Wrexham in the context of "North East Wales"

Shrewsbury (/ˈʃroʊzbri/ SHROHZ-bree, also /ˈʃruːz-/ SHROOZ-) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, 33 miles (53 km) northwest of Wolverhampton, 15 miles (24 km) west of Telford, 31 miles (50 km) southeast of Wrexham and 53 miles (85 km) north of Hereford. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 76,782. It is the county town of the ceremonial county of Shropshire.

Shrewsbury has Anglo-Saxon roots and institutions whose foundations, dating from that time, represent a cultural continuity possibly going back as far as the 8th century. The centre has a largely undisturbed medieval street plan and over 660 listed buildings, including several examples of timber framing from the 15th and 16th centuries. Shrewsbury Castle, a red sandstone fortification, and Shrewsbury Abbey, were founded in 1074 and 1083 respectively by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery. The town is the birthplace of the naturalist Charles Darwin. It has had a role in nurturing aspects of English culture, including drama, ballet, dance and pantomime.

Bangor University (Welsh: Prifysgol Bangor) is a public research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established in 1884 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; Welsh: Coleg Prifysgol Gogledd Cymru), and received a Royal Charter in 1885. In 1893 it became one of the founding institutions of the federal University of Wales. In 1996, after structural changes to the University of Wales, it became known as the University of Wales, Bangor (UWB; Welsh: Prifysgol Cymru, Bangor). It became independent of the University of Wales in 2007, adopting its current name and awarding its own degrees.

The university has over 10,000 students across three academic colleges and eleven schools, as well as several large research institutes. Its campus makes up a large part of Bangor and extends to nearby Menai Bridge as well, with a second campus in Wrexham teaching some healthcare courses.

Wrexham County Borough (Welsh: Bwrdeistref Sirol Wrecsam) is a county borough, with city status, in the north-east of Wales. It borders the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire and Shropshire to the east and south-east respectively along the England–Wales border, Powys to the south-west, Denbighshire to the west and Flintshire to the north-west. The city of Wrexham is the administrative centre. The county borough is part of the preserved county of Clwyd.

The county borough has an area of 193 square miles (500 km) and a population of 136,055. The north of the county borough is relatively urbanised and centred on Wrexham, with a population of 44,785, its industrial estate and several outlying villages, such as Brynteg and Gwersyllt. To the north east is the border village of Holt, while to the south of Wrexham, Rhosllanerchrugog, Ruabon, Acrefair and Cefn Mawr are the main urban villages. Further south again is the town of Chirk, near the border with Shropshire, while the Ceiriog Valley to the south-east and English Maelor to the south-west of the county borough are rural. The county borough was historically split between Denbighshire and Flintshire, with it all later being part of the county of Clwyd.

Chirk (Welsh: Y Waun) is a town and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, 10 miles (16 kilometres) south of Wrexham, between it and Oswestry. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 4,468. Historically in the traditional county of Denbighshire, and later Clwyd, it has been part of Wrexham County Borough since a local government reorganisation in 1996. The border with the English county of Shropshire is immediately south of the town, on the other side of the River Ceiriog.

The town is served by Chirk railway station and the A5/A483 roads.