Hi - only just come back.
During WWII, when I was 4 or 5, we lived at Jackfield, which is now part of the Ironbridge site. Jackfield was the centre of the Victorian decorative tile industry, with Maw & Co, and Craven Dunill, which is now the tile museum, and my first school was right next door, but is now converted to a private residence.
Our cottage was on the edge of the Severn, and in the winter water would lap into our garden. We left in 1945, but in 1952 the row of cottages all fell down due to subsidence, in what was known as the 'Jackfield Slip'. It is all documented on the internet. You can also 'walk' all these places via Google Street View, which is now quicker and easier to use.
Further down the Severn was the Coalport China works, which is probably a museum now. There was an old 'inclined plane' where barges were pulled from the river and up to a higher canal.
Abergavenny also has high level canal, the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal.
Google is great for testing out places before you even go there, and most places have websites.
And if, some year, you want higher mountains, we love the Lake District, particularly the quieter northwest corner, Buttermere, Crummock Water, and Loweswater.