Cadink

With its 10 industrial museums, reconstructed Victorian town with sweet shops, horse-and-cart rides and River Severn walks, Ironbridge Valley of Invention (40 minutes' drive) deserves a place near the top of your Shropshire must-do bucket. Ludlow (20 minutes) also rewards a visit, with its medieval centre and lanes lined with half-timbered houses. Have an amble around the 11th-century castle ruins, and then stroll along the River Teme to a waterside pub to sample some locally produced ciders. If you’re after hiking in some hills, you have the choice of challenging yomps in the Shropshire Hills AONB (10 minutes), or gentler rambles in Wyre Forest National Nature Reserve (25 minutes). Severn Valley Country Park (35 minutes) has way-marked trails for rambles and cyclists, and you can combine riverside walks among rare trees with cuddling friendly donkeys at Bodenham Arboretum (40 minutes). Alternatively, get your daily exercise on the golf course (20 minutes) or settle down for an afternoon coarse fishing for carp at Shatterford Lakes (35 minutes). Time to take the weight off your feet? Board the Severn Valley Railway at Bridgnorth (20 minutes) for a chug along the course of the river on a heritage steam train.