Ironbridge Tourist Information Centre

The Information Centre sits right in the heart of Ironbridge, that extraordinary Georgian ironworks town that basically invented the Industrial Revolution. It's your port of call for maps, leaflets, and actual human beings who know where everything is - which matters more than you'd think when you're navigating the Severn Gorge's tangle of museums, foundries, and heritage sites.

This is where you get your bearings before tackling the Iron Bridge itself, the Coalport China Museum, or the various iron-smelting monuments scattered across Coalbrookdale. The staff are genuinely knowledgeable about what's worth your time and what's a bit of a slog, depending on whether you've got kids in tow or you're a proper industrial history nut.

If you're camping locally - and Irongorge Camping is literally walking distance - you'll want to call in here first thing. Pick up the Gorge passport if they're still doing it, grab directions to the less obvious bits, and ask about opening times for the museums. Saves you turning up somewhere shut. The centre's free to pop into, and you won't spend long there, but it'll save you hours of wandering about trying to work out what's what. Early morning's best if you want actual conversation with the staff rather than joining a queue of tour groups.