Shrewsbury Prison

We booked this guided tour through trip advisor as it was one of the highest rated activities close to where we were staying (Ellesmere). It was easy to get to and park at (there is a public pay and display car park right by the entrance £5.50 for 24 hours). Our tour guide Graham was brilliant. His experience and insight of having worked in prisons and Shrewsbury prison itself for many years really brought the buildings to life. He gave plenty of time for questions and to explore the different sections. We found many of his insights very surprising (eg the changes over time in terms of sanitation). We really enjoyed our visit and think it was great value for money for a 2-3 hour activity.

Here for the Prison Cell Escape Room experience. Everyone very friendly and a fascinating place to visit. Escape room very well thought out and just the right level of complexity. Highly recommended.

Loved our visit here today. We took the guided tour with Dan and he was awesome. Very informative and made it really interesting.If you're considering going, take the tour. Without it, it'll more of a visual and less informative.

I booked my ticket late on the evening before the actual tour date. When I rang shortly after they opened for the day, I was the only one on that day's tour. I was very glad to see that a couple booked in the morning of the tour date. The husband was 12 years older than me and that figured in many of his and my responses to what we were hearing.The tour guide, Matt, was very considerate and gave us warnings where necessary about how to safely get through sections of the tour. That doesn't mean it was difficult but you had to be careful. Only in accessing the final section were the stairs significantly narrower.For me, seeing the view from the FOURTH level would be incentive enough never to offend again, if I were ever to offend in the first place.Each part of the procedures was explained from the point at which they were admitted to prison right through to ultimate execution, where required. The layouts of the different cells were explained as were the various attitudes of inmates and the procedures in dealing with these.It was two hours very well spent. I can highly recommend this to all. We were given the option not to see the final part of the tour, if we wanted to. It is not for the faint-hearted and is a far cry from the T.V. series Porridge".I might add that I had travelled for close on three hours by train from Barry in South Wales to get there.It was a great day-filler."

If you like dark, gritty places with history and edge behind them, there is nowhere better than the Victorian Shrewsbury prison.Having only ceased being a vessel of incarceration as recently as 2013(so recently that Google took two visits to capture Street View photos when it was still a working prison) there is a lot of interesting facts and information to uncover.Guided tours are available, but you can also freely explore as well. There is also the opportunity to partake in an escape room, a challenging but very exciting experience.Our escape room guides were very entertaining and helpful, and thanks to them we narrowily won the game, earning a well deserved free drinks voucher for use in the restaurant.Speaking of the restaurant, the food is exceptionally good and the staff are very friendly and approachable. I got a free hot chocolate which was absolutely delicious and to die for- it was probably the best one I have ever had!

We went for the night behind bars experience. We had a great time. There were a few groups who were there for a laugh which fair play everyone goes for their own experience. Would definitely recommend it though. Staff were amazing! The gift shop could do with a restock though. Planning another visit next year.

Our overnight stay was an amazing and unforgettable experience. The staff were very informative and friendly with lots of stories to tell.The tour was great then we were free to explore the prison.After the lights went out it was extremely dark and a little scary which just added to the whole experience when we heard bangs and crashes throughout the night.The cells were very basic which we expected and it was very cold in the prisonAn unforgettable experience and highly recommended

Great staff here. Lady that greeted us gave us the run down even though we didn't buy tickets ahead of time. Self tour was great but we do recommend the guided tour as you'll get much more history behind the prison. The guided tour takes about 2 hours which is why we sadly couldn't do it. So auch history here. Be sure to give yourself enough time.

Spent a night during a prison experience, as a snapshot into prison life you get a look and feel of how it feels albeit in a more controlled and relaxed atmosphere, still worth doing for the uncomfortable beds, loud noises and long dark quietness. If you want to experience life behind bars and be able to leave on your own terms I would definitely recommend