Wem

Wem is not a town of grand hotels, and that is part of its charm. Visitors tend to stay in bed and breakfasts and small guest houses set in Georgian townhouses or converted farm buildings just outside the centre, many run by locals happy to point guests towards the sweet pea show or the best walking routes along the River Roden. This style of accommodation suits Wem's pace: quiet, personal, and close enough to the High Street to walk to the Thursday market or a pub dinner.

For a wider choice of hotel-style accommodation, Shrewsbury is only around 10 miles south and offers everything from budget chains to boutique townhouse hotels, making it a practical base for anyone wanting more facilities while still being able to reach Wem, Hawkstone Park and the North Shropshire countryside within half an hour. Whitchurch, a similar distance to the north, offers a smaller but comparable spread of options.

Whichever base is chosen, the appeal of staying near Wem is the same: uncomplicated market-town life, easy access to the Shropshire and Cheshire meres, and a slower alternative to the county's better-known tourist hotspots.

Wem is a small town, but there is enough here to fill a relaxed day or two, especially combined with the wider North Shropshire countryside on its doorstep.

• Wem Town Hall — an striking Victorian building from 1904 that anchors the town centre and still hosts concerts, markets and community events.
• Wem Heritage Centre — a small museum housed in a former school, telling the story of the town through the great fires, its agricultural past and its wartime history.
• St Peter and St Paul's Church — a medieval parish church with a Norman doorway and a 15th-century tower, one of the oldest structures in Wem.
• Eckford Sweet Pea Show — held every July in honour of Henry Eckford, the Wem-based breeder who created the modern sweet pea, this remains a highlight of the town's calendar.
• Wem Jubilee Park — a green, family-friendly space close to the centre with room to walk, play and picnic.
• Wem Thursday Market — a market charter dating back to 1202 still shapes the rhythm of the town, with stalls setting up on the same day each week.
• Hawkstone Park Follies — around a 15-minute drive away, this dramatic 18th-century landscape garden of cliffs, caves and towers is one of Shropshire's most unusual attractions.

The High Street is home to a handful of traditional pubs, including The Castle Hotel and The Old Post Office, alongside The White Lion for a more sport-and-ale atmosphere. Just outside town, The Old Rectory Hotel offers a well-stocked bar alongside its rooms. Beer drinkers should look out for Wem Brewing Company's cask ales, brewed locally and served across several of the town's pubs.

The countryside around Wem is gentle, low-lying Shropshire farmland dotted with meres, mosses and quiet lanes rather than dramatic peaks, which makes it a relaxed setting for campers rather than an adventurous one. As with everywhere else in England, wild camping is not permitted without the landowner's explicit permission, so pitching up on a whim in a farmer's field or roadside verge is not an option; visitors should stick to licensed campsites, caravan parks or farms that offer camping with the owner's consent.

Several small, family-run campsites and certified sites operate within a short drive of Wem, typically offering simple grass pitches for tents and touring caravans alongside electric hook-ups, and some also have a handful of glamping options such as shepherd's huts or pods for those who want a roof without a hotel. The flat terrain and quiet B-roads make the area easy for cycling and walking between pitches, and proximity to Hawkstone Park and the Shropshire meres gives campers plenty to explore without needing to drive far each day.

Late spring to early autumn is the most comfortable window for camping here, when the ground is drier and the days long enough for evenings around the campsite before dusk. Midsummer coincides with Wem's Eckford Sweet Pea Show, giving campers a good reason to time a trip around it, while a shoulder-season visit in May or September tends to bring quieter sites and cooler, more comfortable nights for sleeping under canvas. Whatever the season, checking a site's facilities and any local restrictions in advance remains the safest way to plan a stay, since provision varies considerably between the simplest certified sites and the more developed holiday parks nearby.