Best Western Valley Hotel, Ironbridge, Telford, Much Wenlock, Shropshire

You can discover the unexpected origins of the modern international Olympics in the quintessentially English town called Much Wenlock, only 4 miles from Ironbridge.

Much Wenlock is the birthplace of Dr William Penny Brookes, the inspiration for the modern Olympic Movement and founder of the Wenlock Olympian Society. He was a local doctor who wanted to improve the moral, physical, and intellectual well being of the inhabitants of Wenlock by encouraging outdoor recreation, and by the award of prizes annually at public meetings for skills in athletic exercises.

It was Brookes’s dream to see the ancient Games revived, and he invited Baron Coubertin, a young French aristocrat, to visit the Wenlock Olympian games. He was so impressed by Brookes’s visionary ideas that he decided to revive and develop the Olympics on an international level. Sadly Brookes died just four months before the first Games, held in April, 1896. Brookes was born, lived and died in the little market town of Much Wenlock which was a ward in the Wenlock Borough.

It was in 1850 that the first ever Wenlock Olympian Games took place in Much Wenlock and they are still held here annually. In 2012, the 126th Games will take place, consisting of five days of sporting competition in and around the town.

A beautiful ruin situated in Wenlock of an Anglo-Saxon monastery. This particular
site is lucky that much of the once majestic building still stands tall. There is a
real sense of history that can be seen through the ancient carvings set in the
stone of a town that is infamous for its historic Olympian games.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/wenlock-priory/

Olympian Trail - Free of Charge

The Wenlock Olympian Trail is about 1.3 miles long and begins and ends at the
Much Wenlock museum. The trail will take you on a route along the sites and
areas that pay special importance to Dr William Penny Brookes (the founder of
the Olympian games) and the Olympian Games. Along the way you will
encounter lots of information boards that make for interesting reading on the
history of that particular site. Once you have completed the trail, within the
museum finishing point, you will find displays of Wenlock Olympian Games
artifacts which give further insight into the significant history of the area which
lead to the birth of the modern Olympic games.

Much Wenlock Guildhall - Included in Package price

This 16th century Guildhall is open April through to October and the admission fee is included int eh offer. The ground floor space is often used for markets where the council chamber is more commonly used for exhibitions and events. On the ground floor market area you will see several items throughout the building which are icons of the rich history the building has to offer such as the old medieval stone jail, hand irons which were used as a whipping post, and an order regarding market day restrictions and fines.

Day 2:

Blists Hill Victorian Town - Admission fees Apply

This particular museum is a fantastic day out for anyone visiting the area; it gives the
opportunity to ‘take a walk through history: As you arrive you are greeted by costumed staff,
you then have the chance to change your money at the bank and then onto experience life the
Victorian way. The town hosts traditional grocers, sweet shop and bakery, the chemist will be
also be open to teach you about the various remedies and medicines used at the time, and also
the printer and candle-maker will be in action for you to watch.

Visit CORE at Enginuity, a fantastic generative digital art exhibition designed by renowned international artist Kurt Hentschläger and experience a whole new digital world.

A series of virtual aquariums containing dynamic bodies in extreme motion whose movements are neither predictable nor repeated.

These identical humanoid figures interact both instinctually like schools of fish or flocks of birds and at other times they appear choreographed like ballet dancers or synchronised swimmers.

Free entry exhibition. Open daily from 10am to 5pm. CORE is part of the London 2012 Festival and at the heart of the Cultural Olympiad.

http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/plan_your_visit/events_calendar/event.asp?id=733

It has been announced that the London 2012 Olympic torch will light up the Shropshire communities of Ludlow, Clee Hill and Cleobury Mortimer on 24th May, and on 30th May it will pass through Oswestry, Pant, Llanymynech, Shrewsbury, Cressage en route to the historic part of its journey as it passes through the former ancient Borough of Wenlock - including Benthall, Broseley, Ironbridge and Much Wenlock.

The flame’s historic journey through Wenlock honours the birthplace of William Penny Brookes, founder and inspiration of the revival of the modern olympic movement. It also pays tribute to the many years of hard work given by the volunteer members of the Wenlock Olympian Society past and present who have maintained and preserved Brookes’ ideals.

The London 2012 Olympic Mascot 'Wenlock' is named after Much Wenlock in recognition of the towns' role in inspiring the modern Olympic Movement.

Much Wenlock is a stunningly beautiful medieval town. You can stroll around the town centre and it may seem you have stepped back fifty or more years. You will find a great selection of traditional shops, all offering good old-fashioned personal service.

Much Wenlock has been a market town for over 700 years and has a history that stretches back much further.

In the town there are holy wells, shuts, cobbles, whipping posts, stocks and all sorts of Olympic artefacts can bee seen in the Much Wenlock Museum.

There are lots of walks both in the town and in the surrounding beautiful Shropshire countryside, including the magnificent Wenlock Edge.

Much Wenlock grew around the Abbey of St Milburga. Rebuilding in the 12th and 13th centuries created a very large priory church and extensive monastic buildings, the ruins of which are now in the care of English heritage, and are open on most days of the year. Tel: 01952 727466

Discover Much Wenlock's Olympian heritage with a self-guided walk around the town, discover the buildings associated with the Wenlock Olympian story, and learn about the benefits William Penny Brookes brought to the town in the 19th Century. The Olympian Trail leaflet is available at Visitor Information, The Guildhall and various shops.