May 22, 2003

May 22, 2003

Finished with our brief taste of Wales, we head north to explore some of the industrial north of England on the way to the old city of York. At home I just completed a fly-fishing class, so I brought my fly rod with us hoping for some practice. Unfortunately I discovered that there are few public streams in England and you have to “rent” your section of the stream to fish. All too difficult for the spontaneous tourist that I am. So I was delighted on the drive north when I spotted a sign for trout fishing in Monmouth called the Big Well Fishery. I had to try but was disappointed when I found myself casting into a very small pond artificially stocked with trout.

After a couple hours of mostly untangling my fly line, we continue driving north through the English countryside. Although we are not going far, it is amazing how long it takes to get anywhere. It would have been much faster to drive out of the way to connect with the handful of highways that cross England.

We eventually make our way to Ironbridge, just northwest of Birmingham. I thought this would be a quick stop to see some famous bridge and then we would be on to York. It turns out there is a ton of history here. There is indeed a famous bridge across the Severn River gorge, the first made of cast iron.  The bridge is more than that though; it is the symbol of this area as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Being an engineer we have to stick around. 

We start our tour of this World Heritage area at Blists Hill Victorian Town. This open-air museum is a recreated Victorian-era industrial town complete with costumed actors. It is built on the grounds of an old iron blast furnace. The British Empire, driven by the Industrial Revolution was at its zenith during the Victorian Age. The town is very cute.  

We eat dinner at the Malthouse Pub and spend the night at the Bridgeview B&B overlooking the gorge.