A Nursery Near Shrewsbury, In the Countryside
Why town families drive 15 minutes out to Bojangles
Bojangles isn't a Shrewsbury nursery. We're a 15-minute drive north of town, on the Walford Campus in Baschurch, set in the Shropshire countryside.
For some Shrewsbury families that drive is too far — and that's a fair call. But for many it isn't, and they make the journey because the setting offers things a town nursery genuinely can't. This page is for the families wondering whether the drive is worth it, and what their week would actually look like.
The journey from Shrewsbury
We're about 8 miles north of Shrewsbury, just off the A528. Drive time depends on where in town you start, but it's typically 15 to 20 minutes — and crucially, the journey is mostly out of traffic, not into it. You drive against the morning commute, not with it.
Approximate drive times to Walford Campus from common Shrewsbury starting points:
- Bicton, Montford Bridge, Bomere Heath: 8–12 minutes
- Battlefield, Harlescott (north Shrewsbury): 12–15 minutes
- Shrewsbury town centre: 15–20 minutes via A528
- South Shrewsbury (Meole Brace, Bayston Hill): 20–25 minutes
Most parents fold the drop-off into a commute they were already making toward Oswestry, Wem, Whitchurch, or the A5. If you're heading that way for work, the detour is often a few minutes, not the whole 15.
Why Shrewsbury families choose to drive
When we ask parents who've made the move from a town nursery, four reasons come up consistently:
A genuine outdoor environment, every day
The Walford Campus shares its grounds with Walford & North Shropshire College, which means we have outdoor space measured in fields rather than in metres of paved playground. Our children spend large stretches of every day outside, in almost all weathers, with proper kit. You don't have to organise this; it's how the day runs.
A small, settled team your child knows
We're registered for 35 places, with a team of nine qualified practitioners holding Level 3 to Level 7 early years qualifications. Several of the staff have been with us for ten years or more. There's no shift rotation through anonymous staff — your child has a named key person who genuinely knows them.
One setting, baby to school
Many town pre-schools start at age 2 or 3. Our Baby Room takes children from a few months old, so a younger sibling can start in the same setting where the older child is already settled. The continuity matters — for the child and for the family.
A calmer start to the day
Counter-intuitively, parents often tell us the rural drive is the easier morning, not the harder one. No queueing for parking. No tail-end of school-run traffic. No urban anxiety about being clipped on a busy pavement at handover. The drop-off itself is faster, and the air is different.
None of this is a knock on Shrewsbury nurseries — many are excellent. It's a different proposition for a different kind of family.
Practical things you'll want to know
- Ofsted: Good across all areas — URN EY370743, most recent inspection January 2022
- On-site parking: ample, free, no permits, easy in and out
- Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00am–6:00pm
- Open weeks: 48 weeks a year (closed Easter week, last two weeks of August, Christmas week, bank holidays) — full year-round cover for working parents
- Funded hours: we accept all government-funded entitlements, including the 30 hours for working parents from 9 months
- School transitions: we work with primary schools in Shrewsbury and surrounding villages, sharing learning records and running pre-school routines that mirror reception
- Settling-in: minimum three settling-in sessions before your child's paid start date, with extra sessions if needed
Full address: Walford Campus, Walford & North Shropshire College, Baschurch, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 2HL. Phone 01939 260006 or email info@bojanglesnursery.co.uk.
Where our Shrewsbury families come from
Our families live across Shrewsbury and the surrounding north Shropshire area. Common pickups include:
- North Shrewsbury: Battlefield, Harlescott, Heath Farm
- West Shrewsbury: Bicton, Bicton Heath, Copthorne
- Northern villages: Bomere Heath, Montford Bridge, Leaton, Walford
- Shrewsbury town centre and surrounds
If you're unsure how the journey would work from where you are, call us — we'll give you an honest answer about whether other families nearby make the same trip and how they fit it into their week.
Current availability
Availability shifts week to week across our Baby, Toddler, and Pre-School Rooms. Before driving out for a visit, please call 01939 260006 or send us a message so we can confirm what's currently open in the room you need. Our most up-to-date place-by-place position is on the main Baschurch page.
Frequently asked questions
Bojangles is on the Walford Campus in Baschurch, about 8 miles north of Shrewsbury town centre. Drive time is typically 15 to 20 minutes from most Shrewsbury postcodes via the A528, with no town-centre traffic to negotiate. From the north and west of Shrewsbury — Bicton, Bomere Heath, Battlefield, Harlescott, Montford Bridge — the journey is shorter.
Yes. A meaningful share of our families live in Shrewsbury and choose to drive out for the countryside setting, the outdoor space, and the smaller, settled team. The journey is easier than it sounds: most parents fold it into their existing commute toward Oswestry, Wem, or the A5, and find the rural drive a calmer start to the day than a town-centre drop-off.
It depends on what you want. Town nurseries are convenient and there are good ones. But you can't replicate genuine outdoor space, peer-group continuity, or a small staff team in a busy urban setting — and those are the specific things parents who drive out tell us they value most. If your child thrives outdoors, if you want a setting they can stay in from baby to school age, or if a calmer start to the day matters, the 15-minute drive is often easily justified.
Yes. There is on-site parking on the Walford Campus, designed for college and nursery use, with no permits or pay-and-display. Drop-off and pick-up are quick — usually under five minutes from arriving in the car park to leaving — which compares well to negotiating a town-centre nursery in morning traffic.
Yes. Many of our Pre-School children move on to primary schools in Shrewsbury and the surrounding villages. We work with each receiving school to share learning records and key information about your child, and we run pre-school sessions that mirror reception-class routines so the move feels familiar rather than abrupt.
Availability shifts week by week as families confirm starts and as children move between rooms. Please call 01939 260006 or message through the website to confirm what's currently open in the room you need before booking a visit.
Worth the drive?
Easiest way to find out is to come and look around. If after the visit you decide a town nursery suits you better, we'll respect that — we'd rather you make the right decision for your family than the convenient one for us.