Phil Gillam: Full steam ahead for walkers

But of course many of its suburbs are very attractive too.

And really we are, I suppose, doubly blessed thanks to the many lovely walks to be enjoyed in the little pockets of countryside to be found in and around these suburbs.

One such place is the Reabrook Valley local nature reserve just to the south of the town. Here a whole host of interesting and very pleasant walks are on offer and are well known to residents of Belle Vue, Hereford Road, Sutton Park, Reabrook, Springfield and Sutton Farm.

Also running through this area is the pathway and cycle track which was once the Severn Valley Railway line linking Shrewsbury to Bridgnorth.

Dog walkers and cyclists in particular seem to love this route.

The line to Bridgnorth used to separate from the Hereford line at Sutton Bridge signal box (at the top of Betton Street) and veer off down what today is Pemberton Way. It then continued on along the modern-day walkway and cycle path (at the back of the Whitecroft Road shops), running under a bridge (no longer there) at Sutton Road, and carrying on southwards with Springfield to its left and today's Sutton Farm estate (1960s) to its right.

Now, in many ways, wouldn't it have been fantastic if the railway line had survived all the way from Shrewsbury to Bridgnorth?

It would have meant the preserved steam locomotives of the Severn Valley Railway would have been able to haul trains right the way into Shrewsbury, connecting two gorgeous and historic Shropshire towns and doing wonders for our tourism trade!

But, alas, you can't turn back the clock, as they say.

And what we now have is a really lovely, peaceful walkway.

Still, it got me thinking about what it must have been like during the golden age of steam.

And it also got me thinking about the route from the county town to Bridgnorth.

A little bit of research revealed that four and half miles outside Shrewsbury there was a station at Berrington (now a private house), another station at Cressage (again, now a private house), and 12 miles outside Shrewsbury another station at Buildwas (demolished).

Ironbridge station was next up, almost 14 miles out of Shrewsbury. This one also had a fateful day with the bulldozers and the site is now a car park.

Then came Coalport (now a private house), Linley (private house), and finally Bridgnorth (22 miles out and today home to the Severn Valley Railway). The other side of Bridgnorth we have Eardington, Hampton Loade, Highley, Arley, and Bewdley, happily all part of the wonderful SVR.

But it does make you wonder, doesn't it?

The first full length working of the Severn Valley Railway was a special train of 22 carriages which left Worcester Shrub Hill at 11:30am on Friday, January 31, 1862. This reached Shrewsbury at 2pm, after stopping at every station to be greeted by enthusiastic crowds. I can see it in my mind's eye!

The return journey was made with three more carriages.

In August 1863 the mighty Great Western Railway (decades later, our grandad would work for them) took over the West Midlands Railway, thus assuming the latter's running powers over the Severn Valley Railway. The SVR was fully amalgamated into the GWR in 1872.

Hey - I want you to think about all this next time you take your dog for a walk.