council to fix the problem.

The families are terrified they will be evicted if they complain but we have been forced to speak up."

Mr Foster's mother-in-law Wendy Smith moved to the site with her disabled 10-year-old daughter Diah on Thursday. She said her daughter needed to regularly use a bath because of her disability but despite informing the council she had been left with just a shower, which often only produced cold water.

Council spokesman Russell Griffin said the gradual slope of each pitch was needed for drainage and added caravans had a levelling capacity, which could be used.

"The CCTV, which covers only the internal road system, has been installed to offer security to those living on the site," he said.

He added the issue of sewerage had not been raised before and would be investigated. The council was also looking at cupboard space.

He also said: "We are aware of Wendy's concerns and will support her."

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Home » Travel Guides » United Kingdom » England » 15 Best Things to Do in Telford (Shropshire, England)

15 Best Things to Do in Telford (Shropshire, England)

This New Town in Shropshire has lots to keep you inspired, especially if you’re fascinated by England’s industrial past.

Telford is a jumping off point for the World Heritage Ironbridge Gorge, where Quaker entrepreneurs kick-started the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century.

On the vertiginous banks of the River Severn are old mines, blast furnaces and kilns, all monuments to the progress of heavy industry.

The site is summed up by the Iron Bridge (1781), literally the world’s first bridge made of iron.

There are ten industrial museums around Ironbridge, all within an easy drive of Telford.

For nature, the long ridge of the Wrekin hill demands to be climbed, rewarding you with one of rural England’s most exhilarating views.

Let’s explore the best things to do in Telford :

1. Ironbridge Gorge Museums

As the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, the Ironbridge Gorge to the south of Telford is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A great way to engage with this historic industrial landscape is to take a couple of days to see at least some of the ten industrial museums on this site, all run by the Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust.

These are all housed in restored factories, warehouses, kilns or the homes of the influential Darby family.

We’ve included the five most convenient and worthwhile in this list, but if you’re a committed historian all ten merit you attention.

The Museum of the Gorge in Coalbrookdale sums up the history of the Ironbridge Gorge at a sublime Gothic Revival warehouse by the Severn.

2. The Iron Bridge and Tollhouse

If there’s one sight to begin with at the Ironbridge Gorge, it’s the Iron Bridge traversing the Severn.

Cast and built by the Quaker ironmaster Abraham Darby III, the Iron Bridge was the first bridge in the world to be constructed from iron when it opened in 1781. The design was provided by Thomas Pritchard, who died before his creation was realised.

The bridge is open only to pedestrians and deserves as much time as you can allow to inspect its construction, with 1,700 components each designed individually and fixed like wooden beams, in contrast to the iron constructions that would come later.

The Tollhouse has a museum about the history of the bridge, as well as an information centre for the wider Ironbridge Gorge.

On its wall is a “table of tolls”, detailing the prices to cross the Iron Bridge.

3. The Wrekin

Hikers in Telford may cast a wistful gaze to the Wrekin, which looms to the west of the town, no more than five miles away.

Once topped with a Iron Age fort, the Wrekin is a famous landmark at the western boundary of Shropshire and can be seen far and wide, from Manchester’s Beetham Tower to Cleeve Hill in Gloucestershire.

Even if the path is steep in places, you don’t need to be a mountaineer to conquer this 407-metre peak, and it’s easy to get on the trail from the M54 motorway.

The Wrekin has complex geology, and is composed of Precambrian volcanic rock far older than Mount Everest.

At the top the view is simply extraordinary: When the weather is clear you can see into 17 counties.

4. Telford Town Park

No typical municipal park, Telford Town Park was voted the UK’s Best Park in 2015 following a regeneration project that began in 2011. The line-up of facilities is long, and includes an aerial ropes course, five play areas for kids, an adventure mini-golf course, cycle centre, water play grounds in summer, fishing pools and a visitor centre with a cafe.

These all complement the parks sensory garden, formal flower gardens, bandstand and 62-hectare Local Nature Reserve safeguarding heathland, woodland, meadows and ponds on a former industrial site that was abandoned by the 1960s.

In Medieval times this land belonged to the Cistercian Buildwas Abbey, and the only relic from that period is a Norman Chapel, rebuilt next to Withy Pool after being moved from its former location where Telford’s branch of House of Fraser now sits.

5. Wellington

The most picturesque settlement in the area, Wellington is contiguous with Telford.

Catching the train from Telford Central Station it will take exactly seven minutes to reach Wellington, which has an appealing tangle of old streets that have been home to market since 1244. Today sits inside a Victorian hall, which trades four days a week and has 120 stallholders, half indoors and half outside.

There are butchers, fruit and veg sellers, bakers, delicatessens, haberdashers, jewellers, fishmongers, cheese merchants and much more.

Finish up with a cup of tea and slice of cake at one of the market’s two cafes.

6. Sunnycroft

In Wellington you can drop by a National Trust house that is quite unlike any other.

A suburban villa approximating the splendour of a noble country house, Sunnycroft (1880) is a type of property coveted by the Middle Class in the Victorian period.

What makes Sunnycroft so special is the amount of period fittings and fixtures that are still in place.

At this country estate in miniature there’s a kitchen garden, stables, orchards, as well as a dainty conservatory, medicine cabinet with 300 remedies, a garage with a Daimler and a Smoke Room serving tea.

In good weather you can play a game of croquet on the lawn, under the beautiful redwoods and lime trees.

7. Hoo Farm Animal Kingdom

A compact but thoughtfully presented zoo, the Hoo Farm Animal Kingdom is a family half day out with a wide variety of animals across five different zones.

The “African and Eurasian Adventure” for instance has exotic cats like servals, caracals, fishing cats, as well as meerkats, skunks, lemurs, otters and an array of owls and hawks.

When you visit, check out which activities are taking place on the day, whether it’s bottle-feeding lambs and kid goats, walking through the lemur habitat, holding reptiles, collecting eggs or watching a sheep race.

8. Blists Hill Victorian Town

Under ten minutes by car from Telford town centre is an open-air museum dropping you into the 19th century.

The Blists Hill Victorian Town is on an old industrial zone given over to coal, iron and fire clay mines, as well as blast furnaces and ceramic works making bricks and tiles.

The museum is deftly divided between an industrial area with blast furnace and wrought ironworks, a Victorian townscape with homes, cobbler’s shop, a photographer, sweetshop, a bank, post office, bakery and bicycle shop, and bucolic countryside where there’s a mission church with a tin roof, toll house and squatter cottage.

Much of the activity is centred on the Victorian street scene and industrial where characters like a dressmaker, baker and ironworker will tell you about their trades, and you can watch demonstrations like foundrymen pouring molten iron and Victorian chemists concocting strange cures.

9. Jackfield Tile Museum

At Jackfield, under 15 minutes from Telford you can visit the former headquarters of Craven Dunmill, one of Britain’s top ceramic tile manufacturers.

This imposing neo-Gothic building is still used to manufacture decorative tiles and hosts a museum about Shropshire’s tile-making industry, which dates back to the 1500s.

Tiles manufactured at Jackfield adorned churches, tube stations and pubs, and these interiors have been recreated at the museum.

There’s an exhibition devoted to the British tile industry as well as glorious tile art, floor mosaics and informative tile panels that you can touch.

You can take a tour of the tile factory on Wednesday mornings and bring kids for tile-painting workshops in the school holidays.

10. Coalport China Museum

As big tea-drinkers, the Victorians created a ceramics boom in the 19th century, and manufactories like Coalport China met that demand.

China was produced at these kilns in Coalport from 1795 to 1926, before the company moved to Staffordshire and was eventually soaked up by Wedgwood.

As well as tea services, Coalport China also produced vases, miniatures and dinner services known by the “Indian Tree” pattern.

At the old factory can step into the giant bottle kilns and view the official national collections of Coalport and Caughley china.

Kids aren’t forgotten, and can take part in ceramics painting workshops, and dress up as a Victorian potter at the Children’s gallery.

11. Darby Houses

This pair of Georgian houses, Dale House and Rosehill, will give you the inside track on one of the Quaker families behind the Ironbridge Gorge’s industrialisation.

At Dale House (1717) you can enter the wood-panelled study where Abraham Darby III drew up his plans for that famous iron bridge.

The property was divided into flats in the 20th century, but was restored to its 18th-century appearance when it became a museum.

Next door is Rosehill (1738), commissioned for Richard Ford, husband of Mary Darby and decorated to the discreet tastes of the Quakers, with family portraits, silhouettes and Georgian kitchen implements like a cast iron range.

12. Telford Steam Railway

March to September you can come to the Old Loco Shed on Bridge Road to ride a mile-long stretch of what used to the Wellington to Craven Arms Railway.

This line has a long and surprisingly complicated history going back to the Wellington and Severn Junction Railway in the 1850s.

The railway runs between three stations using two steam locomotives (an 0-4-0ST “Rocket” from 1925 and a GWR 5600 Class from 1926), as well as two diesel engines.

At the main terminus you’ll also find a model railway and miniature railway for kids.

The attraction puts on special open days, “Murder Mystery” evenings and a “Polar Express” in the Advent period.

13. Benthall Hall

Near the Ironbridge Gorge, Benthall Hall is a Tudor country house still occupied by the Benthall Family but owned by the National Trust.

The hall, with fine mullioned windows, turreted chimney stacks and triangular gables, was completed around 1580, while the oak-lined interiors, plaster ceilings and fine staircase are unchanged since the 17th century.

One Victoria resident, George Maw, developed the garden and descendants of his crocus collection, assembled around the world, are still in bloom every spring and autumn in the gardens.

Benthall Hall is open to the public on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays from February to October.

14. Exotic Zoo

A new attraction in Telford, the Exotic Zoo only opened in 2017 but already had a high reputation in the community as its founders run a therapy service taking small animals to schools and military veterans.

The zoo has a Desert Zone, Rainforest Zone, Nocturnal Area and a petting farm, and takes part in international conservation initiatives.

The Exotic Zoo has wallabies, macaws, skunks, armadillos, snakes, meerkats, lemurs, owls, crocodiles and pygmy goats.

The knowledgeable and enthusiastic keepers have tons of experience handling these animals and give regular talks each day.

15. Wonderland

A day out for the youngest members of the clan, Wonderland is a fairytale-themed attraction in Telford Town Park with rides suitable for children up to the age of six or so.

The park is set in nine acres of natural woodland inhabited by characters like Humpty Dumpty, Snow White, Alice and the Mad Hatter.

There’s also a much-loved Wonderland Maze, a crazy golf course themed on the Jolly Roger, the Dinosaur Valley walking trail and an indoor play area.

In December you can also come for the Winter Wonderland Christmas Village.

15 Best Things to Do in Telford (Shropshire, England):

• Ironbridge Gorge Museums
• The Iron Bridge and Tollhouse
• Telford Town Park
• Hoo Farm Animal Kingdom
• Blists Hill Victorian Town
• Jackfield Tile Museum
• Coalport China Museum
• Darby Houses
• Telford Steam Railway
• Benthall Hall

THE 15 BEST Things to Do in Telford

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• Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World
• Exotic Zoo Wildlife Park
• Blists Hill Victorian Town
• Telford Town Park
• Frankly Alpacas
• The Iron Bridge and Tollhouse

The 12 best views, scenic lookouts, and viewpoints in Telford

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1 Iron Bridge Tollhouse

2 The Wrekin

3 Darby Houses

4 blists hill victorian town, 5 wonderland.

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6 Telford Town Park

7 coalport china museum, 8 jackfield tile museum, 9 telford steam railway, 10 buildwas abbey, 11 ramada by wyndham telford ironbridge, 12 the ironbridge gorge museum trust head office, top searches in telford, popular road trips from telford, what's the weather like in telford.

It depends on when you visit! We've compiled data from NASA on what the weather is like in Telford for each month of the year: see the links below for more information.

• Weather in Telford in January
• Weather in Telford in February
• Weather in Telford in March
• Weather in Telford in April
• Weather in Telford in May
• Weather in Telford in June
• Weather in Telford in July
• Weather in Telford in August
• Weather in Telford in September
• Weather in Telford in October
• Weather in Telford in November
• Weather in Telford in December

All road trips from Telford

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• Telford to Vienna drive
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• Telford to Budapest drive
• Telford to Stratford-upon-Avon drive
• Telford to Venice drive
• Telford to Lisbon drive
• Telford to Llandudno drive
• Telford to Brighton drive

Explore nearby places

• Coalbrookdale
• Ironbridge Gorge
• Sutton Maddock
• Much Wenlock
• Weston Under Lizard
• Stanton Upon Hine Heath

All related maps of Telford

• Map of Telford
• Map of Madeley
• Map of Coalbrookdale
• Map of Ironbridge
• Map of Ironbridge Gorge
• Map of Wellington
• Map of Shifnal
• Map of Jackfield
• Map of Coalport
• Map of Broseley
• Map of Sutton Maddock
• Map of Lilleshall
• Map of Norton
• Map of Tong
• Map of Edgmond
• Map of Much Wenlock
• Map of Weston Under Lizard
• Map of Newport
• Map of Hartlebury
• Map of Wroxeter
• Map of Albrighton
• Map of Worfield
• Map of Ellerdine
• Map of Morville
• Map of Atcham
• Map of Bridgnorth
• Map of Pattingham
• Map of Shipley
• Map of Eardington
• Map of Shawbury
• Map of Stanton Upon Hine Heath

Telford throughout the year

• Telford in January
• Telford in February
• Telford in March
• Telford in April
• Telford in May
• Telford in June
• Telford in July
• Telford in August
• Telford in September
• Telford in October
• Telford in November
• Telford in December

Looking for day-by-day itineraries in Telford?

Get inspired for your trip to Telford with our curated itineraries that are jam-packed with popular attractions everyday! Check them out here:

• 1-Day Telford Itinerary
• 2-Day Telford Itinerary
• 3-Day Telford Itinerary
• 4-Day Telford Itinerary
• 5-Day Telford Itinerary

Best attractions in nearby cities

• Top things to do and attractions in Ironbridge Gorge
• Top things to do and attractions in Ironbridge

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THE 10 BEST Things to Do in Telford

Things to do in telford, explore popular experiences, tours in and around telford.

5-Day Heart of England, Wales & Yorkshire Small-Group Tour from London

Shrewsbury Prison Self-Guided Tour

Shrewsbury Prison Guided Tour

Birmingham Slogging Gangs Walking Tour with Edward Shelby

On the Origins of Charles Darwin: A Self-Guided Audio Tour of Shrewsbury

Birmingham City Centre Daily Walking Tour (10:30am & 5pm)

From Birmingham Stonehenge and Bath Day Tour

Brewood Village Historical Tour

Taste of Shrewsbury Food and Drink Tour with Guide

Shrewsbury Prison Escape Room - The Cell

Top attractions in telford.

Other Top Attractions around Telford

What travellers are saying

• Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World
• Exotic Zoo Wildlife Park
• Blists Hill Victorian Town
• Telford Town Park
• Frankly Alpacas
• The Iron Bridge and Tollhouse

Top 10 Best Travel Agents Near Telford, Telford and Wrekin

1 .  RB Collection

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“Clare, Nathan, and Nicola have consistently done very good work for us over the past two years. We have visited 12 European destinations through them in the past 24 months and have…”   more

2 .  Cheadle Travel Agency

3 .  Kelly Chambers - Independent Travel Expert

“After being disappointed with our local travel agent ramping up a holiday price by £130 in the space...”   more

4 .  Lesley Trew - Not just Travel

5 .  Pak Travels

6 .  Hashim Gee Travel & Tours

7 .  Uncover Britain

8 .  Clare Travel Agency

9 .  Beat that Holiday Quote

10 .  Charlotte Mitchell - Travel Counsellors

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"Clare, Nathan, and Nicola have consistently done very good work for us over the past two years. We have visited 12 European destinations through them in the past 24 months and have been confident each time the arrangements would be professional, on target with our desires, and cost effective. Their customer service is quite responsive and they have an "can do" spirit. I have and will continue to recommend RB Collection."

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Where to stay in telford, other popular package holiday destinations.

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THE 10 BEST Cheap Things to Do in Telford

Best budget-friendly things to do in telford.

• 5.0 of 5 bubbles
• 4.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• Budget-friendly
• Good for Kids
• Good for a Rainy Day
• Good for Big Groups
• Good for Couples
• Hidden Gems
• Adventurous
• Good for Adrenaline Seekers
• Honeymoon spot
• Things to do ranked using Tripadvisor data including reviews, ratings, photos, and popularity.

1. Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World

2. Blists Hill Victorian Town

3. Exotic Zoo Wildlife Park

4. The Iron Bridge and Tollhouse

5. Ironbridge Gorge Museums

6. The Wrekin

7. Frankly Alpacas

8. Telford Town Park

9. Jackfield Tile Museum

10. Coalport China Museum

11. Benthall Hall

12. Sunnycroft

13. Enginuity

14. Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron

15. Museum of the Gorge

16. Broseley Pipeworks

17. Apley Woods

18. The Darby Houses

19. Buildwas Abbey

20. Tar Tunnel

21. Ironbridge Antiques Arts & Crafts

22. Broseley Pipeworks Museum

23. Bedlam Furnaces

24. Granville Country Park

25. AIREA51

26. The Coracle Micropub And Beer Shop

27. XscapeNow

28. The Pheasant Pub and Brewhouse

29. Jungleland Telford

30. Wellington Orbit

What travellers are saying