The bank and its Victorian coins
Swap your pounds for old shillings and pence and spend them on bread and sweets in shops staffed in period dress.
The first thing you do here is walk into a bank and swap your pounds for Victorian coins, then go and spend them on a warm loaf from the baker or a paper bag of sweets weighed out of a glass jar, before queuing at the post office as if 1900 never ended. That is the whole point of Blists Hill: not a museum of things behind glass, but an entire late-nineteenth-century industrial town rebuilt on the site of real brick and iron works near Telford, inside the UNESCO-listed Ironbridge Gorge, across roughly 21 hectares. The staff wear period dress and actually work: the chemist explains his alarming remedies, the schoolmaster lines children up in the classroom, the printer runs off handbills, and the blacksmith hammers when the forge is lit (forge and steam demonstrations were still being brought back through 2026). The town opened in 1973 and grew sharply in 2009 when Canal Street was added as part of a £12 million redevelopment, but the most striking part is entirely original: the Hay Inclined Plane, a 63-metre canal lift that hauled boats up the hillside on cradles between 1792 and 1894, plus the old blast furnaces at the far end of the site. In March 2026 the Gorge's ten museums passed to the National Trust, and Blists Hill reopened in stages from spring 2026 after a short closure; parking became free and Trust membership now gets you in for nothing. Bear in mind the Trust is still bringing the workshops and demonstrations back on stream one by one, so a few shops may be shuttered on the day you visit. Adults pay £24 (£26.40 with the optional Gift Aid donation), children aged 5 to 17 £12, a family ticket (two adults, three children) £60, and under-fives need no ticket. Everyone, members included, must book online in advance for any arrival before 14:30 and pick a 30-minute arrival slot, after which you stay as long as you like; arrivals after 14:30 are let in without a booking. The site opens daily from 09:00 to 17:00, with last entry at 16:00 and the exhibits closing at 16:30; check the official site before a winter visit as times can change. The ground really does slope, from the upper town down to the canal and the incline, and the streets are cobbled, but a pushchair copes and an inclined lift for wheelchairs was added during the redevelopment. A note for families: the fish and chip shop fries in beef dripping in the traditional way, with vegan and gluten-free options on request, the bakery and sweet shop are simple alternatives, and the Victorian pub moved here from Walsall operates as a real pub. From Birmingham it is an easy day out: about 60 km by car via the M6 and M54 in around an hour, with free parking at the welcome centre. By train, New Street to Telford Central takes about 40 minutes, then a 15-minute taxi or a local bus. Allow three to four hours, more with children, and pair it with the Iron Bridge itself about five kilometres away in Ironbridge village. Do not come in heavy rain: the pleasure is almost all outdoors.
Swap your pounds for old shillings and pence and spend them on bread and sweets in shops staffed in period dress.
An original 63-metre canal lift that hauled boats up the hill on cradles from 1792 to 1894, the oldest and most astonishing thing on site.
Chemist, printer and village school all run before your eyes, the blacksmith too when the forge is lit, and children really do sit at the classroom desks.
Legges Way, Madeley, Telford TF7 5UD
Yes, if the weather is dry and you have a full day; children from about five upwards love the coins, the sweets and the old schoolroom, while younger ones find the site long and hilly. Skip it in heavy rain: most of the fun is in the open streets.
The Iron Bridge is free and takes half an hour; Blists Hill needs at least three hours and a ticket. If time is genuinely tight, settle for the bridge and Ironbridge village; if you have children, make Blists Hill the priority and the bridge a quick stop on the way home.