Coalbrookdale

England

Coalbrookdale lies in Shropshire's Ironbridge Gorge, easily reached via the A4169 from M54 Junction 4. Most visitors come from Birmingham and beyond to see the UNESCO World Heritage Site, though it's a popular weekend destination for locals from Telford and Shrewsbury. The village sits in a steep-sided valley along the River Severn, creating a distinctive microclimate with frequent morning mist. Abraham Darby's original blast furnace from 1709 still stands here, where he first successfully smelted iron using coke instead of charcoal.