Alveley

Sandstone cottages and black-and-white buildings dominate this charming village

The Black Death is said to have killed 60% of the village population in 1349. A stone cross, the Buttercross, 2 miles (3 km) outside the village dates from the time of the Black Death when it was a place for food to be left for the village when it was quarantined.

The landscape includes meadows, woods, ponds and wetlands with waymarked trails of short and longer lengths to encourage locals and visitors to explore the village's heritage fully. Every year a Miner's Memories Day is held at the Country Park Visitor Centre which permanently houses mine memorabilia and has a café and indoor viewpoint over the valley. The display includes miners' picks, spikes, crowbars, breathing equipment used in mine rescue, photos (many donated by local residents), and a certificate awarded to a local Alveley miner on achieving "56 years service to the mine and his country".

In 2006 a new footbridge linking Alveley and Highley was opened in the Country Park. This replaced a 1930s bridge that had become unsafe. The bridge provides access from Alveley to the Country Park Halt on the Severn Valley Railway, which is on