Ludlow
Ludlow Castle
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.
Ludlow Town
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.
For more information on Ludlow please visit www.visitsouthshropshire.co.uk.