"Summer 22 Holidays"
The following slides were taken during our stay at the Stanmore Caravan Club campsite near Bridgenorth in Herefordshire where we met up with our good friends John and Tony. We were only there for a few days and visited the Severn Valley Heritage Railway from Bridgenorth to Kidderminster, where a range of Classic cars were on display in the station, as well as the RAF Museum at Cosford and Wenlock Priory at Much Wenlock.
The steam railway is a heritage line that runs along the Severn Valley from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route, and crossing the river on the historic Victoria Bridge. The Victoria Bridge is a 200ft cast iron single arch spanning the River Severn and whilst this is one of the most iconic features of the heritage line, unfortunately you don't get a good view of it from inside the train, in fact I hadn't even realised that we had crossed it; (I included a picture taken from the web to show a train crossing the bridge just for my own personal interest). We were pleased to arrive at Kidderminster to find that the station was home for the day to a fine collection of classic cars being shown as part of their annual classic car day.
The following day we visited the picturesque town of Much Wenlock which is one of the oldest in the country. Holy Trinity Church dates back to Norman times, 12 century, and has around 90 buildings listed by English Heritage. Much Wenlock is famous for holding its own Olympic Games in June every year, an event founded by Dr William Penny Brookes in 1850. Brookes was visited in 1890 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin who came to see the Games and it is believed that the two discussed similar ambitions for an International Olympic Games. In 1896, Coubertin organised the first International Olympic Games in April 1896 in Athens, Greece, 4 months after Brooke's death. The Wenlock Olympian Games are still held today and take place annually in July although I don't think we're likely to witness any penny farthing races shown in the museum.
On our travels we saw the sign for the RAF Cosford and fortunately decided to have a look and well worth while it was as well. There is an amazing collection of planes from both wars as well as more recent planes from the Cold War period. In addition to the planes there are also some old cars and tanks from the same period. Apart from a £5 parking charge there is no other entry fee; well worth the afternoon we spent there.
As with all Caravan Club sites the facilities were excellent and they had a male Peacock on the lake in the middle of the site which took pride in displaying its feathers. Whilst there we celebrated the Queen's Jubilee with afternoon tea and cakes and we were very lucky to have our own chef in Tony who cooked some great meals and full English breakfasts.
