Discovery centre marks 10th birthday with event series

The Shropshire Mammoth is a big attraction at the centre

A series of events are being staged to mark the 10th anniversary of a Shropshire visitor centre.

More than a million people have visited Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre in Craven Arms since it opened in 2001.

Shropshire Council owns and runs the building, which was set up as a Millennium project to support tourism.

Manager Andrea Stanger said she was proud of the centre: "We've proved we're here to help the local area. It does what was it was asked to do."

Ms Stanger said she felt it was inappropriate in the current economic climate to have a big party to celebrate the birthday.

However, a number of Easter activities for children are being held and entry fees to the exhibition area are being permanently cut.

Pete Postlethwaite

Also known as the Secret Hills Discovery Centre, the main building has a grass roof and houses a replica of the mammoth skeleton discovered in Shropshire in 1986.

The extensive Onny Meadows are another part of the complex, where visitors are encouraged to walk, cycle and explore nature.

Entry to the centre is free, although visitors have to pay to see the exhibition area which includes the Shropshire Mammoth and a virtual balloon ride, with narration by the actor, Pete Postlethwaite, who lived in south Shropshire.