At the heart of a pretty spectacular gorge in South Shropshire is the village of Ironbridge and at its heart the iconic Ironbridge itself, spanning the river Severn. The first iron bridge in the world.
This is what it would have looked like in its heyday
The idea was conceived in the early 1770s, building began several years later as the Industrial Revolution took hold, and the bridge was officially opened to vehicles on January 1st 1781.
After being in use 150 years, it was closed to traffic and was designated an Ancient Monument. It’s now being cared for and conserved by English Heritage.
We visited the area a couple of weeks ago and had a lovely day out. Leaving the car park, a walk through the village along the river takes you to the bridge, which you might just be able to spot in the distance in the first photo.
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Views from the bridge and some of the beautiful riverside houses and gardens.
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And of course the river itself
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betweenthelinesbookblog.com 
We have had a few holidays in this area when son and daughter- in-law lived nearby. One of my favourite places in sunshine and flood. I was sad they demolished the cooling towers, also part of our industrial heritage.
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It was my first visit and i think it’ll become one of my favourite places too. I didn’t know about the cooling towers.
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Such a great place to visit and your photos show its beauty.
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Thanks so much 🙂 We’ll definitely be going again.
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Beautiful pictures. We visited Ironbridge a few years ago, such a lovely family day out.
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Thank you 🙂 Yes definitely a lovely day out.
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Just lovely💜
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Thank you, it is a beautiful place 🙂
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Beautiful images Cathy and what a wonderful place to visit – I can imagine it will be glorious with autumn colours too 💚 Wishing you all a lovely rest of the evening 🤗💕🐕 xxx
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Thank you 🤗 We have a visit planned for autumn (hopefully) 💛🐕💛xxx
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What an amazing place to see..beautiful photos too.
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Thank you 🙂
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