Oswestry in Shropshire is a small market town which is nestled on the border between Wales and England. It is surrounded by lush green countryside, has a good amount of history and is a brilliant base for walkers or for if you are looking for a couple of quiet days away. It is so close to the Welsh border that you will find that every sign in the local Morrisons is in both Welsh and English.

We decided to stay in Oswestry more by chance than anything else. We wanted a long weekend somewhere hilly. I wanted a cheap break, and I had accumulated a large number of Guest Points on homeexchange which I was keen to use. So I literally searched for houses in the English Countryside and we matched with a host in Oswestry.

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Is Oswestry worth visiting?

In a word, yes. It is not a party town (though some of the pubs looked like a real laugh). If you are looking for a quiet weekend away and some fresh air it is perfect.

Why is Oswestry worth visiting?

Oswestry itself is pretty, gives access to many places, and has great walking routes. It is also cheap – some pubs do the “triple lock” – 3 pints which they offer for £1.95. This in itself blew my mind.

Oswestry has some nice places to eat, some good history and some good walks. It’s also a great place to use as a base. Oswestry is a more accessible town in Shropshire. It is well connected by fast roads and gives you a gateway to Northern Wales as well as towns such as Chester.

How do you get to Oswestry?

Oswestry is best accessed by car. Like many towns in the west of England, the public transport is sub-par at best. The closest train station to Oswestry is Gobowen (no I have no idea where that is either). It’s easiest (apparently) to get a taxi from Gobowen. We didn’t see a bus or bus stop, which having lived in Herefordshire (the next county over) did not surprise me. It’s a part of the country notoriously under-served by public transport.

What did we do in Oswestry?

As per usual, we managed to hugely misjudge the opening times of things we wanted to do. A hefty set of traffic on the way there (5 car pile-up on the M25 and engines off for one hour) meant we missed the Shropshire Sculpture Park and Attingham Park. The only silver lining was that sculptures from the park are scattered across the town. This meant we managed to get an essence of the park, even though we could not visit it.

This brings me to the thing you need to know about Oswestry.

Things close Monday (yes, even on a Bank Holiday which makes no sense to me). And often on Tuesday too. It’s sad as I am not sure I would go back in a hurry but there is a lot I didn’t manage to do.

Visited the castle mound and learned about the role Oswestry played in the English Civil War

Like so many old English towns, the Civil War left a mark. Oswestry was initially a Royalist stronghold but it was seized by Parliament by 1644.

Had breakfast in a WW2 themed cafe

From the outside I assumed they just really enjoyed VE Day at 80. But no, the whole cafe had taken on the theme of the early 1940s… from the newspaper cuttings on the walls to the china and even the menus. The Old Coffee Pot and Tea Rooms really did embrace this vintage era.

My only regret in the Old Coffee Pot was not taking a massive slab of cake home with me.

Walked part of Oswald’s Trail

Not to be confused with St Oswald’s Way (that’s in Northumberland), Oswald’s Trail is a 13 mile circular walk through the Shropshire Hills. Usually this would have been a day I would relish, but sadly I was just recovering from surgery when we went. I did manage to slowly walk around the 5km loop which takes you from Oswestry to Morda and back again. From this taster I can tell you it’s worth visiting Oswestry to walk this alone.

Enjoyed the Iron Sculptures scatted through Oswestry

After missing the sculpture park I was worried I had missed out on this art for the whole weekend. Thankfully, the good people of (I assume) Oswestry Council, if you miss opening time you can still get a taste of the park through the Urban Safari Trail. We found this as we walked through Cae Glas Park and round the town. Now, there are not the real eye-catching sculptures in the park of course. Those are reserved for people who can plan a trip and therefore pay. But we did find 2 gems so there was a silver lining.

Caught a glimpse of St Oswald’s Church

St Oswald’s Church is a large medieval building in the centre of Oswestry. The church is almost 1000 years old and still has magnificent stained glass windows as well as a beautiful interior. Well from what I could see, there was a church service on when I went to the church, so it didn’t feel appropriate to go in and take photos.

Had lunch at the Cross Keys in Kinnerley

The Cross Keys in Kinnerley was a fabulous spot for Sunday Lunch. Tucked in a tiny village, opposite the local church, the Cross Keys was simply a delight.Let’s start with the service.

It was slow, but not too slow – you had time to enjoy your food without being hassled, but the team were always attentive.

Then there was the cartoons in the ladies toilet. Simply one of the best collections of political cartoons I have seen in a long time.

But really, it was all about the food. I mean look at this roast chicken and miso caramel slice..

But not only was the food exceptional, there was a list on the wall of all the suppliers which Cross Keys uses. The Beef was from neighbouring Herefordshire, the eggs from Shropshire… the only thing with any real food miles was fish, which makes sense as Shropshire is landlocked.

Our stops beyond Oswestry

Because a lot was closed in Oswestry, we decided to nip to Church Stretton which is a family town for Anna, so it’s always important to her we stop there if we can. Church Stretton is about 40 minutes drive south of Oswestry (but still in Shropshire, fear not). Church Stretton is shameless in it’s work to appeal to walkers. It knows it is a small market town, and has no plans for expansion. Yet it is also keen to capitalise on potential tourism.

Foraging for antiques in Church Stretton

The walking routes in Church Stretton are plentiful, but the real gem in the Town is the Antiques Market.* The Antiques Market is four (possibly five, I did lose count) floors which are stuffed full of what could only be described as tat.

But it’s the best kind of tat – historically themed Toby Jugs, pen portraits of Queen Victoria, Snowman memorabilia…

And this ceramic bust of Charles and Diana. I am not sure I will ever be able to unsee this and I will absolutely never forget it.

Exploring Carding Mill Valley

Carding Mill Valley is simply stunning. It’s a second place in Shropshire that I wish I had been able to walk further to enjoy more. The wonderful thing about Carding Mill Valley is that even if you cannot walk far, there is still natural beauty to behold.

Carding Mill Valley is looked after by the National Trust, which means it has a well-attended car park, a clean toilet and a good cafe. It has a reservoir just over a kilometer from the car park, which we pottered over to, past…. ACTUAL WILD HORSES…

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