A Field of Dreams in Ironbridge
Baseball in the sunshine beside the River Severn?
Baseball in the sunshine beside the River Severn?
There’s an old English expression that perhaps translates wherever in the world you read this article, and that is to “clap your eyes on” something, or anything, perhaps even for the first time, and the first time I clapped eyes on this 243 year old bridge I affectionately call “The Grand Old Lady”, it was love at first sight. It was in the earliest of an English Spring in the year of 1999 and I was moving to the area after a much sought after work promotion necessitated my moving to central England. With only 36–48 hours in which to buy a property locally before the life changing move north from the very tip of the south coast I panicked, and with time running against me I placed a deposit on a house that would become a family home for over 12 years. For that I’ll be eternally grateful.
But the following day I was tempted by the ladies selling the house to take a look at a place called Ironbridge or Ironbridge Gorge, and a World Heritage Site to boot! I don’t recall regretting not moving to Ironbridge at the time but with advancing age should come wisdom, and I should, with the gift of hindsight, have purchased somewhere in Ironbridge. I was young and perhaps foolish, now I’m just foolish, and a fool for love and especially that which comes in a lightning bolt of a beautiful first sight.
Quixotically, I lived in this beautiful toytown for nearly 4 years in the past decade but it was, for long periods, the worst of times and at the end of a long held dream who’s bubble had burst. Rather than the melancholic, and returning to the lightning bolts, I thought I saw, shared, experienced and made a veritable mixed bag of memories in the time I lived in this enchanting toytown. My flat overlooked the river with the gorge itself deep beneath me, and the “valley” afforded incredible views of the oft Summer storms that would see lightning ironically killing the power to the entire flat. You could see the rain of a good storm “sheeting” down the length of the gorge and, from the kitchen and bedroom windows, you could marvel at the boaters, paddle boarders or canoeists as they meandered along the River Severn. I called Ironbridge my favourite ever back garden as, without one, I simply made myself at home on “Stephen’s Bench” (I refuse to apologise for the narcissism!) and just drank in the spectacle of that Grand Old Lady who never failed to draw a crowd. I became an unofficial spokesman and tour guide and loved every minute of interacting with so many people from every possible place on our beautiful earth.
Every November 5th my son and I would grab a bag of piping hot chips from the local chip shop and at the stroke of 7pm, be in position in the middle of the bridge for the firework display from the nearby period Victorian town of “Blists Hill”. Numerous Christmases and Birthdays have been spent in the village of Ironbridge that I describe as having an aura and atmosphere all of it’s own and a time capsule that refuses to enter the 20th Century. I narrowly avoided a fight for wearing the incorrect style of football shirt (three times actually), I broke hearts, I was heartbroken, I was the garrulous “man about town” on “my” bench with a book, a drink and a smile for the tourists I couldn’t help but try to entertain and have a giggle with. I learned to play chess outside the Tontine Hotel in the summer sunshine. I walked the entire length of the river wharfage and the circular walk that takes you to the nearby historic sites of Coalbrookdale and Coalport far too many times to even begin to calculate the mileage. I worked ad-hoc in numerous shops, attended the annual World Heritage Festival and World War II weekends every year, I made some firm friends, I made an enemy or three, and I thought I’d pretty much seen everything that this tiny toytown village has to offer, and then I stumbled upon a game of baseball!
In Ironbridge!
So this edition of my travel articles generated a life of its own as I’d planned to capture a glorious day of tourists flocking to see the Grand Old Lady in the very best of some beautiful sunshine, and I got brilliantly side tracked by a game of baseball.
Thus another reason for loving this place so much has now been firmly etched into my memory.
I sincerely hope you enjoy the following amble beside the River Severn, and a walk in the sunshine I’ll only add minimal colour commentary to of an image by image representation of a couple of hours of “making memories” that I’ll treasure for a long time to come.
*All images captured by me on Sunday 7th August 2022*
Thanks for reading. Please see my archived articles for a host of recent trips to historical ruins, castles, abbeys and monasteries as well as articles such as this one and the soothing strolls beside the rivers and canal waterways of central England.
Alternatively, my three most recently published articles within my travel series are linked below:
Shrewsbury in the sunshine
Whistle stop tour of the famed Shropshire market townmedium.com
The 16 Locks of Stourbridge
Another sunshine filled walk along a canal in central Englandmedium.com
Coalport and Jackfield
A sunshine filled heatwave special!medium.com