Shrewsbury makes for a lovely day trip out of Birmingham. Whether it’s a hop in the car or the train, you can be exploring beguiling architecture, history, and the rolling Shropshire countryside within an hour or so. The birthplace of Charles Darwin also offers a more intriguing attraction for those with a mind for puzzles and an appetite for adventure: an escape room inside an actual prison. Shrewsbury Prison: The Cell Escape Room is a fully immersive experience that’ll have you living out Prison Break and Orange Is The New Black in real-time.
Shrewsbury Prison
Shrewsbury Prison was completed in 1793, and was a working prison until it was decommissioned in March 2013. Over its 220-year history, it housed male prisoners and even was the site of executions and burials until capital punishment was outlawed in the 1960s.
These days, Shrewsbury Prison is a tourist attraction, where visitors can explore the Victorian cells, exercise yards, and execution room – and of course, partake in activities like the escape room. The prison is also a popular filming location, and has appeared in TV shows, such as The Apprentice, Happy Valley, Without Sin, and Celebrity Hunted.
The escape room
Arguably, Shrewsbury Prison: The Cell Escape Room is the ultimate escape room. The cells are real. The orange jumpsuits are real. The countdown is real: the only thing not real is your crime. With over an hour on the clock, you’ll decipher challenges, puzzles, and hidden clues in the hope of breaking out of prison. You’ll be under the watchful eye of a real prison officer, so you’ll want to make alliances with fellow prisoners to have the best chance.
The game is suitable for anyone aged 12+, so you can get the whole family in on the crime spree action. More hands make light work, right?