A quick trip to Ironbridge near Telford

 To help you navigate our blog more easily - this link - https://wherenexthun.blogspot.com/2025/06/how-to-navigate-our-blog.html will take you to a summary page detailing all our blog posts. Clicking on a link will open that post in a new browser window. To return to the home current page just close the browser page and return to the post you were reading beforehand. 

A quick trip to Iron Bridge

Thursday 7^th September

Mileage at the start is 14067. We leave with a full tank and are off from the storage site by 0945. Up the A38, M5 and M6, stopping at Haldon Hill Esso station to top up the gas tank (£9.00’s worth at 99p per litre) and then Sedgemoor, Strensham and Telford services. No Telford isn’t in the Peak District (which is really where we are heading), but we liked the sound of Ironbridge and so diverted. Impulse!

It was an easy run up to Spaghetti junction and then an absolute traffic nightmare for around thirty minutes or so.  Quick stock up at Tesco's near Ironbridge and then onwards down to the car park across the bridge from Ironbridge, where they allow overnight parking for motorhomes. £3 for 2 hrs; £4 all day 1000 - 1700 and free for overnight. Little alcove of bays below shady trees at the far end and nice level spaces. There is slight road noise but nothing that kept us awake. A five-minute walk to the bridge and the town centre with its range of independent shops and cafes. Good second-hand book shop too! Some nice river walks as well.

We arrived around 5pm and set up whilst chatting to motorhome neighbours opposite.  We travelled 240 odd miles today.

 Friday 8th

It was a quiet night and there were five other vans in the car park. A few joggers and bikes passed through but that was it. Safe and secure. Great little site and toilets five minutes away over the bridge.

We strolled cross the bridge at 0900 and walked along the river front for a bit. But the museum down at the river was closed for the season. Back to the car park to pay by app at 1000 as the machines are not accepting card; only cash despite saying card payments accepted.

A thirty-minute walk along the cycle track got us to the Tile Factory/museum. What a fascinating, brilliant, informative museum this was. The tile designs were beautiful.

The original tile moulds going right back to pre victorian times all stored in one room 

Still a working tile factory

A further stroll took us to the China factory, passing wagon lift to the kilns higher up the valley sides. The vast bottle kilns were stunning and fascinating. We met ladies who showed us how to make pottery figures and jugs. Knowledgeable, informative and charming. Great museum with fascinating insights into the history of the area, its manufacturing of pottery and tiles and conditions for workers.

We walked back along the roads into Ironbridge and called into the book shop. Well one of us did, walking out with three second hand fiction books. Reading for the trip sorted!

Ironbridge is a stunning area, quiet not busy and with beautiful houses, cottages from 1800s and river gorge scenery.  On the way back, we stopped off at ‘The Old Bridge Inn’ to see if they would take us Sunday night….... “first come first served. £15 voucher redeemable against food in pub in evening”.  The car park is on a slope so you may need to use ramps.  

A ‘Bryony’ motorhome report? The new ‘off grid’ system is working well. Batteries are always fully charged. We only used lights last night and occasionally the water pump. Barely dented our onboard capacity. The toilet cassette is only one third full after one day and one night, so we possibly could do three nights off grid before having to empty it.

The evening is spent reading. We left the roof vents open during the day but all alarms on - screens and vents meant the motorhome interior stayed cool even though we had 26C throughout the day.  

Saturday 9th

Mileage 14297. We move off at 0830 to the car park at Coalport Museum where we have breakfast. Today is World Heritage Day and all attractions are free, so we are expecting it to get busy. There isn’t much space for motorhomes, so get there early! We visit the Cast Iron Museum and Enginuity. Good museums, really informative about the industrial revolution in the area.

Entrance is tight squeeze for big vans 

Parking is limited for Motorhomes

 By mid-afternoon we have arrived on a local campsite - Severn Valley Camping site (£25 pn) – with its small, enclosed enclave for motorhomes in amongst a static mobile homes park. There was space for around 10 motorhomes on fully serviced pitches with water, grey waste and EHU; level gravel, well-spaced and screened by small fir trees; a clean toilet block - dated but clean and a good laundry area. Five minutes by vehicle to the Victorian village.

We spend the afternoon reading, lazing around and getting showers. 

Sunday 10th

We visit the Victorian Village where I manage to find the best old traditional butter mints EVER, from Ye Olde Sweet Shop. Took me right back to my childhood and the corner shop on my Gran’s street.

The village has a range of interesting industrial archaeology, shops, blacksmiths etc. There is also a Severn wherry barge housed in a huge building but it was closed today. You can spend a morning at the village but not a whole day.

 In the afternoon we call in at the ‘Maws art centre’ before overnighting at ‘The Half Moon Pub’ on the banks of the Severn at Jackfield. £15 p night with no services – the fee redeemable if you buy a meal at the pub. Spaces limited so first come, first served. The car park is on a slope – so you will probably need to chock one side up.  Nice river location and popular pub so book your table! Book for an early meal slot as well as we found that they had run out of several dishes. There isn’t a huge menu choice. You can use pub toilets until closing time.

Monday 11th

Mileage 14320. We leave the pub and stop off at RAF Cosford to tour the exhibits but also to see if there is an archivist available to talk to. We have been given several volumes of war diaries spanning the entire length of WW2; written by the wife of a Bomber Command RAF senior bomber station commander whose job it was to train up bomber pilots and to inspect all bomber stations.

And then we brave the M6 and head for Buxton.