Dungroamin 2025
The holiday that smells but has no taste
Saturday 7th June
We came down for breakfast with some uncertainty, as when we had been choosing this hotel we had been unable to confirm that there was a cooked breakfast. However our concerns were quickly dissipated when we saw Brian with a decent fry-up including three hashbrowns.
For today's excitment, we decided to use the nearby Meole Brace park and ride to get into Shrewsbury town centre. When we got to where we thought the park and ride was, all we found was a new housing estate. There were no signs to tell us where to go. A bit of studying of Google maps, confirmed that the park and ride was still where it should be, but you had to drive through the new housing estate to get there - not a sign to be seen. Jerry was the last to solve the clues, and so eventually we gathered together to get on the bus. That is apart from Joanie and Brian who had gone to park in the town centre so that they could use Brian's mobility scooter.
Pete loiters on the corner, admiring some of the charming houses in the town. Or that was what he said he was doing!
Some of the houses have a bit of a lean to them.
Jerry had booked us a boat trip - always a much anticipated highlight of a Dungroamin trip. The boat, the Sabrina, took us on a leisurely 45 minute trip up and down the River Severn. Strangely, nothing much went wrong.
Upon disembarking, most of us went to the nearby Armoury for some lunch (now a pub although they still did shots!). Sally, Fiona and Chris went in search of craft shops. Why they would want to buy a boat remains a mystery.
Next stop was Shrewsbury Castle which now serves as the museum of the Shrewsbury Regiment. Judging from the content of the museum, the Regiment spent their time collecting and cataloguing medals.
Our evening meal took us to the Mytton and Mermaid on the banks of the River Severn. The building was previously Atcham House and in 1932 Clough Williams-Ellis leased it and converted it into a licensed hotel and staging post. This was renamed the Mytton and Mermaid based on The Mermaid from the logo of Portmeirion and ‘Mytton’ after the Shropshire eccentric ‘Mad’ Jack Mytton.
John ‘Mad Jack’ Mytton died in 1834. He had lived with a pack of 1,000 dogs and 60 cats and drank six bottles of Port each day. His only interests were hunting and the ‘mermaids of the village’!
The on-line booking system did not allow us to book in for 11 people. So we had booked one table for 6 and one for 5. The fact that these two tables weren't near each other, somewhat confused the staff, who couldn't work out why some guys on one table were paying for some women on another. However we had another successful settlement of the bill.
This sculpture is called Quantum Leap and was created to celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of evolutionist Charles Darwin, who was born in the town in 1809.
Our cruiser awaits us for this year's venture onto the water.
This building, called The Boathouse, is actually a lovely riverside pub - more about this later.
There are several rowing clubs with boat houses along the river.
The statue of Charles Darwin born in Shrewsbury in 1809 is in front of the Library, Castle Gates.
A celebration to VE Day on the approach to the castle.
Shrewsbury Castle, now the home of the Soldiers of Shropshire Museum. So lots of medals then.
Our eating place this evening was the Mytton and Mermaid - a splendid Grade II-listed building on the banks of the River Severn.