When I stepped off the bus in Ironbridge and got my first glimpse of the bridge I was already smitten. It’s a picturesque site, embedded in a lovely river valley with the usual English countryside charm. Little points to this having been a key site in UK’s industrial revolution.

Prior to the industrial revolution the iron ore was melted using charcoal. In my line of work we would call that biomass and consider it CO2 neutral, i.e. pretty great. But charcoal was tied to sustainable (then phew!) forestry and this severely limited the volume of ore you could melt. So you couldn’t actually leverage larger production sites. Only when the switch to coal and better yet coke occurred was real growth possible. The area around Ironbridge, already a center for iron production since medieval times, offered both iron and coal and grew rapidly as a consequence.

While this is yet another of UK’s industrial sites, I had a pleasant time and I think this is a valuable site. Due to this being on the forefront of industrialization the buildings seem to have fallen out of time compared to a later industrialization site such as Völklinger Hütte. But well, with the furnaces in operation and the chimneys blowing out huge smoke clouds day and night, the area probably looked far less idyllic.

Getting In and Around

From Monday to Saturday there are regular busses connecting Telford to Ironbridge. They do not run via the train station. From the train station you have to walk to the nearby shopping center and head for the well signposted bus station on the other side of it. Right now the buses depart from Gate S (rightmost, outside), but construction work is ongoing, so this may change.

There are two different bus routes: a western one via Coalbrookdale and an eastern one via Madeley. Bring some change as they seem to be running low on coins. One way cost is around 2.60 GBP.

There are also shuttle buses. Some regularly connect the P&R parking lots to the sites. Half hourly shuttle buses run between Madeley and Coalbrookdale with stops at all the main sites. They run only on weekends and holidays. If you plan to visit on a Sunday or a holiday and are depending on public transport, your best option seems to be to go to Madeley and take the shuttle bus.

Instead of the shuttle bus you can always walk. Several nice hiking trails are set up and connect the sites. My recommendation would be to start on one side of the site (Madeley or Coalbrookdale) and then traverse it.

From Telford Station you can travel westwards to Snowdonia and Bangor. Or eastwards to Birmingham with its airport. Be advised that tickets are only sold on the Eastbound (opposite) side of the station. This nearly made me miss my connection. Fortunately, the train was running late.

The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the Gwynedd Castles are connected by the same rail line from Telford. The aqueduct is a nice addition to this site and both can be done handily in one day from Birmingham.

Things To Do

The area houses a surprising number of museums that shed some light on different aspects of the site (tiles, china, iron, ...). Prices are (typical for the UK) rather high. A day pass for all museums costs 25 GBP, a single museum 9 GBP. I went to the Iron Museum and found the presentation rather useful to make sense of the site. The building itself is also interesting and you can see the furnace that started the region’s boom. Those parts are free.

The Blists Hill Victorian Town is an open air museum that seemed rather popular with visitors. If you plan to go here, buy the combined ticket as it by itself already comes in at 19 GBP. I wasn’t into it and preferred hiking back to Ironbridge.

A unique way to experience the site is to kayak along the Severn river and beneath the bridge. There seem to be multiple operators. I only spotted this one in town.

Notes

During my visit I noticed a group of volunteers cutting brushes along the riverbank. I think it’s great sign for the value of the site in the community and I found this highly commendable.

On instagram Ian recommended trying the pork pie. I guess he was referring to Eleys (Self Acclaimed) World Famous Pork Pies. Luckily, I am not a lunch person anyhow, so it doesn’t feel as too much of miss, seeing he provided his recommendation after the visit. If you are more of lunch person, the place seems to be just across the road from the bridge.