Ironbridge and Coalbrookdale Sunday Coach walk on 6 September 2026

P LEASE NOTE THAT THE DURATION OF THIS EVENT SHOWN ABOVE IS ONLY APPROXIMATE AND CANNOT BE GUARANTEED; IT WILL DEPEND ON FACTORS SUCH AS THE WEATHER AND THE WALKING PACE OF THE GROUP.

Our Sunday rambles usually have three levels of walk, strenuous (A), moderate (B) or leisurely (C), led by Birmingham Ramblers group leaders. Join us and enjoy a great day of social walking with our friendly members.

Please note: Our walks are often on rough tracks and rights of way through fields, woodland and hills. Walkers should preferably wear walking boots and other clothing suitable for the weather. Unless otherwise described, please bring a packed lunch and refreshments for the day.

This Sunday walk has 3 levels of walk:

• A Walk: Distance around 11 miles. Ascent is around 1200 feet. Picnic lunch.
• B Walk: Distance 8.5 miles. Total ascent 1172ft.
• C Walk: Distance 7.3 miles. Total ascent 805ft.

Walk leaders:

• A Walk: Colin Haysom
• B Walk: Celia Howell-Jones
• C Walk: Andrea Morris

Walk details:

• GENERAL INFORMATION: All 3 walks start at Broseley. This is a community which grew from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and attracted many immigrant workers for mining, iron manufacturing and earthenware products. It’s haphazard growth relating back to squatters seeking employment and building a house in a day with a chimney and heath on a piece of common land which gave them ownership of the property and plot. There are sculptures around the town linked to the iron industry. Bentham Hall is a National Trust property with many occupants over several hundred years. The most notable tenants were brothers George Maw (1832–1912) and his younger brother Arthur Maw (1834–1911). Arthur ran the family business of Maws tiles, using local clay to produce encaustic tiles which were exported all over the British Empire. Nestled in a spectacular wooded gorge stands a monument to British industry – the world’s first iron bridge. Crossing the River Severn, it was completed in 1779 and opened to traffic in 1781. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986 and remains an iconic feature of Britain’s industrial past.
• A Walk: From the coach park in Broseley, we head North through Broseley, descending to The Iron Bridge, cross the bridge, turn left, follow Buildwas Road for about half a mile than turn right into Strethill Road then follow footpaths North to reach Coalbrookdale Road, turn left and follow it to where it meets The Shropshire Way, then follow this SSW into Coalbrookdale then go W along School Road and turn right into Rough Park, descend to Lincoln Hill and then the route goes through both Lodge Field and Beech Field Nature Reserves, which exit onto Orchard Lane, which descends to meet Madeley Road, descend to meet Wesley Lane, pass the Golden Ball Inn, then take the path that goes through Lloyds Coppice, exit this and cross Coalport Road and join the South Telford Way which leads to Coalport, cross Coalport Bridge, then follow the Severn Way to Preens Eddy, then Jackfield, turn left up Calcutts Road then Ironbridge Road, then go through Haycop Nature Reserve, which exits onto Dark Lane, turn left to follow the road into the centre of Broseley, and the pub. The pub is The Duke of York. The coach park is a few minutes’ walk away. Picnic lunch.
• B Walk: The route starts from Broseley library and meanders through this small town, via local landmarks and Plants Jitty to open country. We pass the front of Bentham Hall, (NT) before our coffee break. From this high point with good views the route gently descends to The Iron Bridge via Bentham Edge Wood. Crossing the bridge, pause for the view before turning west through the town of Ironbridge. A world heritage site. Leaving the town on the Madeley Road the route climbs gently to view the gorge and then descends to the river via a series of steps to our picnic lunch stop. We then view the remains of furnaces before continuing back down to the river and our pub stop. The Olde Robin Hood Inn is by the new Jackfield Bridge, a cable stayed bridge built in 1994 to accommodate the B4373. We then climb to Lloyds Coppice and meander parallel to the river. Coming to the Blist Hills Industrial site we join the disused railway cycle route, passing below The Hay Incline plane (1792) which was used to carry goods between the Shropshire and Coalport canals and the River Severn. Crossing back over the river on The Jackfield and Coalport memorial foot bridge (1920), we explore the buildings associated with industries at the start of the Industrial revolution, while walking by the river. After a short tea stop the route climbs up to Broseley via the Haycop conservation site .
• C Walk: Leader, Andrea Morris. Ironbridge Gorge is a designated Unesco World Heritage Site as it is recognised as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. There are numerous information boards along the way which we can view along with many of heritage buildings and structures that the site is renowned for. The route starts from Broseley library and we will follow the town’s sculpture trail, featuring ironworks that were originally located at the now closed Ironbridge Power Station. Leaving the town (public toilet stop) we start the steady descent towards the Ironbridge Gorge via the Haycopp (Rough Coppice) Nature Reserve, originally a coal mining site and since restored by a local naturalist and managed by a local charity. We then cross Ironbridge Road and continue the descent along a narrow path through woodland where the first section is predominantly board walk with shallow steps. Towards the bottom of the path we will pass an industrial area which leads us to Jackfield, located to the west of Ironbridge. We will join the level Severn Way, passing the first of the Ironbridge Gorge UNESCO World Heritage Sites on our walk, the Jackfield Tile Museum, originally the Craven Dunnill Co decorative tile factory, the oldest purpose built tile factory in the world. Opposite we can visit the local church, St Mary the Virgin, built in 1863 and admire the multi-coloured brickwork {donations welcomed at the church as it requires structural repairs). Further on the Severn Way we will stop at the cafe inside the Maws Craft Centre, another former Victorian tile factory, then the largest in the world. (public toilet stop). We will cross the river Severn using the pedestrian Jackfield and Coalport Memorial bridge that is dedicated to those who lost their lives in WW1 in 1922 funded by public subscription. Past the lowest section of the Hay Inclined Plane, a mechanism for lifting canal boats from the river up to Shropshire Canal (now disused) over a distance of 200 feet. Onwards we will see the towering red brick bottle kilns of the Coalport China Museum. Now we leave the river and join the Silkin Way, fairly flat as it was built on the disused railway. Continuing through Lloyds Coppice we will pass Madeley Wood Hall Ice House before descending onto the footpath alongside the river Severn. Passing the Bedlam Furnaces built in 1757, one of the world’s very first custom built coke fuelled blast furnaces Then we reach Ironbridge where we will see the iconic Iron Bridge and other historical buildings and have the opportunity to visit other heritage locations or finish the walk at one of the local cafes or pubs. The coach will pick up C walkers a short distance away on the opposite side of the Iron Bridge.

There are a limited number of total places for the walks, which is set by the capacity of the coach. Whilst we hope that everyone will be able to be accommodated on their walk of choice, the allocation of places for each walk will have to be done on the day. No-one will be expected to walk at a higher grade than they prefer - thus, for example, if you prefer the B walk you will not be asked to join the A walk but may be asked to join the C walk. The booking form allows you to specify your preferred walk.

Joining instructions

It will only be possible to join the walk by coach, which will be picking up at 09.00 at the layby at the side of St. Chad’s Cathedral, Queensway, Birmingham B4 6EU. Note that this is not the Cathedral car park in Shadwell Street, which has postcode B4 6EY.

The coach fare will be £15 with 3 options for payment:

• Cash on the day in an envelope with your name and the date of the walk. We are unable to give change for cash payments
• Cheque on the day, made payable to COBRA, in an envelope with your name and the date of the walk.
• Bank transfer in advance of the walk

For payment by bank transfer the walk coordinator will contact you about a week in advance of the walk with bank details. For payments on the day, please put the exact fare in an envelope with your name and date of the walk on it, which will be collected on the coach - unfortunately we are unable to give change for the coach fare.

Note that you cannot pay the coach fare through our Eventbrite account. Your booking for the walk will still show £0.00 but you do have to pay the £15 coach fare on or before the day of the walk

Bookings for this walk will close at 06.00 on Monday 31 October. If you would like to join this walk after the bookings have closed please email [email protected] to enquire about any late availability for the walk.

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If you have a confirmed ticket:

Shortly after bookings have closed the walk coordinator will contact you by email to confirm that you will still be joining us on this walk; this is needed since there are limited seats on the coach and we like to release any unused places to others who may be on a waiting list. The coordinator will also give you our bank details if you have chosen to pay the coach fare by bank transfer. Please check your email, including Spam and/or Junk folders, shortly after bookings have closed for this walk and reply to let us know whether or not you will be still joining the walk.

If you have a waiting list ticket:

The walk coordinator will contact you by email shortly before the walk date to let you know if we are able to offer you a place. Please check your email, including Spam and/or Junk folders, shortly before the walk date and, if we are able to offer you a place, reply to let us know whether or not you will be joining the walk.

If you find that you are unable to join us after booking a ticket it would be helpful if you let us know by sending an email to [email protected] - this will be passed on to the walk leader and will prevent any delay to the start of the walk should the leader be waiting for you. Please note that some walks have a waiting list so tickets are NOT TRANSFERABLE; if you are unable to join us then please cancel your place to free it up for someone who may be on the waiting list rather than sending someone else in your place.

General Information

This is one of several walks and activities offered by the Birmingham Ramblers. If you have found this page through a web search or other means and would like to find out more about the group then please visit the Birmingham Ramblers web site; new members are always welcome.