Selfcatering holiday cottages, Ludlow town centre, Shropshire, England, UK
Selfcatering holiday cottages, Ludlow town centre, Shropshire, England, UK

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Ludlow

Ludlow castle

and St. Laurence’s Church.

still dominate the town as they have for hundreds of years. The castle, started around 1085, was the administrative capital of the Council of the Marches. (The Marches included all of Wales and 5 adjacent English Counties.) From the top of the norman keep you have fine views of the surrounding countryside and Ludlow town centre. St Laurence’s church is one of England's finest churches and is a member of the Greater Churches Group. Largely rebuilt in the fifteenth century in the perpendicular style, the church still contains remains of the earlier twelfth century building. One of St. Laurence’s finest treasures is the finely carved misericords. The town contains a wealth of medieval, timber framed buildings such as The Feathers Hotel and The Readers House and the Georgian buildings that line Broad Street. The museum includes displays about the internationally famous geology of the Ludlow area as well as containing interesting displays from Ludlow’s past. My favourite is the mouse trap and man trap. It has a very fine collection of fossils from the Ludlow area some of which were collected by me in my younger days.


Ludlow food and drink weekend


In more recent times Ludlow has built up a national reputation for the quality of its local produce

and its Michelin restaurants Mr. Underhills,,

and La Becasse.

As well though, there are numerous other places to eat

where you can experience genuine top quality, non-industrialised food. Ludlow contains a large number of independent, specialist food shops: three butchers, four bakers, cheese shops, delis, whole food shops, organic food shops etc. All sell high quality produce much of which is sourced locally. In Castle Street, in the square, a farmers market

is held once a month and a traditional open air market is held three or four times a week depending on the time of year. In the centre of the town are numerous pubs and bars, many selling local beers.

Outside Ludlow are numerous interesting places to eat such as. The Stagg Inn

at Titley, the The Waterdine

at Llanfair Waterdine and the The Jolly Frog at Leintwardine.

Ludlow and Marches Festival of Food and Drink

takes place each September, during the second week end, and is held in the castle and the centre of the town. It is now an extremely popular event and attracts thousands of visitors over the three days it is held. The most popular event is the sausage trail. Our accommodation for this event is usually booked at least six months before this event. The Ludlow Spring Food Festival (www.springevent.org.uk)

was launched in 2009 and featured bread, bangers and beer. It proved very popular and is now an annual event, being held during the second weekend of May.

An event that is becoming increasingly popular is the annual Ludlow Medieval Christmas Fayre when Ludlow castle is bustling with medieval entertainers, minstrels and traders. It is held over the Saturday and Sunday over the last week end in November and is the ideal family day out.

The Ludlow Festival (www.ludlowfestival.co.uk), started in 1960. The centre piece of the festival is a play by William Shakespeare held in the open air in the inner bailey of Ludlow Castle. There are also talks and a variety of concerts. On the last night, a pop concert is held in the outer bailey of the castle with a grand firework finale; this event always sells out quickly.

But Ludlow is not just about history and eating, it makes the ideal base for a walking holiday. For gentle walking, Whitcliffe Common,

the remnants of a much larger medieval common, use of which was acquired by the burgesses of Ludlow before 1241, is ideal. For the more adventurous there is the Shropshire Way and Mortmer Trail. At Church Stretton there is Cardingmill Valley and the Long Mynd excellent walking country with much of interest to the naturalist. If you like fishing the river Teme, that runs round the town, has high water quality and its mainly undeveloped banks make the river an ideal habitat for fish. A two-mile stretch of the Teme and its tributary, the Corve, are available for fishing at Ludlow and are controlled by the Ludlow Angling Club. Phone 01584 872575 for information about day fishing tickets. Ludlow is also good for horse riding Ludlow race course is just outside the town. There are usually about 15 race meetings each year. For those who enjoy golf, Ludlow Golf Club is just outside the town. For the cyclist there are numerous routes (www.shropshirecycling.co.uk) to enjoy, whatever your cycling skills are.

Ludlow Castle seen from Whitcliffe


Close to Ludlow are numerous places of interest.

Ironbridge Gorge Museum (20 Miles) This is the valley that changed our world, this is where the Industrial Revolution began.
Church Stretton(12 Miles) Church Stretton's glorious setting in a narrow valley earned the name "Little Switzerland" from the Victorians when they tried to establish it as a spa, and visitors today are still refreshed by its beauty.
Clun is a town in miniature, lying in the valley of the River Clun. The ruined Norman castle, built in the 12th century to defend the Welsh border dominates the town.
Severn Valley Railway This restored steam railway travels down the beautiful Severn valley from Bridgnorth to Bewdley then onto Kidderminster.
Acton Scott Working Farm. Experience daily life on an upland farm at the turn of the century. This, together with daily demonstrations of rural crafts complete the picture of estate-life a hundred years ago.
Croft Castle, Berrington Hall

(National Trust) and Stokesay Castle,

are also worth visiting. News

enquiries@ludlow-selfcatering.co.uk