Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings — Attraction in Shrewsbury

A visit of hits and misses! Found signage for disabled parking unclear. Nothing close to the main gate and had to walk (with crutches) up a slope - we had a wheelchair but the slope was quite steep, too much for my 'pusher'. There was tons of space inside the Mill, but I was told that parking was not appropriate there because there are often school parties walking around - fair enough but not quite good enough. I was also told that instructions for parking can be found on Facebook - I don't do social media particularly (why should I have to?), and there was nothing on the details posted on Google. The cafè was excellent - definite hit! Light, airy, clean, lovely, smiley, helpful staff. Good menu, tasty food, nice cakes, good service. I was disappointed that there was no floorplan/map/information leaflet available- I was directed to a couple of 3D maps on walls, which I never found, so I found it difficult to navigate to exhibition in a chronological manner - I ended up meandering through time and sometimes reading about Flaxmill, other times Maltings - merged together, not 2 separate entities. Just a few arrows projected onto the floor would have done the trick. The exhibits themselves were all very good, easy to read and effective in presentation. There was a mention of a collection of oral history reports - why couldn't we hear them - at the Museum of WW1, particularly the Somme, in Ypres, Belgium every visitor is given a card with bar code, whichrepresents a person who has contributed to the oral history or about who there are records allowing their 'journey' through that time to be accurately followed; these cards can be inserted into readers throughout the Museum, so you can actually listen to that person sharing their experiences or hear about their individual actions within a battle etc - not just soldiers, but children, wives, civilian workers - all of which adds to the experience. My sister (carer - visiting from US to assist my post op recovery) couldn't find stairs access to higher floors, but did enjoy the Canal exhibition- by that time I couldn't walk any further- and even though I was told there was plenty of seating around the exhibition, this consisted of mostly small stools suitable for primary school children. I saw only x2 adult size chairs and had to perch on the edge of an exhibit to rest, consequently I don't think I got the most out of my tour. I would recommend that folk should come to the Flaxmill Maltings as the information was interesting, but there would be big caveats for those who have mobility issues. Our afternoon ended with a second visit to the cafè, which was just as good...

We went to the Maltings specifically to visit the Turned Wood cafe but we had a wander around whilst there as it is such an impressive development and lovely to see such an iconic building having a new lease of life.

We visited the cafe as we were huge fans of the owners’ previous venture (Greenwood Cafe) and were thrilled to support their new venture. Different style but still stylish and comfortable environment with a lovely vibe. The food is SO GOOD here and as a life-long vegetarian it is such a treat to find somewhere to eat that caters for vegetarians and not just vegans. We love the Wood Turners breakfast (even my husband who normally loves a big meaty breakfast!) and always have a cake to take away, but our ultimate favourite is the panini served at Christmas time with stuffing mayo and dipping gravy. One of our seasonal highlights!

It’s also great to find somewhere that serves breakfast later than the normal 11am- we like a late weekend breakfast! Also super dog friendly which is a huge help for us. Jody-Lea is always so welcoming and lovely - so go and try it, you...

A fascinating well presented historic building that has been 75% carefully restored since it was on the edge of total destruction. It has a 20 year tythe on the historic tours currently being run but is being converted into office accomodation. What you get when you book online is not made totally clear. The signage on the approach, the parking and throughout the buildings and cafe is far too small - I needed a magnifying glass to read directions to anywhere - I guess this is driven by being made into commercial acco.odation and wanting to be subtle on the visitor signage! The tour was 1 1/2 hrs and was interesting and thorough, the tour guides were both terrific as were all the other staff we came into contact with. All were as helpful as you could possibly expect. The cafe requires a mention as it is outstanding with a great range of gluten free food and the food was tasty and the staff great. All in all we had a great visit which we thoroughly enjoyed and would heartily recommend...