Letter: Shrewsbury visit turned out to be a fantastic experience
What a wonderful few days my wife and I spent in Shrewsbury recently, which is a lovely town in every way.
Staying at the Lion Hotel in itself was a real experience, and seeing the room where Dickens wrote Pickwick Papers was a real treat to behold.
Just a pity we had to pay £10 parking fee in the hotel car park where we were supposed to be guests.
I was adopted from Shrewsbury in 1963 and coming back and seeing it properly on my 50th birthday was a real home-coming for me.
My real mother was a nurse at the old hospital, which is now a shopping mall, and probably lived in the nurses home which is now private apartments.
To see those on the Shrewsbury History Walk was very interesting and added to the missing jigsaw pieces of my life.
It did make me laugh meeting the 18-year-old girl who served us, not knowing who Cadfael was. It makes me wonder what they teach youngsters in schools locally these days, but also proves that those who live in a historic town like Shrewsbury are probably the last to know its history.
My only gripe is with the car parks and why it is only a short stay one near Tourist Information, where the maximum amount of time is two hours even though the walks go over two hours in duration. Quite illogical if you ask me.
There is no doubt in my mind that Shrewsbury should be in the top 10 of places to visit in the UK. Keep up the good work Shropshire Tourist Board and all those who work hard in making Shrewsbury a lovely place in every way.
Ian Payne
Walsall
