Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, is a historic market town with a medieval street plan, largely unaltered, due to the fact that it is restricted on 3 sides by the large loop of the River Severn. The longest river in the UK at 337km / 210 miles, the River Severn, starts its journey high up on the Welsh Mountain Plynlimon and flows down to the town, forming a meander around its centre, before continuing its journey onwards and down to the Bristol Channel. This walk, along the River Severn, forms part of the much longer and challenging Severn Way Walk.
As an uncontrollable force of nature - the river particularly here in Shrewsbury, has the propensity to flood, with the most recent serious flooding occurring in 2000, causing major social and economic hardship to the town and its inhabitants. Since then, flood alleviation schemes have been installed which have been successful in reducing, but not completely preventing flooding - so for this reason it vital that this geocache is NOT attempted when flood warning alerts are announced for the town or when the river is running at higher than normal levels.
There are 8 bridges within the loop of the Severn, allowing vehicular & pedestrian access into and out of the town. This multi-cache involves collecting answers to 8 questions at each of these bridges, which will then give you the co-ordinates to the final cache hidden at an interesting part of the river, a short distance further downstream. The cache container is a small lock & lock tub with enough room for small TB & geocoins. It contains certificates for the first 3 finders. Please find the final cache from above rather than below i.e.: from the road rather than the path close to the water.
The final cache site is frequently visited by muggles – hence the high difficulty rating - so please be careful when finding & replacing the cache.
This cache will involve a couple of hours walk along the river Severn in Shrewsbury. I have planned the route & questions to avoid climbing any steps up to the bridges or crossing any roads - making it ideal for cycles, pushchairs and wheelchair users. To ensure a flat route has meant however, that a short walk (200 yards) along a pavement next to a busy road is necessary at one stage.
Suggested starting point for this multi cache is parking at the Frankwell Pay & Display car park.
3 hours = £2.30, 12 hours = £3.00, All day Sunday = £2.00. Please observe any flood warning as this car park does become submerged at times of high water levels. However the first bridge is also very close to the bus station & railway station – so those using public transport should have no trouble doing this cache either.
PLEASE NOTE - you will not be able to visit Bridges 3 & 4 on one Friday & Saturday in August, due to the annual Shrewsbury Flower Show (unless you are a paying guest). If you are planning to do this cache mid-August - please check the flower show web site to make sure your dates don't clash.
Please take great care with geo-kids when undertaking this cache due to it being so close to water. There are not many barriers to prevent them falling in the river.
1 - FRANKWELL PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE
Frankwell pedestrian bridge is a modern bridge opened in July 1979, to link the town’s shopping centre with the car park. It is a rather bouncy bridge! The new Council Guildhall offices and the new Theatre Severn are sited here.
QUESTION 1 - Which year has the highest recorded flooding level? February _ _ _ _ (A B C D)
From here turn right and follow the footpath along the river past the Guildhall and the Theatre Severn. You will see the new large sculpture - called The Quantum Leap - on the other side of the river, built in 2009 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin here in Shrewsbury.
2 – THE WELSH BRIDGE
The Welsh Bridge connects Frankwell with the town centre. It is a Grade 11 Listed Building. It was designed and built by John Tilley and John Carline (whose father was a mason on the English Bridge). Four of the arches span 43 feet 4 inches, while the fifth and central arch is 46 feet 2 inches. The bridge is 30 feet wide and is built from Grinshill sandstone. In total it is 266 feet long. It was completed in 1795 at a cost of £8,000.
QUESTION 2 - How many lamp-posts are there on the bridge itself? _ _ (E F)
Continue to follow the river footpath under the arch of the Welsh bridge and you will see the pick-up point for boat cruises along the Severn on the other side of the river. Follow footpath until it veers away from the river and up Water Lane. You will need to walk along the road footpath for about 200 yards until you reach the next bridge just after the Boathouse pub. NOTE NEXT BRIDGE PORTHILL IS CLOSED FOR A FEW MONTHS. SO YOU MAY WANT TO CROSS BACK OVER AT THE WELSH BRIDGE INTO THE QUARRY AFTER FINDING THE NUMBERS HERE. OR TAKE THE BOAT ACROSS THE RIVER AT PORTHILL BRIDGE - IT COSTS 50P EACH WAY.
3 – PORTHILL SUSPENSION BRIDGE
Porthill Bridge, is a suspension footbridge for pedestrians crossing the River Severn. It connects residential Porthill with The Quarry and the town centre. Next to it on the Porthill side is Becks Field, which leads to the boat houses. Becks Field and The Quarry create large areas of greenery in the middle of town. The bridge experiences significant vibration, even when few people are crossing it. A ferry operated here until the bridge was built in 1922 by David Rowell & Co.. The bridge was opened on 18 January 1923 and cost £2,600.
QUESTION 3 - There are 4 information plaques on the bridge – 2 each end. What is the total number of six sided bolts holding these plaques in place? _16 _ (G H)
Cross this bridge and follow the road in the Quarry park. As you walk along here you will see 2 boathouses on the other side of the river. One belonging to Pengwern Boat Club, who hold their annual regatta on this stretch of river every May. The other one belongs to Shrewsbury School - you can see more of their grand buildings up on the river bank.
4 – KINGSLAND TOLL BRIDGE
Kingsland Bridge is a privately owned toll bridge and you still have to pay for the pleasure of driving across it, at a cost of 10p for cars. There is a little toll keepers cottage (still lived in) at the town end of the bridge. It is a Listed Building, Grade II. The bridge was designed by Henry Robertson, who was also M.P. for Shrewsbury, and built by the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company, who also built bridges such as the Victoria Falls Bridge. The bridge spans 212 feet (64.6m), and comprises two metal arch ribs, from which the main bridge deck is hung. It cost £11,156 to build.
QUESTION 4 - There are 2 plaques (1 either side) featuring the 3 loggerheads. How many holes are there in the 2 blue metal uprights that the plaques are attached to? _ _ (I J)
Continue your walk along the road in the Quarry until you reach the next bridge. You will see some lovely houses and apartments renovated from Trouncer's Brewery, on the other side of the river.
5 - GREYFRIARS BRIDGE
This rather unattractive pedestrian bridge connects the residential areas of Coleham and Belle Vue with the town centre. It was built in 1880.
QUESTION 5 - How many pipes run directly underneath this bridge? _ (K)
Continue to follow the path until you reach the next bridge.
6 – THE ENGLISH BRIDGE
The English Bridge is a masonry arch bridge and the present bridge is a 1926 rebuilding and widening of John Gwynn's design, completed in 1774. A bridge is known to have stood at this spot since at least Norman times. It is a Listed Building, Grade II*. The bridge is 50 feet (15 m) wide, more than twice as wide as Gwynn's structure (of 23 and a half feet width). It cost £86,000 and was formally opened on 26 October 1927 by Queen Mary, although it had been completed the previous year. Ward's bridge reused the old masonry, each stone carefully numbered, as well as a quantity of new stonework. This bridge is one of two bridges carrying the main east-west route over the Severn as it loops around Shrewsbury; the other being the Welsh Bridge on the other side of the town. Despite the names, both bridges are in England, but the Welsh Bridge is closer to the main route into Wales.
QUESTION 6 - How many arches does this bridge have? Count carefully! _ (L)
Follow the footpath until you reach the underneath of the noisy and large railway bridge.
7 – SHREWSBURY RAILWAY BRIDGE
Shrewsbury railway station was built in 1848 and is unusual in that some of the platforms lie over the river, so are actually enclosed in this bridge structure.
QUESTION 7 – It’s not on the bridge - but which numbers can you find connected to the GPO? _ _ / _ (M N / O)
Continue walking along the footpath, until you reach the final bridge
8 – CASTLE WALK BRIDGE
Castle Walk Footbridge spans the River Severn and was the first pre-stressed concrete bridge in Shropshire. The footbridge was completed in November 1951, and built using balanced cantilever construction, with two cantilever sections and a central suspended span. The total central span is 150 ft. It was designed by L.G. Mouchel and Partners and built by Taylor Woodrow. It links the Castlefields area of the town to the northwest with the Cherry Orchard / Underdale part of town to the southeast.
QUESTION 8 - How many volts? _ _ , _ _ _ (P Q, R S T)
A _ B _ C _ D _ E _ F _ G _ H _ I _
J _ K _ L _ M _ N _ O _ P _ Q _ R _ S _ T _
You now should have all the numbers to find the final cache - which is at:-
N.
( M + A ) F° C O. L K T
W.
S T O° C M. P M D
Once you have found the final cache, you have various ways to return to your car – some quicker than others! To avoid steps, you can retrace your steps completely along the river or take the steepish walk up St Mary’s Water Lane – signposted Town Centre - (between the Railway Bridge and English Bridge). Once in town turn right and walk down to the Railway station. If steps are not a problem you can climb the steps at the English Bridge and walk through town centre. Or for a quicker route you can follow any of the paths leading to the Railway station from by Castle Bridge & the Railway Bridge and follow your GPS to the Prison & Dana – reference point below. Once at the prison cross the Dana (the painted wooden enclosed bridge) and take the steps down to the railway station. From here follow your GPS back to Frankwell car park.
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