Shrop' till you drop ... discover secret hills and learn new skills

British breaks: Shropshire

What's on

Keep the kids amused at The Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre (shropshirehills discoverycentre.co.uk) at Craven Arms from 10 to 14 August. A wide range of family-friendly activities includes Puzzling Palaeontology, a virtual excavation showing how scientists identify new species.

Shrewsbury Flower Show (shrewsburyflowershow .org.uk), the world's longest-running horticultural show, takes place on 15 and 16 August. As well as more than three million blooms to see, there will be a programme of live music, fun events for children, and animal displays.

A Crafts and Skills Bonanza on 23 August will launch a new range of traditional rural craft courses at Acton Scott Historic Working Farm (actonscott museum.com), the setting for the BBC TV show, Victorian Farm. Try basket-making, bodging, leather work and wheelwrighting and sign up for the new workshops from October to March.

See magicians, contortionists, jugglers and jesters from around the world at the Shrewsbury International Street Festival (shrewsbury streetfest.co.uk) from 4 to 6 September.

See the sights

Catch The Shropshire Hills Shuttle (shropshirehills shuttles.co.uk) to see some of the finest attractions and remotest areas in the county. Running every Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday until 27 September, the buses follow two routes, The Long Mynd & Stiperstones Shuttle and The Secret Hills Shuttle.

More than £10,000 has been spent on improvements to The Shropshire Way (shropshireway.com). It's now more accessible, better maintained and waymarked; the 170-mile trail has also been re-routed in parts to pass attractions that would have previously required a detour, with shorter sections and loops for walkers who want to take a shorter trek. Meanwhile, horseriders can find a comprehensive guide to bridleways around the county at shropshireriding.co.uk.