It is located on the west bank of the River Severn and is 7 miles (11 km) south east of Bridgnorth.

A period of intense housebuilding also followed, giving Highley its distinctive red-brick terraced miners' houses.

The trail is a series of seven bronze plaques depicting Highley's past and incorporates the designs of West Midlands artist Saranjit Birdi.

Nicknames of the miners, such as Dick the Devil, Joyful Clappers, Cider Biscuit, Flaming Heck and others, are incorporated into the work.

Highley was the village where 17-year-old murder victim Lesley Whittle lived, and from which she was abducted by Donald Neilson, the Black Panther, in 1975.

Lesley, the daughter of coach firm owner George Whittle (1905–1970), was taken from her home on 13 January 1975 and found dead on an underground ledge beneath Bathpool Park near Kidsgrove, Staffordshire, on 7 March that year.

Neilson was found guilty of murdering Lesley Whittle and three other people (as well as wounding a Dudley security guard, who later died having never fully recovered from his injuries) at his trial in the summer of 1976, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

[citation needed] Highley houses the Severn Centre, a sports and leisure complex complete with heated lido (open-air swimming pool) that also includes the local library, football ground and cricket pitch.

It reformed in 1993 when a handful of brass band musicians met at the Bache Public House in Highley.