England has some wonderful old towns. Shrewsbury is one of my favourites. I love to see how naturally the old sits with the new: it makes for a much richer experience. I was struck by the juxtaposition of new and old in my first picture. If you’re fascinated by paint charts and colours, you’ll find it interesting to contrast the acidic yellow of the Mini with the muted, traditional yellow of the building.
According to Wikipedia, Shrewsbury has over 600 listed buildings. Many now house one-off boutiques, specialist shops and eateries, including one of my favourite eating places in the world, The Good Life. Every town and city should have one of these! Their wholesome food is lovingly prepared – I don’t know how we came to visit before we were hungry enough for lunch, but we indulged anyway! It’s open 9 – 4 but don’t do as we did, – arrive hungry! You’ll leave feeling well nourished and just a little smug.
Further down the hill there’s a wonderful, old fashioned fruit and vegetable shop offering more exotic varieties as well as kitchen staples. Feel free to tell me what the fancy cauliflower is if you know – I only got half of the sign and am not sure what it relates to. Shrewsbury has a great pie shop and several very tempting delicatessens, although I failed to find a good source of dried peaches, sadly!
Another of our regular calling places in Shrewsbury is Period House, which is great source of inspiration for home decor. This picture shows part of the back room. Call in here whenever you’re looking for some wonderful, locally made, traditional ironmongery to hang lights and curtains or furnish doors, gates and cupboards.
I loved the cupboard – I’m not sure if it’s hand-painted or stencilled or a mix of the two, but I’ve never seen one quite like it. It’s a good height for a traditional house that has a low ceiling.
My eye was attracted by the many architectural details in this beautiful old town, and this highly decorative pub sign. Great branding, though I’m not sure if the fish are phlegmatic or mean! I must remember to share some of my Zurich Old Town photographs on the same theme before too long.
I hope I’ve tempted you to visit Shrewsbury! If you have a favourite old town, please feel free to let me know in the comments.
Susan Rushton 
I love the architecture.
Thanks!
Ah! Had to follow after seeing my place of birth so nicely presented!
Thanks Curtis – hope it didn’t make you feel homesick!
[J+D] We’re fans of Shrewsbury, too. We’ve lived many places, but Shrewsbury’s the only place we’ve lived in twice! Three Fishes favourite pub.