Ludlow

"England's finest market town" - Country Life

Described by John Betjeman as “…England’s finest town” and by Country Life magazine as “England’s finest market town”, Ludlow is not a museum. It is steeped in tradition and history, but it is still very much a working town, a bustling centre of trade that serves a large, natural hinterland.

Ludlow Castle – still at the commercial heart

Ludlow’s commercial heart is clustered around the market square, at the top end of which sits Ludlow Castle. Once a major administrative centre where judges, lawyers and courtiers gathered to run the vast tract of England and Wales known as the Marches, Ludlow Castle is now a Grade I listed historic monument. It proudly stands atop a cliff overlooking the River Teme.

Like most of the listed buildings in Ludlow town, the Castle has been pressed into sympathetic modern use – it remains very much a working building, acting as the town’s mediaeval equivalent of the NEC or Olympia. It’s the home of annual events, including an open-air Shakespeare production, a vintage vehicle rally, a Christmas Fayre with a very medieval flavour and the annual food festival that is known as the best of its kind in the country. The internationally acclaimed Ludlow Festival takes place each year in June/July. You can find more information by clicking here.

Food produced the traditional way

With local food producers still selling their wares in their local market town, Ludlow is the home of traditional food, produced the traditional way – from bread made with slow-rise dough, to hand-raised pork pies, and fresh fruit and vegetables, many of them from local farms. Little wonder that the town is home to a Slow Food Convivium and has become the UK’s first Cittaslow – or ‘slow city’ – Ludlow is a town where the quality of life makes it a good place to live.

An architectural paradise

Ludlow boasts around 500 listed buildings. The centre of the town is an amazing concentration of architectural heritage, with buildings from different eras rubbing shoulders with one another. Apart from the diversity of this built environment, Ludlow is also unique in that many of the buildings are in regular, commercial use –you can admire and enjoy them from the inside, as well as from the street.

Broad Street, with the Buttercross at the top and the town wall gatehouse at its foot, is arguably one of the country’s finest streets. St Laurence’s Church, one of England’s Greater Churches, is a jewel in the town’s architectural crown. With over 40,000 visitors a year, its soaring Perpendicular style is awe inspiring causing many to gasp as they enter. There are fine collections of medieval glass and stunning 15th century misericords and from
the tower, the magnificent views have been immortalised by Housman’s poetry. The Grade I listed Feathers Hotel must be one of the most-photographed buildings in Shropshire, while the Assembly Rooms, built in the 1840s and now a vibrant arts centre, must be one of the most visited.

Ludlow’s built environment is the backdrop for a thriving commercial trade that sustains a selection of quality shops and provides traditional and speciality markets in the market square five or six days a week for most of the year. Indeed, the Ludlow shopping experience is well worth sampling in its own right – you’ll find a selection of small, family-owned outlets that sell quality products, or fine food and drink, with a personal touch. For more information on shopping in Ludlow please click here for a leaflet.

The River Teme – a timeless influence

The river Teme is very much part of Ludlow’s history and past prosperity –five weirs, including the unusual and recentlyrestored Horseshoe Weir, produced power for a series of watermills engaged in processing wool from Marches sheep.

Today, the Teme provides a range of recreational facilities. At the Linney park, you can picnic, play putting or hire a rowing boat to mess about on the river. Downstream, at the town’s Millennium Green, the river widens out and flows over a shingly ‘beach’ that
has been enjoyed as a paddling place by generations. Free fishing is available on stretches of the riverbank.

The banks of the Teme reveal some of Ludlow’s geology; Whitcliffe Common, which affords one of the finest views over the town, was once part of a tropical sea in the Palaeozoic period. The town museum’s Reading the Rocks display illustrates Ludlow’s geological prominence and offers a good overview of the social, commercial and architectural history of the town.

Something for everyone

For lovers of the countryside, Ludlow makes a great base. Surrounded by the hills of Shropshire and North Herefordshire, and lying on the Shropshire Way and Mortimer Trail, Ludlow is ideally placed as a base for walking or cycling. It also has local facilities for sports such as mountain biking, horse riding and canoeing as well as a popular leisure centre.

The Marches area is well blessed with impressive country houses, many of which are owned by the National Trust and open to visitors. Keen gardeners will not only find plenty of fine gardens in the area that are open to the public, but also some highquality nurseries and growers, as well as a host of artisan producers of garden furniture, statuary and pottery.

Ludlow can genuinely claim to offer something for everyone – without compromising on quality. There is almost always something going on: one of the regular festivals that take place in the Norman castle; a speciality market in the town square or,in the season, National Hunt racing. Not to mention all the good eating available, including our Michelin-starred restaurants. It’s very much a live market town that combines ‘living history’ with the best aspects of the modern world; because the pace of life in Ludlow is based on quality, the town is refreshingly different – and addictive. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself coming back regularly, for ‘just another visit’!

Ludlow Facts

Tourist Information Centre - located in the market square: email: ludlow.tourism@shropshire-cc.gov.uk or Tel: 01584 875053
For general information including a diary of events, - www.shropshiretourism.co.uk/ludlow
Calendar of events leaflet - available from the Ludlow TIC, or download here
For information on food and drink; - www.foodfestival.co.uk, www.theludlowsausage.co.uk, www.localtoludlow.co.uk, www.slowfoodludlow.org.uk
Ludlow Festival - Shropshire's Premier Arts Festival presents a programme of events annually in June/July. www.ludlowfestival.co.uk
Cittaslow information - www.cittaslow.org.uk
Ludlow Assembly Rooms - a lively Arts Centre with an all year round prpogramme of theatre, performance, cinema and activities - www.ludlowassemblyrooms.co.uk
Ludlow Castle information - www.ludlowcastle.com
For details of specific festivals; - www.ludlowfestival.co.uk (arts festival), www.marchestransportfestival.co.uk (vintage vehicles), www.ludlowcraftevents.co.uk (Medieval Christmas Fayre)
Ludlow Town Trail - guide available in outlets throughout the town.
For the programme of national hunt racing just outside the town, - www.ludlowracecourse.co.uk
Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural beauty - http://www.shropshirehills.info/
For information on public transport: www.tess.org.uk or Tel: 01588 673888
Ludlow railway station enquiry number - Tel: 01584 877090

For more information about Shropshire, including Accommodation, Attractions and Activities, visit Shropshire Tourism