Shrewsbury's Square paved with colour for art activity

Last week the chalk was being washed away as quickly as it was going down.

But, with the arrival of the bank holiday weekend, the sun came out and it was the perfect weather to be creative.

The pavements were once again the tapestry for artists young and old to create colourful work in Shrewsbury’s Square.

Salopians took part in urban street painting on Saturday, after experts gave tips and demonstrations on a range of techniques inclusing eye catching 3D designs using poster paints, chalks and pastels.

A event based on street games was also held last weekend, but torrential rain and high winds made it tricky to say the least.

This weekend was a different story, with perfect conditions for a little street art and plenty of people around to appreciate it too.

It was part of an initiative to by Shrewsbury Bid and Shropshire Museums to bring fun activities to make the town centre vibrant.

Shrewsbury Bid’s Emma Molyneux said: “It went really well. We had a bit of rain overnight so some of it has washed away, but generally the weather has been so much better.

“We are grateful to the team at Shrewsbury Museums, who manage the Square on behalf of Shropshire Council, for working with us on these events. It’s all part of our ongoing campaign to bring Shrewsbury to life this summer in a safe and responsible way, by embracing the town’s outdoor space as much as we can.

Fay Bailey, manager of Shropshire Museums and Archives, said: “We hope by providing events like this we can help people enjoy being together again in a safe environment.”

After a largely miserable May, temperatures reached a toasty 22C (72F) over the weekend.

Shrewsbury was particularly bustling, and the Square looked like a scene of Parisien cafe culture as people sipped coffee in the sun under the shadow of the Old Market Hall.

Car parks were full and shops enjoyed a good trade as visitors returned to the town.

Alina Gui, assistant manager of Cote Brasserie, was happy to see people out and about and enjoying themselves after a gruelling year of lockdowns.

She said: “We’ve been very busy this weekend. People have been enjoying being outside and inside. We only reopened on May 17, so this is the second weekend for us.

“It has been like a normal bank holiday weekend, with lots of people coming out and enjoying their days off. They have been enjoying meeting their friends outside after so long in lockdown.”

Telford Town Park was also busy over the bank holiday weekend, with many families splitting their time between it and the nearby shopping centre as well as the Southwater entertainment venue.

According to the Met Office forecast, hot weather is expected to remain this week, before cooler conditions come in for the end of the week, bringing with it the potential for the odd thunderstorm.

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