The Countryside and Horticulture
There is a perception that the Midlands countryside consists of widespread industry and despoiled landscape. Nothing could be further from the truth. The region is primarily rural and can boast vast areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There are small towns and villages set in attractive farmed countryside, which offer the most English rural scenery, twisting lanes and hedgerows bordering patchwork fields and undulating pastures.
The region is unique in the variety and type of farming carried on, from the tough hill farming in the lower Peak District, Shropshire Marches and Welsh Borders, to the dairy, mixed and arable farming in the rich central plains.
The region can also boast numerous outstanding formal Gardens. Gardens such as Ness in the Wirral, Chatsworth and Hadden in Derbyshire, Tatton, Cholmondeley Castle and Arley in Cheshire, Alton and Trentham in Staffordshire, Hodnet, Dorothy Clive and Woolerton Hall in Shropshire and Castle Bromwich and the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham, to mention but a few. There are also many working farms in the region that accept visitors. There are vast acreages of National Park, Estates, Reserves and areas of special scientific interest where the leisure visitor, naturalist or student can enjoy unlimited scope for studying or simply discovering an interest in the countryside. The region is rich in indigenous Flora and Fauna and can boast much geological interest.
The Midlands was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, which made Britain the workshop of the world. Today the region is free from the smoke and grime, which typified the 18th and 19th centuries, but is uniquely able to display many fine examples of our industrial past. These priceless industrial remains have been lovingly restored and preserved for future generations to marvel at. The Ironbridge Gorge [a World Heritage Site] is just 20 minutes drive away. This huge museum spread over seven separate sites along the River Severn traces the development of the Iron and Steel industry over the past two hundred and fifty years. Visitors can see the world's first Iron Bridge built over two hundred years ago. They can tour once derelict factory sites, the Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron, and the iron working community with its cottages, iron-masters houses, the first technical institute, pubs and places of worship.
At Blists Hill, a 42 acre site, many last-century industrial processes have been recreated. In the industrial village the past is brought alive, original shops and small businesses, a bank, schoolhouse, a foundry, rolling mill, wood-yard and a pub, all serve to show visitors just what life was like here one hundred years ago. Other sites include the Museum of the River at the original Wharf and Warehouse, the world famous Coalport China Museum established in 1796, the Tar Tunnel and the Jackfield Tile Factory. There are many other exceptional living and working museums and sites of interest which may be conveniently reached from Wem. These include the outstanding Black Country Museum, Quarry Bank Cotton Mill, Liverpool Docks, Ellesmere Port, Bass Museum of Brewing, Gladstone Pottery Museum, Avoncroft Museum of Building, Daniel’s Water Mill, Port Sunlight Village, the Acton Scott Farming Museum, Stourbridge and Brierly Hill Glass-works, the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter, the Salt Industry in Northwich, the Severn Valley Railway and countless others. These live museums and areas of interest serve to bring history alive and contribute much to our understanding of how ordinary people lived and worked through the 18th and 19th centuries and how they triumphed over tremendous adversity.
Industrial enterprise has always been closely allied to the logistics and communications of the day. Horse power, canals, railways and roads have all influenced industrial growth and development. So in its turn has air travel, albeit during the more recent past. At the Royal Airforce Museum Cosford, just 25 miles from Wem, visitors can view one of the largest aviation collections held anywhere in the United Kingdom. The museum houses some 80 historic aircraft in three fully heated hangers spanning some 90 years of aviation history. It is home to the most complete collection of retired passenger and freight carrying aircraft, while other exhibits include warplanes, research and development aircraft, aero engines and missiles.
The Potteries
The Potteries are recognised throughout the world as being the home of fine English China, and through its museums and industrial remains have recorded for future generations the circumstances, skills and location of fine china production in the UK. The fascinating city of Stoke on Trent, just thirty miles from Wem, now boasts three visitor centres at Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and Spode. These centres provide entertainment for the whole family seven days a week all year round. Factory shops abound throughout the city, selling a wide range of second and best ware china. The city is unique in having much preserved industrial fabric open to visitors. The Gladstone Pottery working Museum shows visitors how a 19th century pottery factory actually worked. The Etruscan Bone and Flint Mill is the last steam driven potters mill in Britain, while Cheddleton Flint Mill is a fully restored water driven mill. The Chatterly Whitfield Mining Museum, the 18th century Canals, a Railway Museum and operating railway, as well as many fine examples of Victorian Architecture and original workers terraced housing, make Stoke a definite must on any tour itinery. Many excellent museum collections pay tribute to the priceless pottery and porcelain wares of the past, while traditional craft skills can still be seen during factory tours or at the visitor centres.
Weston Park
The Midlands counties being naturally rich in both agricultural and mineral resources have over the centuries generated and attracted great wealth. None more so than throughout the past three hundred years. This has resulted in the region being richly endowed with more than it’s share of priceless architecture. Towns such as Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Chester are well known and are beautifully preserved, with many properties of varied styles dating from as far back as medieval times. Throughout the region Roman and Norman architectural remains are much in evidence and there are a great many grand houses and estates. Properties such as Weston Park, Chillington Hall, Attingham, Hawkstone Follies, Shugborough and the unique 13th century Stokesay Castle are nearby Wem, while just a few miles drive into Cheshire will find Tatton Hall, Capesthorne Hall, Gawsworth Hall and the beautiful 16th century Little Moreton Hall. To the east in Derbyshire the visitor can see Hardwick Hall, Haddon Hall and the famous Kedleston Hall and Chatsworth House, or to the west across the Welsh border can be found Erddig House, Chirk Castle and Powis Castle.