Things to do in Shrewsbury
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Armoury
Despite being a modern creation, the Armoury feels like it has been here for generations. It's cavernous, with long wooden tables, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, assorted collectibles and the aromas of fine cooking.
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Mad Jack's
This classy place straddles the boundary between cafe, restaurant and bar, with an elegant dining room and a plant-filled courtyard. The menu features inventive Modern European cuisine prepared with locally sourced ingredients. There are four swish contemporary bedrooms upstairs.
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Shrewsbury Castle
Hewn from flaking red Shropshire sandstone, the town castle contains the Shropshire Regimental Museum, plus fine views from Laura's Tower and the battlements. The lower level of the Great Hall dates from 1150.
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Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery
The town museum is currently housed in the timbered Rowley's House from the 1590s (next to the lovely brick appendage of Rowley's Mansion from 1618), with exhibits ranging from Roman treasures to Shropshire gold, including the bronze age Perry Bracelet. The museum and tourist office are undergoing a slow move (due in 2013) to the Music Hall on the Square.
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St Mary's Church
The interior of this tall-spired medieval church contains a fabulous interior, graced with an impressive collection of stained glass, including a 1340 window depicting the Tree of Jesse, a Biblical representation of the lineage of Jesus, and a magnificent oak ceiling in the nave which largely collapsed in a huge gale in 1894 when the top of the spire blew off. Much of the glass in the church is sourced from the Continent, including some outstanding Dutch glass from 1500. There's a small cafe at the rear.
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Theatre Severn
This much-acclaimed and expansive new riverside theatre and music venue hosts everything from pop gigs and comedy nights to plays and classical concerts.
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Three Fishes
This quintessential creaky Tudor alehouse has a jolly publican, mellow regulars and hops hanging from the 15th-century beamed ceiling.
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Old Market Hall
At the other end of the High St to St Alkmond's Church in cute cobbled the Square is Shrewsbury's good-looking 16th-century Old Market Hall, whose upper levels contain the town's pocket-sized cinema and a cafe.
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Old Market Hall Film & Digital Media
View mainstream and art-house movies in a charming Elizabethan setting.
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Sabrina
Enjoy Shrewsbury from the water on board the Sabrina, which cruises the River Severn. Trips leave roughly hourly between 11am and 4pm (March to October) from Victoria Quay near the Welsh Bridge. Ghost cruises every Thursday evening.
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St Alkmond's Church
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Walking Tours
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Charles Darwin Statue
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Appleyards Delicatessen
Fantastic, traditional shop simply stuffed with a cornucopia of cheeses and beers.
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Loggerheads
With its traditional charms, this pub in a 17th-century building has a crop of small, cosy corners including the Poet's Room, hung with portraits of Samuel Beckett, Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath (in merrier days), and other luminaries of verse.
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No 4 Butcher Row
Tucked away next to the Bull Inn near St Alkmond's Church, this neat, modern and very popular outfit is just the ticket for fantastic breakfasts, from eggs Benedict to bacon baguettes or a full English; lunch mains are excellent and affordable.
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Quarry Park
Stroll along the riverside to enjoy an ice cream in the tumbling gardens of Quarry Park.
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St Mary's Cottage
Take a peek at the tilted 17th-century St Mary's Cottage on your way to Shrewsbury Castle.
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Ireland's Mansion
The lordly timber-framed Ireland's Mansion is one of Shrewsbury's most magnificent black-and-white beauties.
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St Chad's
Listen to the cacophonous bells of odd 18th-century round church St Chad's, which dominates the top of Quarry Park.
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Shrewsbury Castle & Shropshire Regimental Museum
Terracotta-coloured Shrewsbury Castle houses the stiff-upper-lip Shropshire Regimental Museum and has wonderful views.
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Old Market Hall Film & Digital Media Centre
For mainstream and arthouse movies in an Elizabethan setting, try the Old Market Hall Film & Digital Media Centre.
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Guided Walking Tours
Guided walking tours leave the tourist office at 14:30 from May to September and at 14:30 Saturday only from November to April.
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Grope Lane
The charmingly named and almost claustrophobically narrow Grope Lane features overhanging storeys that seem to close in around you.
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Shrewsbury Library
Opposite Shrewsbury Castle is the rather ostentatious Shrewsbury Library, with a statue of Shrewsbury's most famous son, Charles Darwin.
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