As you might have seen from earlier posts, last week we spent some time in Shrewsbury. I had my Binturong Experience in Telford on Friday and then had booked us in at Paws Cat Café on Saturday. So, it made sense to find somewhere to stay in Shrewsbury and make the most of it. I always like exploring somewhere new and I had heard some great things about the town. Shrewsbury is actually only an hour’s drive from where I live, so I should have visited before now. There’s also a direct train from Birmingham which takes less than an hour.

Staying in Shrewsbury

As Shrewsbury is quite a small town, there wasn’t a lot of options. It seems to be quite an expensive place, so even the Premier Inn was a bit pricey. I had a look on Booking.com and managed to find a room at the Castle Vaults. The Castle Vaults is a pub right by the train station, but they offer accomodation upstairs as well. Our double room with an ensuite bathroom cost just £45 for the night. The decor was a bit dated and the door to the bathroom had a window, which was a bit weird. Our window would open but wouldn’t stay open, so I woke up a couple of times boiling hot. Overall, the room was cheap and was just what we needed – a place to sleep. I think that I would stay here again, but I’d request a room with a decent window.

Shrewsbury Castle

As we only had a few hours in Shrewsbury after visiting Paws Cat Café, we just had a wander round. We found the Charles Darwin statue outside of the Shrewsbury Library. I didn’t realise that he was born in Shrewsbury! The library is a Grade I listed building and looked almost like a castle. Speaking of castles, Shrewsbury Castle was located just outside the window of where we were staying. If we peeked outside, we could just see part of the red brick walls.

If we had had more time, we would have gone into the castle and the Shropshire Regimental Museum which is located on the castle grounds to have a look around. It only costs £4 per adult to visit the castle and the Shropshire Regimental Museum. We will definitely have to go back in the summer and go inside. It was pretty spectacular from the outside though and there were great views over the River Severn.

Eating and drinking in Shrewsbury

On the Friday that we stayed in Shrewsbury, I found out that I have passed my Masters degree. So, obviously I wanted to go out and celebrate a bit. We went to Zizzis for a three course meal before going to a couple of places for cocktails afterwards. The first cocktail bar that we went to was called Ten and Six and was Alice in Wonderland themed. There wasn’t a lot of choice, so I went for a bubblegum martini while Leigh had a strawberry and balsamic mojito. We both enjoyed the drinks but wanted to try somewhere else.

So, we went off to The Libertine which was very busy, it seems like it is a popular place for the Shrewsbury locals. I loved the decor which was quite quirky and dark. Their cocktail menu was a lot bigger and I decided to go for a prosecco based cocktail with peach and apple in it and Leigh chose the Long Island Iced Tea.

On Saturday morning, we visited Paws Cat Café where I had a couple of cups of coffee, but I didn’t fancy anything to eat. We then went to a coffee shop which was opposite where we were staying called The Shrewsbury Coffeehouse. Here, we both had a couple of slices of sourdough toast (I had marmite, Leigh had jam) with a drink. This was reasonably priced, coming to just over £10 for the both of us.

The York Roast Co

We hadn’t eaten a lot in the morning, because we had been invited to The York Roast Co to try out their new sweet Yorkshire pudding wrap. You have probably already heard about their famous Yorkshire pudding wraps. We shared one of the beef ones but instead of the vegetables we had roast potatoes inside it. This was so delicious and definitely something that I would choose to have for lunch again.

Then, it was time for dessert in the form of the ChoccyPud Wrap, which was the reason why we were there. Neither of us had tried a sweet Yorkshire pudding wrap before. However, when you think about it, a Yorkshire pudding is basically a bigger pancake. So having sweet toppings on one makes a lot of sense!

The ChoccyPud Wrap comprises lashings of chocolate, chunks of gooey brownies, crushed Oreos and a crumbly Flake, all wrapped up in a world-famous giant Yorkshire pudding, served with a dollop of cream.

Although our ChoccyPud Wrap didn’t come with cream, it was packed full of the other fillings. We both really enjoyed it although it was a bit weird at first. I think that having a sweet Yorkshire pudding wrap is a great alternative to having something like a crepe or a waffle. Personally, I loved the different textures with the gooey brownies, the crunchy oreos and the smooth chocolate spread. I don’t think I could eat a whole one of these to myself as it is just so rich. Shared between the two of us, it was perfect. This is on trial until the end of April, but I definitely think it should be a permanent item on the menu.

We both really enjoyed our trip to Shrewsbury and will definitely be back again in the summer.

Lunch was provided for us by The York Roast Co. All thoughts and opinions are my own.