Designed by MA Creative www.macreative.co.uk • Illustrated maps © SGCT, by Jeremy Pyke

Darby Road, Coalbrookdale, Telford, TF8 7EPTel: 01952 433880 • Email: staff@severngorge.org.uk

www. severngorge.org.ukREG. CHARITY NO. 1004508

The Lime Trail of

Benthall Edge

Exploring the Ironbridge Gorge

Severn Gorge Countryside Trust welcomes you to explore the network of waymarked paths and trails. You can use this leaflet together with the Ordnance Survey Explorer 242 map.

We have a continuous programme of upgrading the paths and if you encounter any difficulties while walking on our land, then please let us know by phoning the office on 01952 433 880. A number of routes are fully described in a series of high-quality books and leaflets available from the Visitor Information Centre, Museums or the Trust Office, at a small cost, or free to download from these websites www.severngorge.org.ukwww.discovertelford.co.uk

Exploring Ironbridge Gorge

Managing the Living Landscapeof the Ironbridge Gorge

Geology and landscape

Shropshire has perhaps the richest geology of any county in Britain, and the Ironbridge Gorge is no exception. While it is better known as the ‘Birthplace of Industry’, this would not have happened without a quirk of nature that exposed all of the necessary rocks and minerals in one, accessible place.

At the end of the last Ice Age, weaknesses in the limestone provided an escape route for water trapped beneath an ice sheet. Under very high pressure, the water carved out the steep-sided gorge we see today, and in the process, exposed limestone, ironstone, sandstone, coal and clay. This process changed the course of the River Severn forever; previously, it had flowed north, now it flows south to Bristol and is the longest river in the UK.

Limestone

GLACIAL ICELimestone for

iron flux to remove impurities

Timber for fuel and charcoal

LINCOLN HILLBENTHALL EDGE

CLAY including coal and ironstone

GLACIAL MELTWATER under pressure carves out the gorge, exposing minerals, creating the River

Severn used to cool the industrial processes

IRONBRIDGE GORGE

Severn Gorge Countryside Trust

The Trust manages most of the historic landscape within the Ironbridge Gorge Word Heritage Site including 52 sites, 60 historic structures, 230 hectares of woodland, 25 hectares of wild flower meadow, 26 kms of paths, 8 kms of bridleways, 260 hectares (700 acres) in all on a 999 year lease. The landholding includes a number of important sites for national nature conservation and internationally important species of wildlife. The Trust has a small team of professional staff who work with around 20 self-employed contractors carrying out a range of tasks from engineering to tree surgery, footpath maintenance and hay making. We also employ specialist ecological consultants. The Trust is guided by a Board of 12 Trustees.

Want to get involved?

Severn Gorge Countryside Trust volunteering project involves local people who help the Trust by carrying out a wide variety of countryside work from hedgelaying to boardwalk building under the guidance of Trust staff. Contact us for a programme or download it from our website: www.severngorge.org.uk

Exploring Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage SiteSevern Gorge Countryside Trust (SGCT) aims to promote, protect, and conserve the living landscape of the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.

If you want to get some fresh air, see amazing views, get fit or stay fit then much of the land in the Gorge is on steep slopes but well served by steps, with boardwalks and tracks on the flatter tops of the valleys. All of our landholdings are open to the public to freely explore and enjoy, and a network of waymarked paths and trails have been established through the woods and meadows of Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale, Jackfield, Coalport, Madeley, Barrow Parish and Broseley.

You are welcome to explore the historic landscape of the Severn Gorge along the network of paths and trails that thread their way through the Trust’s landholdings. While many of these follow public footpaths and bridleways, many are new paths that have been established and waymarked by SGCT.

World Heritage Site

The Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site was one of the first UK sites inscribed onto the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1986. The site covers 550 hectares of beautiful countryside following the River Severn, the UK’s longest river, and most of the landscape is managed by Severn Gorge Countryside Trust, an independent Charity established in 1991. There are also ten wonderful Museums to visit managed by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, who also manage many historic structures and other smaller sites. Telford & Wrekin Council manages much of the rest of the land. SGCT sits on the World Heritage Site Steering Group which manages the processes of the World Heritage Site as a partnership of key organisations.

Why not try the Iron Trail, Lime Trail, Sabbath Walks Trail, or walk to Blists Hill Victorian Town on a safe route through beautiful woodland. Or walk from the Upper Furnace Pool by the Museum of Iron on Darby Road following the Lydebrook stream up through Loamhole Dingle and back via the historic Ropewalk and wildflower meadow. All of the Trails are shown on this map and individual free leaflets are available from the main Iron Bridge Station Yard Car Park, the Tourist Information Centre or online via our website.

M54 Junc. 4(Via A442)

MADELEYROUNDABOUT

WOODSIDEROUNDABOUT

CASTLEFIELDSROUNDABOUT

JIGGERSROUNDABOUT

LEES FARMROUNDABOUT

Power Station

Rowing Club

Valley Hotel

gnn

l

LERO

EESOU

g

EEO

Golf ClubSilkin Way

Blists HillVictorian Town Museum

CoalportChina Museum

Tar TunnelHay Inclined Plane

Jack�eldTile Museum

Bedlam FurnacesIron Bridge

Iro

nbrid

ge W

ay

Dale House

Captain'sCoppice

DaleCoppice

RoughPark

CastleGreen

OilhouseCoppice

LoamholeDingle

Lloyds Coppice

Sutton Wood

COALBROOKDALE

JACKFIELD

BLISTS HILL

MADELEY

IRONBRIDGE

COALPORT

SUTTONHILL

HALESFIELD

TWEEDALE

BROOKSIDEAQUEDUCT

WOODSIDE

R I V E R S E V E R N

R I V E R S E V E R N

R I V E R S E V E R N THE WHARFAGE

LADY WO OD

WATERLOO STREE T

MAD

ELEY

ROAD HILL

P A R K W A Y

WOODSIDE AVENUE

Jack�eld Bridge

COA

LPO

RT R

OA

D

BEECH ROAD

LINCOLN HILL

HODGEBOWER

CHURCH RO

AD

DALE ROAD

PARADISE

STATI

ON ROAD WOODSIDE

CHERRY TREE HILL

Q U E E N S W A Y A4169

Q U E E N S WAY A442

BR

OC

KT

ON

WA

Y A

442

I R O N B R I D G E B Y - P A S S A4169

Rotunda

Benthall Edge

LincolnHill

Severn Valley Way

Memorial Bridge(FOOTBRIDGE)

Haywood

COALPORT HIGH STREET

LEGGES WAY

Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron

Enginuity

Ironworks

Museum of The Gorge

The Tollhouse

Maws Craft Centre

Police

MADELEYCENTRE

St Michael'sChurch

Madeley CourtHotel

Rosehill House

BUILDWAS ROAD B4380

Dale End

Green WoodCentre

Park & Ride

To M54 Juction 6(Shrewsbury & Wellington)

To M54 Juction 4(Birmingham &

Telford Town Centre)

To M54 Juction 6(Shrewsbury & Wellington)

To M54 Juction 4(Birmingham &

Telford Town Centre)

To Bridgnorth& KidderminsterTo Bridgnorth& Kidderminster

To Shifnal

To Broseley

To Much Wenlock& Shrewsbury

To Broseley

To Much Wenlock& Shrewsbury

Viewpoint

Picnic Area

Rights of way

Woodlands

World HeritageSite boundary

Car park

Museum

Visitor Information Centre

Bus stop

Public toilets0

0 0.5 1Kilometre

¼ ½ Mile

8 minutes walk/0.5 kilometre

15 minutes walk/1 kilometre

Distance fromkey car parks

Iron BridgeCar Park

Planning your visit – How long it takes to walk from key car parks to museums and communities

This is a landscape rich in wildlife and history, being one of the key seats of the industrial revolution. It is now a beautiful valley of woodlands and wildflower meadows either side of the River Severn, the UK’s longest river, which flows from the Welsh hills to Bristol.

All of the land shown on the maps managed by Severn Gorge Countryside Trust is open access, free to walk where you like on a series of trails, rights of way and permissive paths. There is also a network of bridleways for horse-riding or cycling. You can use the Trails to learn more about why the landscape was key to the iron and ceramics production due to its wealth of ironstone, lime, coal, clay and timber or just relax and enjoy the birdsong.

You can use the paths to visit the ten wonderful museums (managed by a separate charity Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust) on foot as an alternative to the car. Also use the paths to explore the 4 communities of Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale, Coalport and Jackfield for their shops, cafes and local architecture.

Exploring Ironbridge Gorgelocation of walking trails, landscape features, museums and settlements

JACKFIELD JACKFIELD is a fascinating area made up of a series of very ancient neighbourhoods with wonderful names like The Tuckies, Salthouses and The Werps, reflecting its long working past from fishing, pottery, iron making and clay industries of brick, roof tiling and decorative tiles.

COALBROOKDALE COALBROOKDALE which lies in a beautiful wooded valley is where Abraham Darby I revolutionised the smelting of iron using coke from coal in 1709, which means the area can claim to being one key seat of the industrial revolution which changed the world.

COALPORT COALPORT was very much the inspiration of the ironmaster William Reynolds. The key to its success, as the seat of the china industry, lay in the canal/river interchange which he instigated in the late 18C. In 1792 an astonishing engineering construction was developed called the Hay Incline Plane, still considered one of Britain’s foremost industrial monuments.

IRONBRIDGE IRONBRIDGE alongside the River Severn lies at the heart of the World Heritage Site which is the Ironbridge Gorge, where the famous bridge was constructed in 1779 by Abraham Darby III. It enjoys a range of facilities including shops, pubs and cafes.

Ironbridge toBlists Hill Trail

Iron Bridge

Free BridgeFree Bridge

Bedlam Furnaces

Coalport Bridge

Blists HillVictorian Town

Blists HillVictorian Town

HayInclined Plane

Coalport Community

OrchardHay

Inclined Plane

Coalport Community

OrchardTar Tunnel

Maws Craft Centre

Coalport China Museum

Jackfield Tile Museum

Memorial Bridge(FOOTBRIDGE)

Iron Bridge

Bedlam Furnaces

Tar Tunnel

Maws Craft Centre

Jackfield Tile Museum

Memorial Bridge(FOOTBRIDGE)

Coalport China Museum

SILKIN WAY

SEVERN VALLEY WAY

SEVERN VALLEY WAY

The Toll HouseThe Toll House

To Broseley

To Madeley

THE LLOYDS

COALPORT HIGH ST

LADYWOOD

MADELEY ROAD HILL

COALPORT ROAD

COALPORT

JACKFIELD

IRONBRIDGE

LLOYDSCOPPICE

BENTHALL EDGE WOOD

Haywood& Pastures

Ladywood

The Crostan

View looking east Jackfield and Coalport

The Iron TrailThe Sabbath Walks TrailCombined routesLoamhole Dingle TrailThe Lime Trail of Benthall EdgeIronbridge to Blists Hill TrailLong Distance PathsOther Paths

Walks start points

Car Parking

Bus Stop

Toilets

Museum

Visitor Information CentreViewpointPicnic Area

Ironbridge toBlists Hill Trail

COALPORT

Blists HillVictorian Town

CoalportBridge

Hay InclinedPlane

Tar Tunnel

Maws Craft Centre

Jackfield Tile Museum

MemorialFootbridgeMemorial

Footbridge

CoalportChina Museum

Blists HillVictorian Town

CoalportBridge

Hay InclinedPlane

Tar Tunnel

Maws Craft Centre

Jackfield Tile Museum

CoalportChina Museum

SILKIN WAY

SEVERN VALLEY WAY

SEVERN VALLEY WAY

To Ironbridge

To MadeleyTHE LLOYDS

COALPORT HIGH ST

LLOYDSCOPPICE

Preenshead

Haywood& Pastures

SuttonWood

View looking east Coalport and Sutton Wood

Loamhole Dingle Trail

The IronTrail

The IronTrail

The SabbathWalks Trail

SHROPSHIRE WAY

SHROPSHIRE WAY

The Lime Trailof Benthall Edge

SEVERN VALLEY WAY

BENTHALLEDGE WOODS

LOAMHOLEDINGLE

DALECOPPICE

LINCOLNHILL

Vane Coppice

Ropewalk

OilhouseCoppice

Iron Bridge

Museum of the Gorge

Enginuity

Museum of Iron

The Rotunda

Green WoodCentreGreen WoodCentre

Arbor SeatArbor Seat

Rowing Club

Iron BridgeThe Toll HouseThe Toll House

Museum of the Gorge

Enginuity

Church RoadFields

Church RoadFields

Museum of Iron Darby’s FurnaceDarby’s Furnace

WoodsideCommunity OrchardWoodsideCommunity Orchard

The Rotunda

Bower YardLime Kiln

Bower YardLime Kiln

Rowing Club

Rosehill HouseDale House

Rosehill House

SGCT OfficeSGCT Office

Dale House

Aga FactoryAga Factory

JiggersRoundabout

To M54 (E)

To M54 (W)A5223

A4169

A4169

Rough Park

IRONBRIDGE

COALBROOKDALE

DALE ROAD

JIGGERS BANK

CHERRY TREE HILL

THE WHARFAGE

View looking north Coalbrookdale and Jiggers Bank

Main leaflet dispensers Iron Bridge Car Park