Aymestrey Lodges

Take a tour through British history, starting off at Croft Ambrey’s Iron Age hill fort (five minutes’ drive), and taking in the ancient Roman remains of Viriconium at Wroxeter (an hour). See the medieval Mappa Mundi, a copy of the Magna Carta and the Chained Library at Hereford Cathedral (35 minutes), or tour ornate apartments at Tudor-era Benthall Hall (55 minutes). Shropshire played a starring role in the Industrial Revolution, and the Ironbridge Gorge Museums (an hour) have multiple attractions to make learning fun for families, including Blists Hill Victorian Town and the interactive Enginuity technology centre. If the kids would rather be cuddling animals, there are donkeys, sheep and ponies at Small Breeds Park Farm and Owl Centre, and for daring days out, there are zipwires to zoom down at The Great Escape Company (both 25 minutes). Anyone preferring quieter sporting activities can fish for trout on the River Teme, or get out on the golf course at Leominster (both 20 minutes). Happy to let someone else do the hard work? There are racecourses at Ludlow (25 minutes) and Worcester (an hour).