British Ironwork Centre and Sculpture Park, October 2024

When Evan showed the photos of our latest trip to my Mum, they’d have her repeating the same question: “Is that one made of metal too?” Yes, Mum. They’re all made of metal. We visited the British Ironwork Centre and Sculpture Park

Located just across the border in the town of Oswestry, the British Ironwork Centre is home to some massive sculptures and models of familiar characters, animals and artworks, made from recycled metals. It also has a lovely breakfast.

Prices differ depending on the time of year, so you’re best checking the website before you go. The British Ironwork Centre is free to enter on weekdays (excluding school holidays) between September and February, but £10 per adult on a weekend or school holiday. One child is free per full paying adult, and an extra child costs £3. March to August is £10 all week. Annual passes are £20 (or £10 for a renewal), which isn’t bad at all, and concessions are available.

The only other cost is parking, which is £4, but included if you are a passholder. So that £20 for a year is a bargain if you plan on going back.

It was a soggy Sunday morning when we went. FYI, if it’s wet when you go, make sure you have waterproof footwear/wellies, as it’s mainly on wet grass. Our kids found out the hard way, much to their annoyance.

The drive in alone is worth coming for, once you pass the massive Transformer statue (like a white Bumblebee from the film) and the giant Incredible Hulk stomping a car at the main gate, you’ll see so many cool models just getting in! We parked up right next to a massive ‘Predator’ from the film series of the same name, paid our membership and headed inside to the café.

The Forge Café looks brilliant. We walked in and were greeted by models of Venom, a Stormtrooper and a Dalek. It’s such a unique dining experience, with lots of different quirky tables and chairs, some in the open and some in private booths, E.T. and Elliott flying on a bike overhead, Spiderman hanging on a web, plus lots of other sculptures, models, paintings and other artwork.

And the food looked equally great. Lots of fantastic looking sweet treats and cakes, scones the size of a baby’s head. Massive. We were there for breakfast. Jo had been before and said it was good!

Usually served between 10-11:15am (or 9am on a Saturday), the breakfast was fantastic. It was also cheaper than the advertised £8.50 price. We paid £6 for a full-English as we’d arrived before 10am. Plus you get 10% discount on full price items at the café or in the shop with your membership. Elliott had a kid’s breakfast (which was oddly dearer than ours) and Evan had Bacon and Pancakes. All great food, fresh and delicious.

We headed out to the rear of the gift shop where it’s more like a Garden Centre, with statues and sculptures replacing the plants. There’s an outdoor bar and seating area, a stage across on the field and a childrens play area with climbing frame and slides.

There’s a row of small buildings containing workshops, where you can watch some of the artists crafting various items, which is worth checking out if it something you’re interested in learning about.

We had a look around the field which was littered with amazing statues of animals, including Giraffes, Hippos, Crocodiles and herds of Deer.

You have to check out the Spoon Gorilla. There’s a cage housing this 10ft Gorilla, crafted from 40000 recycled spoons which was unveiled by Prince Michael of Kent in 2014. It’s fantastic.

In a marquee just around the corner from the main building, we found the Superheroes and Villains exhibit. We loved this as it was home to some of our favourite characters created in such a unique way. All standing at 9ft plus tall, there was Optimus Prime and Bumblebee from Transformers, Marvel heroes like Spiderman, Captain America and Iron Man, DC characters Batman and The Joker, plus Star Wars sculptures of Darth Vader, Stormtroopers and an awesome Chewbacca whose fur was made from bike chains. Amazing.

At reception, we picked up some trail maps for the kids. They had a few different paths around the site, giving the kids interesting little side-quests to see different things.

Currently on, they have a nature trail – spotting trees and insects, The Minion trail – dotted around the site, they had large metal drums with a minion on the top. Each one wearing a different outfit (Batman, Hellboy, Military Uniform, etc) and the Extinction trail.

We crossed into the main field and followed the path to the Extinction Trail, which was a large walk around a field with lots of sculptures of endangered animals on plinths with information about each one, including White Rhino, Porcupines, Philippine Crocodiles, Gorillas and more. It was a long walk too, so you’re definitely getting your steps in whilst checking out the displays and reading up on the animals.

The Extinction Walk leads back around to the main field which hosts some of the bigger sculptures, the centrepiece of which is a giant Transformers style robot atop a hill. You’ll also see a Tank, a Centaur, a Rocket, plus other animals and artwork alongside my personal favourite, an amazing statue of the Egyptian God Anubis.

The British Ironwork Centre is also home to the Croeswallt Archery Club – Membership required – who you can see practicing their skills as your passing by.

We were nearing the car back once again and still had a lot to see: Giant robot gorillas, giant Minions, plenty of Dragons, all leading up towards more Dragons, Predators, a giant Spider, Satan (yes, that guy), giant eagles, Gollum with the One Ring, Trolls, more Dragons, more robots, werewolves, characters from Warcraft, Terminators, Planes, Pegasus, dinosaurs and much, much more.

All that, plus a string of familiar characters from DreamWorks and Disney films: Toothless the Dragon from ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, characters from ‘A Bugs Life’, ‘Monsters Inc’.

We took a look around the shop, which you could easily spend thousands of pounds in. It sold decorations for the house and garden, Christmas ornaments, wooden toys, tables and chairs, mirrors, along with small and large statues and sculptures available to buy. You might want to bring a Credit Card if you’re planning on buying some of the large items as they’re very expensive, which is understandable given the unique, hand-crafted nature of each piece and the hours that goes into making them.

We were going to pop back into the Café to pick up one of those massive scones and get some drinks before we went, but at 2pm, the café was packed. Definitely a great place to come early on for breakfast but given the popularity of the Ironwork Centre and the great food, makes it busy in the afternoon. It’s not so bad outside as it’s very open, but inside the shop and café, the aisles are narrow, and it was getting hectic.

We took a quick bathroom break before we left, only to find sculptures on the toilets! I hope they free them up when its busy!

It’s a great place to visit, and good value for the membership. We’ll definitely be back for breakfast and scones!