Blists Hill Victorian Town - Shropshire England

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(Edited)

Hidden Away in Telford, Shropshire

In the middle of nowhere sits a small town, or more aptly put, an outdoor Victorian museum called Blists Hill. I feel quite confident in saying that if you were not specifically looking for this place, you'd be unlikely to come across it.

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The entire town is dressed in period clothing as if they are living in Victorian times. To complete the effect, everyone is in character and act as if all is normal - but don't notice that us outsiders are dressed in modern clothing and carrying around electronic newfangled devices.

As I assume is normal in those days, we just walked up a carriage, and these two girls gave us a ride for free. Because, you know, in the 1800s everyone just picked up strangers and hauled them around town. We were here with some friends and their kids, so they got quite a kick out of the whole thing.

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Frozen in time!

They even have an old timey schoolhouse set up if everyone had just gone out to recess. I think that in a lot of ways it would have been nice to have lived in much simpler times. Of course there were a lot more incurable diseases back then! But I try to look at the more positive side of things.

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It's fascinating when you think about how much things have changed over such a relatively short period. A lot of the equipment and structures that must have been a common sight back in those days are either no longer needed or streamlined to such a degree that they meld into the background of society.

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My favorite part of the visit was being entertained by all of the actors doing their thing around town. There were several groups of people and individuals performing plays and monologues for visitors to enjoy. Another thing, I assume was commonplace in the 1800s. People randomly doing monologues in the street. Oh, wait.. That still happens here in Los Angeles, but they are generally mentally ill.

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Live Shakespeare Even...

I got a really good laugh out of the above two guys. They were definitely earning their wages! The man lower down is portraying Romeo, while the man on the stairs with the blonde wig is Juliet.

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They were an absolute riot. I think we stood there watching them do their thing for over an hour. We left and passed by a bit later and they were still at it! I guess you have to really love what you do. I imagine the laughs from the crowds keeps their energy going.

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In the above picture you can see the coal mine and Shropshire Canal.

There's not a lot of excitement happening at the Blists Hill Victorian Town, but it is a nice casual relaxing day out where you can learn a bit about history and enjoy nature. Personally, I think I would have liked it a lot as a kid, but the kids we brought with us got bored pretty quickly. I got the feeling they were desperate to get home to the Playstation.

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There is even a blacksmith on duty. I don't really remember if he was actually making things, or simply putting on a show. I know he was hammering away like he meant business. I like to imagine he was actually fixing something, but who knows!

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Like most of England, there are lots of really old buildings around to check out. I am not an expert at old architecture so I don't really know if these differ somehow from other protected buildings around the country. That's the think about the UK - people are pretty used to seeing ancient stuff.

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If you are ever in Shropshire and are interested in checking it out, by all means do so. Just a warning, though. If you get car sick, you should know that the roads to this place are very windy! Amanda was about to hurl the entire trip, and I was having a rough time myself.

If that doesn't bother you, than you'll be just fine. But make sure you GPS it because otherwise forget about it!

Location: Legges Way, Madeley, Telford TF7 5UD, United Kingdom



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14 comments
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Shropshire has a lot of history particularly during industrialisation, but I never knew about this, great find. The best way to share and GPS this is to add it to the SteemitWorldMap 😀

I'm part of the @SteemitWorldmap curation team and it would be great to see your post on the map. You can find out more about it on http://steemitworldmap.com. Just click on the 'code' at the bottom of the map and follow the instructions or check out the FAQ to get your post on the map. Hope to see you soon and that you will follow us @steemitworldmap for our daily #TravelDigest!!!

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(Edited)

Yes, Shropshire is a gorgeous part of the country with a lot of history. I have visited some other hidden gems there that I'd like to post about as well.

So I have heard about @SteemitWorldmap before but I don't think I ever used it. I went ahead and copied the code and pasted it at the end of my post. I hope I did it correctly!

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All done ! It's a great way to build up your collection of travels on all in one glance map!

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Excellent! I will be sure to use it in my future travel posts.

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Excellent! I will
Be sure to use it in my
Future travel posts.

                 - nuthman


I'm a bot. I detect haiku.

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It is an amazing place and to see how people live in the old times is fascinating although it is harder than now I bet. @nuthman
That horse's feet looks so strong indeed.

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