Visitor guide

Visiting Albrighton

Roses, aircraft, a medieval church and easy countryside walks, all within a couple of miles of the station. Here is what to see and how to get here.

David Austin Roses

The home of the English Rose. David Austin released his first rose, Constance Spry, in 1961 and the plant centre on Bowling Green Lane opened in 1969. Today its themed gardens hold the National Collection of English Roses, with more than 400 varieties and about 1,900 plants on show.

Open: daily 9am to 5pm. Free to visit.
Best time: June and July for the main flush, and again in September and October.
Facilities: plant centre, gift shop, restaurant and garden tearoom, toilets, parking, disabled access. Dogs on leads are welcome in many areas.
Find it: Bowling Green Lane, WV7 3HB. The Plant Centre entrance is on Old Worcester Road. Follow the brown signs from M54 junction 3, the A41 or the A464. Phone 01902 376300.
Note: the gardens close for the day of the RAF Cosford Air Show in June.

RAF Museum Cosford

One of the two sites of the Royal Air Force Museum, next to the working RAF station at Cosford. Its hangars hold one of the country's largest collections of historic aircraft, including the National Cold War Exhibition with its Vulcan bomber.

Getting there: one stop from Albrighton by train to Cosford station, or a short drive.
Air Show: the RAF Cosford Air Show is held each June and draws large crowds, so expect busy roads around the village that day.
More: rafmuseum.org.uk for opening times and admission.

St Mary Magdalene church

Albrighton's parish church stands at the top of the High Street, opposite the Shrewsbury Arms. It was completed around 1181 in sandstone, with Early English and Decorated work and a 14th-century east window, and was partly rebuilt in 1853.

Inside is an alabaster monument to Sir John Talbot (died 1555).
The church holds the Albrighton Mace, presented in 1663.
In the churchyard look for the listed pyramidal memorial and the grave of rose breeder David C. H. Austin.

Donington Pool — © P L Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0

Donington and Albrighton Local Nature Reserve

Woodland, grassland and water between Albrighton and Donington. Humphreston Brook, also called Albrighton Brook, was dammed in the 17th century and feeds Donington Pool, the centrepiece of the reserve.

Public footpaths lead in from the village, through kissing gates.
The parish council publishes local walks around Albrighton, Boningale and Donington.

War memorial

The village war memorial, first dedicated in September 1920, was restored and returned to its original site by the parish council and local volunteers, and rededicated on 15 September 2024. Remembrance services are held here each November.

Nearby

Within a short drive

Boscobel House

English Heritage house and the Royal Oak where Charles II hid after the Battle of Worcester in 1651. About 4 miles north.

Weston Park

Stately home, gardens and parkland on the Shropshire and Staffordshire border, a short drive north-east.

Albrighton Trust Moat and Gardens

A restored medieval moated site near Humphreston Hall, run by a charity offering accessible angling and gardening for young people with disabilities.

Getting here

Travel

By train: Albrighton station is on the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton line, with West Midlands Railway services to Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Telford and Shrewsbury. Cosford station, for the RAF Museum, is the next stop west. Live times.
By bus: route 891 runs between Wolverhampton bus station and Telford via Albrighton and Shifnal.
By car: about 8 miles north-west of Wolverhampton. Leave the M54 at junction 3, or take the A41 from Wolverhampton or the A464 from Shifnal. The A41 Albrighton bypass skirts the village.

Where to eat

The High Street has four pubs (The Crown, the Old Bush, the Shrewsbury Arms and the Harp), Italian, Indian and Chinese restaurants, two chip shops and several cafés. See the food and drink listings in the directory.