Hawkstone Park Follies is £10 a head until 1 September and RAF Cosford is free. Shropshire days out with every price checked in August 2026, Ludlow to Oswestry.
Every price on this page was checked against the venue’s own website in August 2026. That matters more than usual in Shropshire, because two of the county’s attractions have changed their pricing model in the last few months and one well-known museum’s old web address now belongs to somebody else entirely.
The headline for the rest of this summer: Hawkstone Park Follies is charging £10 per person until 1 September, for everybody, because it is passing on the government’s temporary VAT reduction. Standard admission returns after that date.
What a family of four pays
Free, and genuinely good
RAF Museum Midlands, Cosford. Entry is free. Parking is £7.50 per car for up to seven hours, motorcycles the same, coaches free. Open 10am to 5pm daily from March to October and 10am to 4pm from November to February. It is at Lysander Avenue, Cosford, TF11 8UP, ten minutes’ walk from Cosford station, and despite the TF postcode it sits in the Shropshire Council area, near Shifnal. Booking in advance is recommended but not required. On value for money nothing else in the county comes close.
The Long Mynd, the Stiperstones and the Shropshire Hills. Free, open, and the reason a lot of people move here. Church Stretton is the obvious base and has a station on the Marches line. Bring proper footwear; the paths off the Mynd are steep and the weather turns.
Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre, Craven Arms. Entry to the centre and to the 30 acres of Onny Meadows is free, open every day 10am to 5pm, at School Road, Craven Arms, SY7 9RS. Only the Shropshire Hills Through Time exhibition, with its mammoth, is charged: £5 adult, £3.50 child, under-5s free, £13.50 family. It is run by the charity Grow Cook Learn.
Shrewsbury Castle grounds are free to walk into. A note of caution about the museum inside it: the old shropshireregimentalmuseum.co.uk address no longer belongs to the museum and now serves unrelated gambling content. The museum trades as the Soldiers of Shropshire Museum and the reliable route to its opening times and admission is via Shropshire Museums.
Worth paying for
Ludlow Castle is the county’s best-known ruin and one of its better-run attractions. £10 adult, £5 child aged 5 to 15, £28 family (two adults and up to four children), under-5s free. Open daily 10am to 5pm with last entry at 4:15pm; hours shorten in winter. The castle sits directly on Ludlow’s market square, so it combines with the town in a morning.
Severn Valley Railway, Bridgnorth. The railway froze its fares at 2025 prices for 2026, which is worth knowing. A Freedom of the Line ticket, good for the whole 16-mile run between Bridgnorth and Kidderminster via Hampton Loade, Highley, Arley and Bewdley, costs:
| Booked | Adult | Child 4-17 | Small family | Large family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 or more days ahead | £26.00 | £17.50 | £43.50 | £69.50 |
| Under 3 days ahead | £29.50 | £19.50 | £49.00 | £78.50 |
| On the day | £33.00 | £22.00 | £55.00 | £88.00 |
Booking three days ahead saves an adult £7 against turning up. If the full line is more than you want, Bridgnorth to Highley and back is £15 adult and £10 child, and Bridgnorth to Arley is £22.50 and £14.85.
Bridgnorth Cliff Railway is the cheapest ticket in Shropshire and one of the oddest. £2.50 return, under-4s free, well-behaved dogs free, group discounts for 15 or more. It runs 9am to 6pm, and stays closed until noon on Sundays for maintenance. It climbs 111 feet of sandstone between Bridgnorth’s Low Town and High Town and bills itself as England’s oldest and steepest inland electric funicular. Two minutes, and it saves the steps.
Hawkstone Park Follies, Weston-under-Redcastle, SY4 5JY. £10 per person until 1 September 2026, a temporary rate the park says reflects the government’s VAT reduction, after which standard admission returns. Open Friday to Sunday from 13 February to 1 November 2026, plus daily through the summer season from 3 July to 31 August, the Easter holidays, May half term and October half term. Gates 10am to 5pm, last admission 3pm. Take the terrain warning seriously: there are many steps, climbs and descents, and pushchairs are not allowed except in the Grand Valley, which is step-free from the visitor centre. Allow around two hours.
Shrewsbury Prison. Self-guided entry from £12, guided tours from £17 including entry, plus evening ghost tours, a Prison Escape event and overnight stays from £69 per person. Open 10am to 5pm daily. It is running a kids go free and eat free offer through summer 2026, so check the ticket page before booking the adult rate alone.
British Ironwork Centre, Oswestry, SY11 4JH. This one has changed: it is no longer free. A day pass is £14, parking is £4, and one child under 12 goes free per paying adult with additional children at £5. Open Tuesday to Friday 9:30am to 4pm and Saturday 9am to 4pm, closed Sunday and Monday, which catches out weekend visitors. There are over 70 acres of sculpture park, trails and nature reserve, and golf buggies to hire. The Knife Angel, which the centre built, is on a national touring programme and is not permanently on site, so check before travelling to see it.
Dates to put in the diary
The Ludlow Food Festival runs on 11, 12 and 13 September 2026, the town’s biggest weekend of the year and the reason to book accommodation early if you are coming from outside the county. Details and tickets are on the festival’s own site.
A note on Ironbridge
Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale, Blists Hill and the rest of the Ironbridge Gorge museums are about twenty minutes from Shrewsbury and are excellent, but they are in Telford and Wrekin, a separate council area. They are not covered by the Shropshire Council information on this site, though nothing stops you going.
Frequently asked questions
What is there to do in Shropshire for free?
The RAF Museum Midlands at Cosford (free entry, £7.50 to park), the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre and its Onny Meadows at Craven Arms, Shrewsbury Castle grounds, and the hills themselves: the Long Mynd, the Stiperstones and the Shropshire Way.
How much is Ludlow Castle?
£10 for adults, £5 for children aged 5 to 15, £28 for a family of two adults and up to four children, free under 5. Open daily 10am to 5pm, last entry 4:15pm.
Is Hawkstone Park Follies worth it?
At the £10 per person rate running until 1 September 2026 it is the best-value paid attraction in the county, and after that date standard prices return. It is a two-hour walk over steep ground with a lot of steps, so it suits older children and adults rather than buggies.
How much is the Severn Valley Railway?
A Freedom of the Line ticket is £26 adult and £17.50 child booked three or more days ahead, rising to £33 and £22 on the day. Fares are frozen at 2025 prices for the 2026 season. A shorter Bridgnorth to Highley return is £15 and £10.
Is the British Ironwork Centre still free?
No. A day pass is now £14 with £4 parking, one under-12 free per paying adult. It is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Is Ironbridge in Shropshire?
Geographically yes, administratively no. Ironbridge is in Telford and Wrekin, a separate unitary authority, so Shropshire Council’s information does not cover it.
Sources
- RAF Museum Midlands for free entry, the £7.50 parking charge, opening hours and the Cosford address.
- Ludlow Castle opening times and prices for the £10, £5 and £28 admission and the 10am to 5pm opening.
- Severn Valley Railway ticket prices for the Freedom of the Line and short-return fares, and the railway’s own announcement that 2026 fares are frozen at 2025 prices.
- Bridgnorth Cliff Railway for the £2.50 return fare, the 9am to 6pm hours, the Sunday maintenance closure and the 111 foot cliff.
- Hawkstone Park Follies, plan your visit for the 2026 opening calendar, the 3pm last admission and the terrain warnings, and its Great British Summer Savings page for the £10 per person rate to 1 September 2026.
- Shrewsbury Prison tickets for the from-£12 entry, from-£17 guided tour and £69 overnight prices.
- British Ironwork Centre for the £14 day pass, £4 parking, under-12 policy and Tuesday to Saturday opening.
- Shropshire Hills Through Time, Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre for the £5, £3.50 and £13.50 exhibition prices and free entry to the centre and meadows.
- Ludlow Marches Food and Drink Festival for the 11 to 13 September 2026 dates.
Prices and opening hours change, particularly the temporary rates tied to the VAT reduction. Confirm on the venue’s own site before you set off. How to get there without driving is on Shrewsbury to London trains and Shropshire roadworks and travel.
Have your say
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