MIDLANDS TELFORD SILKIN WAY
DISTANCE: 7 miles GRADE: Easy START: Telford Cycle Centre at Telford Town Park FINISH: Ironbridge NEAREST RAILWAY STATION: Telford Central TERRAIN, GRADIENTS AND
ACCESS: Tarmac path, fine gravel track, stony trail. Steady descent levels off in final miles with couple of short, steep climbs. Some road crossings and on-road sections. NCN ROUTE NOS: SET off from Telford Town Park for a pleasant descent through woodland. Keep your eyes peeled for butterflies on the edge of Hinkshay Meadow, before passing the old platform of Dawley & Stirchley station.
After three miles, you’ll enter Ironbridge World Heritage Site and pass the gates of Blists Hill Victorian Town, one of ten Ironbridge Gorge Museums. Picnic benches overlooking the Severn beneath the trees at Coalport are a peaceful place to rest.
Join the Severn Valley Way and enter the woodland of the gorge. You’ll be spellbound by views over the valleys in the final three miles before the distinctive spire of St Mary’s Church at Jackfield pops into sight. Finish the ride by crossing the world’s first iron bridge. Then it’s a short downhill pedal to the Museum of the Gorge and the fascinating history of Ironbridge. STAY: YHA Ironbridge Coalport, 0800 0191 700, yha.org.uk EAT AND DRINK: Snacks at Telford Town Park or Blists Hill, The Woodbridge Inn on the river at Coalport, Scarlett’s cafe at Jackfield. Darby’s cafe and The Malthouse in Ironbridge.
CYCLE HIRE: Telford Cycle Centre, Telford Town Park, 0845 434 8451, cyclexperience.com/ telford cycle centre