- New Bus Station -
Friday 16th March and the day begins with something of a surprise - Telford has a new bus station that I didn't know about! In fairness, it has pretty much the same site (Coach Central) and layout as the old one so it isn't a huge change, even if continuing construction works mean there currently isn't direct access into the shopping centre. I grab a quick couple of photos and then board the 4 for a ride to Woodside, trundling down Stirchley Avenue past the Boscobel Tavern and then thrashing along a stretch of the Queensway.
- Park Lane Centre -
Alighting on Woodside Avenue, I can set to work capturing the Woodside estate on camera. The Elizabethan pub is familiar from a D9 visit a couple of years ago but otherwise there is much to discover. The local amenities are clustered around the Park Lane Centre with its conferencing facilities, rooms for hire, pharmacy and community cafe. A doctor's surgery is next door and there are shops close at hand in a new(ish) precinct built on the site of what was the Dolphin pub.
- The Beacon boarded up -
Weaving through wider Woodside has me happening across a Costcutter store on Warrensway, a rather unnerving thoroughfare among garages and back yards. Wyvern releases me towards Roberts Road which in turn leads me to the Beacon, a rather sad looking pub atop the hill overlooking Ironbridge. This would have been a handsome building back in the day but the presence of security hoardings doesn't bode well for its ongoing survival.
- Anstice Memorial -
Ironbridge Road and Park Street form my Madeley approaches, passing in turn the cricket club, the Red Lion and the old Bethesda Methodist Chapel. Madeley itself has seen a few changes in recent years, most notably the appearance of a Tesco supermarket, but I'm pleased to report that the Anstice Memorial retains its place at the heart of town - for now. Construction of the hall commenced in 1868 to create a Workmens Club and Institute but 150 years later there is considerable uncertainty as further funding is needed in order to secure the future of the building.
- Sutton Hill Street Art -
A peek at Prince Street reveals the Miners Arms as accompanied by a pit pony sculpture crafted out of scrap metal, reflecting Madeley's heritage as a mining community. Tweedale has me briefly on the trail of a lost canal when I follow a muddy track through to an industrial estate, then from Cuckoo Oak roundabout I can seek out Sutton Hill. Like Woodside earlier, this is an estate that has undergone a fair bit of regeneration hence the celebratory street art adorning the 'Hub on the Hill'.
- Blists Hill Brickworks -
Other Sutton Hill features include a local church, a little shopping unit (Premier store and Oceans fish bar) and the Sir Alexander Fleming Primary School - considering my younger recollections of the estate were less than flattering I am impressed by the changes. Sutton Hill also means I'm handy for a Blists Hill revisit so I sign in with my annual passport and make a beeline for the old brickworks, once part of the Madeley Wood Company's extensive industrial holdings.
- Blists Hill Street Scene -
A pint in the New Inn is a must at Blists Hill, today's tipple being some frothy Banks's Bitter. I'm then keen to see more of the Lower Town exhibits today having missed some of these last September, such as the bright red tin tabernacle that is St Chad's Mission Church, or the Forest Glen Refreshment Pavilion that used to greet visitors to The Wrekin. The Sidaway Mercantile building is home to 'Spry', said to be the last surviving Severn Trow boat which originally plied its trade transporting river cargo in the Bristol Channel.
- Madeley Market Station -
Stocking up on traditional scratchings and sweeties (toffee bonbons) as you do, I complete my Blists Hill haul on this occasion with the Saw Mill, the Stirchley Board School - no need for the cane thank goodness - and the cycle showroom; I will no doubt be back again before too long. I still have time for a Silkin Way stroll though, reacquainting myself with the former Madeley Market railway station (the passenger service here ceased in 1952). My very final stop is the Britannia Inn at Aqueduct, sampling a swift Banks's Mild while the regulars get excited about the Cheltenham Festival horse racing. Home to Wolverhampton thence I go but Telford certainly came up trumps for another top trip!
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