Art teacher still passionate about town trail
BBCA former art teacher who created a walking trail to encourage children to take an interest in the town where they live is still maintaining it a decade later.
"The first time I came to Shrewsbury I walked around and I couldn't believe what a beautiful place it was," Mike Griffiths said.
But he was surprised when children at the Wakeman School, where he taught, had no knowledge of some of the local architecture.
His response was to create a trail around the town, later decorated with the children's artwork, which took them around some of the sights.
Mr Griffiths recalled his first walks near Shrewsbury Abbey and said: "I looked at the chimney stacks and chimney pots outside, which are stunning examples of brickwork."
But when the children told him they had not seen the chimneys, the former art teacher said: "I've got to do something about this."
He said he decided to get the children out in the town to sketch what they could see.
"I wanted them to look up and look up at the architecture that's all around the town," Mr Griffiths said.
Later, Mr Griffiths asked his pupils to create artwork on tiles and when the school came to close in 2013, it was decided to use them to decorate the walking trail.
"We don't need to pay an artist to do this, we've got 4,000 artists," Mr Griffiths reasoned.
The tiles can still be seen displayed all around the town and Mr Griffiths said he keeps an eye on them, to make sure they stay free of vandalism.
Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.