Ironbridge Gorge Museums (National Trust)
The National Trust now operates the former Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust sites. Pre-booking is required for Blists Hill Victorian Town and Jackfield Tile Museum. Museum of Iron and the other sites do not need to be booked.
Address (main welcome site): Blists Hill Victorian Town, Legges Way, Telford, Shropshire, TF7 5UD 📞 01952 976411 · ✉️ ironbridgegorge@nationaltrust.org.uk 🌐 nationaltrust.org.uk — Ironbridge Gorge 📘 Facebook · 📷 Instagram
Sat nav postcodes:
- Blists Hill Victorian Town — TF7 5DP (///coining.fidelity.publisher)
- Museum of Iron & Furnace Kitchen — TF8 7DQ (///skies.launch.skin)
Parking: Free on site, including Blue Badge bays (Blue Badge spaces are on the lower car park closest to the welcome building). Expect it to be busy — please follow directions from the team on the ground.
Booking your visit
- Book online: Blists Hill · Jackfield Tile Museum
- Booking line: 0344 249 1895
- Tickets are released for the next two weeks; new tickets are released every Thursday
- You can book on the day up to one hour before your visit
- Everyone must book, including National Trust members and IGMT Pass / Pass Plus holders (members visit free)
- Group bookings and coaches are currently unavailable; the National Trust aims to reinstate them from late summer
Blists Hill Victorian Town
Step back to 1900: Victorian shops, cottages, craftspeople and authentic food in a recreated East Shropshire Coalfield town.
- Open: 10am–5pm, with last admission at 4pm and exhibits closing at 4.30pm
- Pre-booking: required for all arrivals before 2.30pm; if you arrive after 2.30pm you no longer need to book in advance
Prices:
- Adult (18+): £9.00 (£9.90 with Gift Aid)
- Child (5–17, under 5s free): £4.50 (£5.00 with Gift Aid)
- Family (2 adults + up to 3 children): £22.50 (£24.80 with Gift Aid)
- 1 adult + up to 3 children: £13.50 (£14.90 with Gift Aid)
Museum of Iron
The story of iron and Abraham Darby I's original blast furnace where coke-smelting was perfected.
Prices:
- Adult (18+): £10.50
- Child (5–17, under 5s free): £5.25
- Family (2 adults + up to 3 children): £26.25
- 1 adult + up to 3 children: £15.75
Free entry for National Trust members and IGMT Pass / Pass Plus holders.
Jackfield Tile Museum — now open
Jackfield Tile Museum is now open at weekends. Visits are pre-bookable and start Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 June, from 10am–3pm (the site closes at 4pm). Each visit includes an introductory talk, followed by free-flow access through the exhibits.
All visitors, including National Trust members, must book in advance.
Note: The museum has several lifts that are currently unavailable due to a technical issue, so some areas may not be accessible. Contact ironbridgegorge@nationaltrust.org.uk if this will affect your visit.
Other National Trust sites
- Iron Bridge Toll House — open — small exhibit at the foot of the Iron Bridge.
- Furnace Kitchen — café at the Museum of Iron site, open 7 days, 9am–4pm.
- Enginuity — 🚫 currently closed — hands-on science and engineering activities for kids next to the Museum of Iron.
- Coalport China Museum — 🚫 currently closed — the former Coalport China Works, for more than a century among the most successful potteries in the world.
- The Tar Tunnel — 🚫 currently closed — the 1786 tunnel (around 1,000 yards) dug to bring coal out at river level.
- Museum of the Gorge — 🚫 currently closed — the Severn Warehouse gateway exhibit.
- Darby Houses — 🚫 currently closed — Rosehill House (1738) and Dale House (1717), former homes of the Darby ironmaster family.
- Broseley Pipeworks — special pre-booked tours on 17–19 October and 21–23 November 2026, 10am–4pm (hour-long tours, last departure 3pm). Book with the National Trust. Outside these dates, check for current opening information. This time-capsule clay tobacco pipe factory has changed little since it closed in the late 1950s.
Good to know
- The Iron Bridge itself is now cared for by English Heritage — free to walk across at any time.
- Dogs: well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome in outdoor areas — check the NT site for restrictions before you visit.
- Park & Ride / Gorge Connect links many of the museums on select weekends July–September. P&R postcode: TF4 3XH.
UNESCO World Heritage
Other heritage attractions
Buildwas Abbey
English Heritage site with extensive ruins of a 12th-century Cistercian abbey beside the River Severn.
- Postcode: TF8 7BW
- Entry: free
- Parking: free (around 20 spaces)
- Dogs: welcome on leads
- Don't miss the chapter house (tiled floor) and the church ruins.
Benthall Hall
National Trust historic house near Broseley with gardens and walks. Postcode: TF12 5RX. Opening days vary seasonally.
St Luke's Church, Ironbridge
19th-century church on the hillside above the Iron Bridge, with iron window frames and Maws tiles. Address: Church Hill, Ironbridge, TF8 7PW. Steep approach with steps from The Square.
The Iron Bridge
The world's first cast-iron bridge (1779), free to walk across at any time. Parking postcode: TF8 7JP (Station Yard / Station car park, paid).
Maws Craft Centre (Jackfield)
Artist studios, galleries and the Tile Press Café in the former Maw & Co tileworks. Address: TF8 7LS. Free parking, free entry (studio hours vary). 🌐 mawscraftcentre.co.uk
Jackfield & Coalport Memorial Bridge
A cast-iron memorial footbridge over the Severn built in 1922 to commemorate local people lost in WWI. Near The Boat Inn, Jackfield (Ferry Road / Coalport High Street). ⚠️ Temporarily closed 7 Sep – 9 Oct 2026 for full redecking — pedestrian diversion via Coalport Bridge; On Demand bus covers Jackfield & Coalport (Mon–Fri, 8am–5.30pm).
Bedlam Furnaces
18th-century ironworks (~1757), among the first in the UK to use coke for smelting. Postcode: TF8 7QY. Free car park (~30 spaces) in front of the site. Inner site involves steep steps and uneven paths — not step-free. Open 24/7.
Bower Yard Lime Kilns
Well-preserved industrial remains, visible from the Severn Valley Way. Free to visit. Postcode: TF8 7AZ. Parking at Station Yard (TF8 7JP, paid) — 5-minute walk. Limited access; muddy sections, steps and uneven surfaces. Stout footwear advised. Open 24/7.
Ironbridge Coracle Trust
- Old Coracle Shed — viewing museum next to the Iron Bridge (peek through the windows; you can't go inside)
- New Coracle Shed — free community museum at the Green Wood Centre, Coalbrookdale (TF8 7DR). Home of the Coracle Stories exhibition.
- Coracle Man Sculpture — life-sized steel silhouette inspired by Tommy Rogers (1843–1924).
- The Coracle Trail — a short, family-friendly walking trail (less than a mile) linking the Old Coracle Shed and the New Coracle Shed exhibition. Follow the interactive map to see Ironbridge in the heyday of the coracle men. 🌐 The Coracle Trail · 🗺️ Interactive map