Telford

Telford is a new town in the ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It is administratively located in the West Midlands region, and is now by far the largest town in Shropshire, being the residence for some 130,000 people.

Understand
Telford was built in the 1960s and 1970s as a new town, bringing together a number of mining villages, farms and market towns. As the town develops, the areas between these towns are becoming increasingly filled. The resulting town is virtually one large conurbation from Wellington to Shifnal and from Donnington to Dawley. As a result of the new town's component towns, Telford has several distinct centres, although the Telford Shopping Centre and Telford Town Park area is the de facto administrative centre of entire town.

By car
It is linked to the West Midlands conurbation by the M54 motorway; it has four exits labelled Telford East, Telford Centre, Telford West and Wellington. The town is also serviced north-south by the A442 Queensway (locally known as the Eastern Primary or EP).

By train

 * Wikivoyage has a guide to Rail travel in Great Britain

Between Telford Central Station and Shrewsbury, there are two stations, named Wellington and Oakengates. These areas are considered part of Telford, although are much older than Telford itself.

By bus
Telford can also be accessed by bus from many nearby areas. The Telford bus station has regular buses to and from Shrewsbury (X5), Bridgnorth (8), and Wolverhampton. From Telford itself, many buses run within it - see below section.

Get around
The M54 motorway and A5 main route pass through Telford giving access from North Wales, the South, East and North East. The A49 passes nearby to give access from the North West, the South West and South Wales.

A train line runs between the main Telford train station and Wellington, via Oakengates.

There are also buses that run throughout Telford - most notably, the 4 (Leegomery-Wellington-Telford Center-Madeley). As of 2023, there are two bus providers that provide buses in Telford: Arriva and the Telford and Wrekin Council (whose  buses start from the number 100). Most built up areas have buses running between them.

See
Telford has a long history (see Understand section). As a result there are many attractions including the remains of a Bronze Age fort, Roman ruins, medieval markets, examples of Victorian industry and living, and the new town created nearly 40 years ago.



Do

 * Telford Ice Rink is within the shopping centre. Telford Tigers play ice hockey here Sept-March in the National League, England's second tier.
 * Wales Comic Con celebrates comic heroes and is held in odd-numbered years, so the next is probably 10-11 May 2025, tbc. A rival event is held in even-numbered years in Newport.
 * Telford Ice Rink is within the shopping centre. Telford Tigers play ice hockey here Sept-March in the National League, England's second tier.
 * Wales Comic Con celebrates comic heroes and is held in odd-numbered years, so the next is probably 10-11 May 2025, tbc. A rival event is held in even-numbered years in Newport.
 * Telford Ice Rink is within the shopping centre. Telford Tigers play ice hockey here Sept-March in the National League, England's second tier.
 * Wales Comic Con celebrates comic heroes and is held in odd-numbered years, so the next is probably 10-11 May 2025, tbc. A rival event is held in even-numbered years in Newport.
 * Wales Comic Con celebrates comic heroes and is held in odd-numbered years, so the next is probably 10-11 May 2025, tbc. A rival event is held in even-numbered years in Newport.
 * Wales Comic Con celebrates comic heroes and is held in odd-numbered years, so the next is probably 10-11 May 2025, tbc. A rival event is held in even-numbered years in Newport.

Buy
Telford's town centre is the commercial centre of the town and is home to the largest indoor shopping centre in Shropshire. The various towns engulfed by Telford have their own commercial centres, which are far smaller than the Telford Shopping Centre.



Go next
Map of places with Wikivoyage articles nearby


 * Shrewsbury (via the M54 then A5) - Pleasant county town of Shropshire
 * Birmingham – Britain's second largest city and capital of the Midlands
 * Wellington
 * Shifnal – Lots of pubs and good restaurants, situated just on the outskirts of Telford with rail links to Telford Central and Wellington.
 * Ironbridge – with 10 main attractions (and a few others) including the world's first cast-iron bridge. The Malt House has live music every Thursday night, as well as a restaurant and bar overlooking the River.