Ludlow

Ludlow is a small market town in Shropshire, 28 miles south of Shrewsbury. Wikipedia tells me Sir John Betjeman described it as "probably the loveliest town in England".

This is Dinham Bridge on the west side of the town, which crosses the River Teme. Perhaps the iconic view of Ludlow with the castle on the hill above it. The bridge is early nineteenth century,

Looking up river. There is a weir that powered a mill and today is still used to help generate electricity for the town.

Across the bridge, it is a steep walk up the hill, going past the chapel of St Thomas, dating from around 1190.

At the top of the road are these four buildings. The furthest is mock-Tudor, but the two nearest are very old - though not actually Tudor. The nearest is half-timbered like its neighbour, but has been covered up, probably in the Georgian era.

The road brings us to the front of the castle, which was hosting a music festival when we were there, and so not open to the public. "The Streets" were playing that night.

I did get a quick photo from the gateway!

Looking the other way is the market.

This is the Castle Lodge is one of the few actual Tudor buildings in Ludlow. The top floor was a later addition.

This building near the market has an unusual window down the side, and would have been very challenging to construct from cast iron at the time. The point was to reduce window tax, compared to three distinct windows.

This building would have been half-timbered, but then bricked over to make it look more modern. The extra weight of the bricks has then caused it to warp!

The old butter market is, I think, now a museum. This is the view of it from Broad Street.

At the bottom of Broad Street is the one remaining gate. The gate is very old, but the facade is Georgian, and the crenellations look rubbish in my opinion!

It looks more authentic from the other side.

This house on Raven Street was a brothel.

Some of the streets are quite narrow...

And...

And also...

The parish church is St Laurence's, and is set back behind buildings making it hard to get a good picture is tricky.

This was the best I could do.

The church dates from late eleventh century, though this window is Victorian.

There is a cafe in the back of the church, you can see the tables in the image, and the open door leads to an outside seating area. I have not seen that inside the body of a church before; it felt more inclusive and obviously help pay for the upkeep. Part of the church yard is also used as a beer garden; not seen that before either! This is the view from that doorway; the pub area to the left. At the back is the old Alms House, originally run by the Palmists.

Looking south down Old Street.

Going north from there, is Corve Street. The Feathers, the hotel we stayed in can be found there.

Interior...

Looking down the hill from outside the Feathers.

At the bottom of the hill and to the right is the station, still in use. The old goods shed is now used by the local brewery. Surprisingly busy at ten past eleven in the morning. And yes, I did have one myself.