I visited a Shropshire village with a long and proud military history - and found a friendly community like no other
The hum of helicopters is just as familiar as the chatter in the queues for local shops in Shawbury, a friendly village with a strong sense of community.
Half village, half RAF base, the tiny settlement of Shawbury is home to around 3,000 residents.
The historic village - which predates the Domesday Book - is situated just eight miles from the county town of Shrewsbury, straddling the busy A53.
It might be the busy A-road that runs right through its centre, or maybe the two bakeries, chippy, Chinese takeaway and kebab shop, but Shawbury doesn't feel like other villages in Shropshire.
Nor did the locals squirm when I called it a town, or themselves refer to it as "the village," like so many other residents of places that proudly protect their rural idylls.
Despite the odd timber-framed property, church, village hall and tiny primary school, it's hard to use the quaint adjectives I usually have squirrelled away for this weekly feature.
