September, as well as the Sweet Pea Festival on the third weekend of July. Wem Vehicles of Interest Rally & Grand Parade also runs alongside the Sweet Pea Festival on the Sunday. A Wem 10 km running race was instituted in 2019. There is a Wem Transport show annually in July. Religious life Within the town there are four main churches: the Anglican Parish Church of St. Peter & St. Paul Baptist Church Methodist and Roman Catholic. Transport Rail The Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway was completed in 1858, and Wem has been connected to national rail services since this time. The town has a railway station located on the Welsh Marches Line. All services are operated by Transport for Wales. The majority of services that call at the station are between Shrewsbury and Crewe, however, some long-distance services to Manchester Piccadilly, Cardiff Central, Swansea, Carmarthen and Milford Haven also stop at the station during peak times. Canals The canal network came closest to Wem at Whixhall and Edstaston; the Ellesmere canal was closed to navigation by Act of Parliament in 1944. Air There is an airfield at Sleap. Bus The town is served by the 511 bus route, operated by Arriva Midlands North, which runs between Shrewsbury and Whitchurch. Some services terminate in Wem and do not continue to Whitchurch. Education St Peters is a Church of England primary school in Wem. Thomas Adams School is a state-funded secondary school, established in 1650. This was an independent grammar school until 1976, at which point it merged with Wem Modern School to form a comprehensive school. It also has a Sixth Form College on site. A number of private schools have operated in Wem over the centuries. William Hazlitt's father ran a 'model crammer for the dissenting rationalist' in the town, the 'Mrs Swanswick's School' ran from the late 1700s to the 1840s and one of its headmasters, Joseph Pattison, took a leading role in founding British Schools to educate children from less advantaged families. A further six private schools operated out of Wem over time. Local landmarks and attractions Fenn's, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve Hodnet Hall Gardens Soulton Hall and Soulton Long Barrow Whixall Marina Hawkstone Park Twin towns Since 1978, Wem has been twinned with Fismes in France, after which is named a road in Wem, Fismes Way. Notable townsfolk Sir Rowland Hill coordinator of the