Hello everybody, I've been reading posts on the forum for quite a while but this is the first time I have 'spoken' so please bear with me if I make mistakes. We (husband and self, both fifties) are planning to move to Shrewsbury from the hills near Bishop's Castle and hope Forum members might help us steer through the maze of conflicting and confusing advice about where is good or not so good to live.
Being country bumpkins we would need a bit of greenery and we love the river so somewhere near the Quarry would be ideal, but just to be awkward we also need a garden or courtyard as we have a dog and are very keen gardeners. Not keen on modern properties or busy/ fast roads but the main thing is being able to walk about the town safely with or without the dog as my husband has a condition which threatens his sight, one of the chief reasons for our move as there is no public transport here.
Ideally we would rent first to learn our way around but as this has proved all but impossible with a dog we may have to take the plunge and buy so any suggestions would be very gratefully received. P.S. The 'Town Walks' postings have been helpful and inspiring.

Depends what your budget is like - Castlefields, Coleham and Frankwell are cheaper parts near to the river, Sundorne Road may be quite good too though the houses are modern there, whilst Kingsland, Porthill, The Mount and Coton Hill are also near to the river but are more expensive.

I've just moved house within Shrewsbury (early Dec 2009) and one of the things I wanted was easy walking access to the town centre. I found that the Globrix website was a useful starting point.

Woodfield Road and surrounding streets in Copthorne/Porthill might be a good idea - interwar semis and detached houses with gardens, 5-10mins walk to the Quarry over the footbridge, 20 mins or so walk into town, roads pretty quiet, frequent buses into town.

Mountfields (bend in the river near Frankwell - Mount Street, Hunter Street etc) is mostly late Victorian, with a range of terraces, semis and a few detached, many with gardens. Very quick to walk into town and not far from the Quarry. There is also a lot of greenery on the doorstep (the photos of the Severn Way might be useful).

Copthorne Park (Richmond Drive, Westwood Drive, etc) is a bit further out from town - it takes me 30mins to get up there and I like to think that I am reasonably fit. There are frequent buses though. The houses are newer (from the 1950s I think) and mostly have good gardens. There is a park nearby and walks along the river are not far.

Cherry Orchard (Holywell Street, Cleveland Street, etc) is east of the town centre but easily walkable via the footbridge near the Weir. Houses are mostly late Victorian / Edwardian and many have gardens. Some of the surrounding areas are a bit scruffy. Possibly (and this will no doubt annoy lots of people) it's more of a budget option than the ideal choice.

Belle Vue (along and east and west of Belle Vue Road) can be a bit of a trek. Estate agents like to label any house for sale in the south of Shrewsbury as being in Belle Vue, so some of them are a long way out. The area developed piecemeal, mostly in the late 19th century, so there is a wide variety of housing types and sizes of gardens. Personally I'm put off by the railway lines, but there are some really nice properties in the area.

Whatever you do Punyip bear in mind parking is a huge problem, particularly in some areas.
I would go for inter-war Copthorne, eminently upgradeable regarding energy efficiency having cavity walls that can be insulated more easily and as a general rule parking on drive and or a garage.

Modern properties should be great but sadly looking like pseudo period properties with fake chimneys is considered more important than practicalities like being enjoyable to live in and reasonable outside space. <_<

Good luck with your move. Hope you find what you are looking for.

Thank you all, this has been very helpful. After miles of walking all over town we are now very interested in Belle Vue but ruling nothing out - Shrewsbury is a wonderfully diverse town full of great places, isn't it? I am really looking forward to living here.
P.S.Any thoughts on using the Greyfriars Bridge at night?

I hope that everything with the house move turns out OK. There are lots of fans of Belle Vue on this forum!

There was a thread about Greyfriars Bridge a while ago. Beggars often sit at one end of the bridge or the other. Although I've never had anything ruder than 'Spare some change sir?' said to me, I can appreciate that some people would find it intimidating.

In summer the area around the bridge does attract the Special Brew set, although apart from the odd incomprehensible insult shouted at passers-by, they're harmless. For most of the day, the bridge is busy with pedestrians.

The approach to the bridge both sides is a bit enclosed. After about 8pm, if you're with someone then it's OK, but it might be less risky to use English Bridge instead if you're on your own, as Greyfriars Bridge does get much quieter in the evening.

Hope you enjoy living in the town just be careful of the hi-viz joggers :P