Market town in landlocked Shropshire welcomes its own beach for fun in the sun

Oswestry played host to a three-day sandy spectacle in Festival Square.

Organised by Oswestry BID (Business Improvement District), The Beach arrived in the town for the second year, with children and families enjoying 17 tonnes of finest sand, lined by deckchairs and surrounded by the sounds of waves and seagull calls.

Manager of Oswestry BID, Adele Nightingale, said she was thrilled by the success of the event.

“It met all our hopes and expectations,” she said.

“Any outdoor event like this requires glorious weather to make it really special, and we were blessed with three wonderfully sunny days. It’s all part of our desire to make Oswestry a lovely place to live, work, visit and enjoy.

“We’d like to thank all the local businesses that got involved with the event and Scott and his team at Yellow Bus Events. It was great to provide a boost to the town’s footfall across all three days.

“Of course, what really made it really special was to see the smiles on the faces of the children and families, making memories together, just relaxing, playing and building sandcastles.”

The Beach is one of many events organised by BID which in the past have included a Halloween dome and winter ice-skating.

Future family events can been seen online at oneoswestry.co.uk/event.

The Business Improvement District has been awarded grant funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for a comprehensive feasibility study on the best way forward for Festival Square.

Possibilities include permanently closing the short stay car park and encouraging more outdoor community areas and ventures.

Adele Nightingale said: “Festival Square is clearly moving in the right direction and this study gave the town an opportunity to engage with the design process, share our thoughts, ideas and experience of using Festival Square, to discover what matters to local businesses, residents and visitors too."