Secret Garden, Shrewsbury

Very recently I was exploring Shrewsbury with a good friend of mine, determined to find something new and interesting. And sure enough, the old saying that if you can't find anything to explore in your hometown then you aren't searching hard enough, is indeed true.
We found this harmless, inconspicuous bundle of tires surprisingly close to the middle of Shrewsbury. What exactly could be going on here?

From another angle, it was obvious that what I was in fact looking at was a staircase made out of tires. Of course, the big metal fence in the way made sure people didn't often see it from that angle, and the overgrown plants made sure it remained nicely disguised.

So what was at the top of these stairs? A curious bench placement, with no real view from it, but clearly placed deliberately in what must have been a garden at some point.

Moving beyond this, we found a whole area full of oddities- an old boat, partially buried under dirt, twigs and general forest shite. And then there was a lawn mower, which had been claimed by nature.

  

But while we're on the topic of things behind claimed by nature, it didn't end with the lawn mower, although myself and my friend did not realize this at first. Still, I felt that there was something here that I should be seeing but wasn't. 

I took a few steps back and looked again...

 

An entire building had been claimed by nature! Sure enough, poking ones head through the entrance revealed that the building was crammed wall to wall with junk and as such was impossible to enter.

We did find another boat nearby though...

  

On inspection, we concluded that had the boats been used recently, the grass around them would be disturbed or flattened. It wasn't, but a lovely stairway did lead down to the river. This too had not been used in ages.

 

But this staircase at least looked professionally made, in contrast to the tire stairs and also to the ones that led further uphill into the woods...

 

Following these steps upwards, we found a little shed full of stuff, a bike and the remains of a small house.

 

Initially I tried to open the door through conventional means, but as I pushed it, it simply fell down, not being attached by any hinges. And beyond that was an entire little cottage full of junk, and furniture. A toilet, a sink, and oars for a boat were all amongst the junk. And yet the place had a fireplace and chimney, although no visible doorway to another room. Perhaps it was buried beneath the rubble.

Overall, it is awesome to find such a bizarre treasure in Shrewsbury. A house, and its garden, all with so much potential. It would be great to see this place fixed up.
Until then it remains an awesome little find for explorers.