Time-weathered Shrewsbury.Credit: Chris Mellor/Lonely Planet
As upbringings go, Charles Darwin's was hardly a rags-to-riches affair. The Mount, his childhood home, sits back from the road, the white driveway gates surrounded by ivy-covered walls. Tall trees sprout from the bank and the former stables courtyard is now a car park.
The family home was built in the most prestigious part of Shrewsbury by Darwin's father, a doctor who married into the Wedgewood pottery empire. They would have had chickens and pigs running around the property at a time when much of the population of the English north and Midlands was crammed into squalid, urban houses.
The world celebrates the bicentenary of Darwin's birth on Thursday; the Mount was where his story began.
Significantly, his parents were obsessive about keeping detailed garden diaries. They would note what was planted where and compare growth in different soils and with varying access to sunlight.
In an early attempt at an autobiography, Darwin claims to have been "born a naturalist" but the evidence suggests he evolved into one. Being brought up in an environment of meticulous observation must have helped.
Frustratingly, the Mount is now the abode of pen-pushers. It's the District Valuation Office of Shrewsbury, although a charity called the Darwin Birthplace Trust is trying to get hold of the lease and turn the bottom floor into an interpretative centre.
The problem is that Shrewsbury has only just woken up to its heritage. Darwin was here until the age of 27. However, it's only in the past 10 years that locals have started to celebrate this.
Jon King, who set up the Darwin Festival in 2002 and is co-ordinating 2009's year-long bicentenary celebrations, says Shrewsbury is just realising what it has.
"People came to me saying that he was only here as a youngster and did most of his work elsewhere," Jon says. "I advised them to go to Stratford-on-Avon and apply that theory to Shakespeare."
Shrewsbury sits within a loop of the River Severn and is packed with cute little lanes, independent shops and quaint Tudor-era architecture. It's a place of creaky floorboards, black and white houses and great pubs.
To give people reasons to visit other than inherent pleasantness, the town is getting behind its famous son. A walking trail around significant sites in Darwin's life has been put together, for self-guided strolls or by guided tour. The latter is a better bet for those who want to hear the stories. These include Darwin's frantic dash to London from the old coaching inn in order to get himself onto the HMS Beagle as the ship's scientist. It was this voyage that saw him visit the Galapagos Islands and Australia, observing the unique wildlife and formulating his theories on the origins of the species.
Near the start of the trail is the bellstone. At noon on the anniversary of Darwin's birth, it has become a tradition to gather here and raise a toast. The bellstone is a boulder made of rock not native to the area. As a young boy, Darwin was told by a prominent naturalist that the world would come to an end before mankind found out how it got to Shrewsbury. This kicked Darwin's fledgling interest in geology into another gear and within 18 months he knew the boulder had been brought down from further north by glaciers during the Ice Age.
Another important factor in Darwin's early years - ironic given the perceived incompatibility between evolution and creationism - was his church. Darwin's family was from a non-conformist background and attended the Unitarian Church on Shrewsbury's High Street. A sign outside the church declares the Unitarian path to be: "A liberal religious movement rooted in the Judeo-Christian religions but open to insights from world faith, reason and science." In a time characterised by fixed thinking and dogma, young Charles was encouraged to open his mind and look at new ideas.
A statue of Darwin sits outside the town library, which used to be Shrewsbury School. Interestingly, the metal Charles has his back to the school building - he reportedly hated the school and its rigid adherence to teaching only the classics.
At school, Darwin was hardly Mr Popular. He spent a lot of time in his own little world or in the town's parks - the Dingle and the Quarry - looking for beetles and newts to study.
The Darwin Town Trail is just part of Shrewsbury's program. The Darwin Festival itself has become an annual event, featuring lectures from eminent scientists, concerts and even a giant birthday cake.
A sculpture commemorating the bicentenary is soon to be unveiled, while the Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery will host an exhibition devoted to Darwin and his influence.
Plays, comedy shows and dance premieres linked to the theme are also planned, as are fun days, aimed at getting children into science. Darwin Days - re-enactments of scenes from Darwin's early life - take place on June 6, July 4, August 8 and September 12. It's a sign of a town that is brimming with pride at the world-shaping work of one of their own.
Not bad for a schoolboy grub-hunter.
TRIP NOTES
Shrewsbury is served by regular direct trains from Manchester Piccadilly, which take an hour. Etihad Airways (www.etihadairways.com) offers return flights to Manchester, starting from $1990.
The Lion Hotel is the coaching house from which Darwin made his dash for the Beagle. Rooms cost £76 ($172) for a single and £92 for a double. Phone +44 1743 353 107, see thelionhotelshrewsbury.co.uk.
For details on the Darwin Town Trail and the events program for this year, see discoverdarwin.co.uk. Guided walking tours cost £4 when booked with the visitor information centre, phone +44 1743 281 200, see visitshrewsbury.com.
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