Their are plenty of robotslive events within an acceptable travel distance from shrewsbury. Talk to roboteers they are good at offering advice and knowledge, get something on paper share your ideas with others which will help with the do's and dont's.
It can be costly to get started but once your up and running its not so bad (and the enjoyment outweighs the cost)
If your struggling to make your own parts etc.... Their are people like Mario or robochallenge who can do fabrication work at good rates. build a fw first their great fun just check out the recent robochallenge event on youtube!

I preferred running a fw than a hw personally