Shropshire Star

Romantic image of Romany roaming in Telford

Romantic images of more sedate days greeted motorists in Shropshire when a family of traditional Romany gipsies stopped off in the county.

Published

A convoy of four wagons, called Vardos by gipsies, pulled up alongside the A442 just outside Apley, near Telford, yesterday.

Family members, who had with them about eight ponies, said they had travelled 115 miles from Bristol to be in the county and would be heading on again shortly. They claimed they had no particular destination in mind.

The seemingly timeless image of a traditional Romany family on the move in such a wagon is only a relatively recent one, however, as gipsies have only used caravans for the last 150 years.

Before that they walked, carried possessions in handcarts and slept in tents, called "benders" – hazel twigs covered in canvas.