My Bank Holiday Weekend Pt 2: A soggy day in Shrewsbury

I've had a pen-friend named Aline since I was in the 6th grade, she lives in Shrewsbury, a medieval town in Shropshire, not far from the Welch border.  Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael series (about an 11th  century benedictine monk/detective/herbalist) are set here during the civil war between the Empress Maud and King Stephen, in which Shrewsbury castle played a major role.

Oh, and it is also the hometown of Charles Darwin. His statue seen here in front of their library.

And here is the castle, built from a red stone, the keep itself is small, but the walls are quite high as it is built on a hill and from the top of a tower you get a great view.

See!

Of course as you may have noticed it was raining quite heavily. And continued to do so until I left. My shoes actually squelched by the end.

the curve of the road from the castle into town. Lots of little tudor buildings and alleyways. 

Near the English Bridge (as opposed to the Welch one on the other side of town) there is a garden which has all this cool stonework in it as it is on the side of an old stone carving workshop

random column 

the Abbey-or what's left of it after Henry VIII knocked bits down-where Brother Cadfael was a monk (the TV series with Sir Derek Jacobi were shot i believe in easter Europe in case it doesn't look familiar to you...)

I bought a postcard of St. Winefried, a Welch martyr they had some relics of back in the day

I took a walk along the towns walls

and found the Quarry garden, which alas is sideways!