Shropshire Walkabouts – TRAVEL WORDS

Flashback Friday #25

Back in 2015 I used to participate in a monthly photo challenge “The Changing Seasons” then hosted by the Cardinal. The idea was to capture all the changes: the seasons, the weather, different times of the day, some night photography perhaps? I decided to take the same route around my town of Ludlow to record the changes.

Midsummer: Why midsummer? Here in the northern hemisphere summer has only just begun (1 June according to meteorological terms, 21 June in astronomical) so midsummer should surely be mid to late July? However, it actually refers to the summer solstice and is regarded as a very important holiday in the Scandinavian countries – 24 June this year in case you are interested. [26 June in 2021]

Tourists have arrived now in their hundreds. Usually during this month the Ludlow Arts Festival is held, but due to economic reasons there isn’t one this year, a shame as I always enjoy the outdoor Shakespearian play. However there is a Fringe Festival so all sorts of odd things are going on around town.

The lime trees are fully in leaf now and you will notice that the benches are quite crowded today.

Date: June 14 2015
Weather: sunshine, cloud, thundery
Temperature: Warm (18°C)
Time: 13:30 – 18:00 PM

We’re going on a slightly different ‘walk’ today as it is the Secret Gardens opening and, as many of you will already know, I crave a garden so how can I resist a nosey into the backyards of my fellow Ludlovians? You may recognise parts of previous posts as the route covered some of the same ground, just not around the river.

Fringe band in Castle Square

Shrub roses in the churchyard

Scallop Shells

See that honeysuckle? (June)

Along the Teme

Green Alkanet (June)

Yes, it is almost time for Wimbledon

Continue reading Flashback Friday #25

Flashback Friday #23

The Priors Halton Loop was a walk for Restless Jo in 2014 when I was living in Ludlow, South Shropshire.

With the recent good weather I have been trying to get out for a daily walk. Last Sunday we set off towards Priors Halton farm, about a mile or so outside of Ludlow. It is one of the few flattish walks around here, as Ludlow is surrounded by hills.

Most walks in and around Ludlow begin with crossing a bridge. This time Dinham, with a glance at ‘Ludlow Beach’, as locals name the area on the Teme where it is often safe to paddle. Repairs are being made to the weir (including a by-pass to allow salmon moving 50 miles upstream to spawn an easier way through the river ) has meant changes to the ‘beach’ too. And today there are many more youths than usual. It is a hot day, though they are a bit big to swim in the extremely shallow waters – amazing to think how high the water level was only a couple of months ago.

Instead of heading left along the Bread Walk or ahead up the Donkey Steps onto Whitcliffe Common, today we are continuing along the road towards Priors Halton. The road ends at Priors Halton farm, but you can continue on foot or bicycle to Lady Halton or Oakly Park and even Bromfield where you will find Ludlow Food Centre, a café and restaurant. Continue reading Flashback Friday #23

Flashback Friday #2

This post was originally published on 8th January 2014 when I used to join in with Cee’s Which Way Challenge.

Shropshire has an odd name for its alleys or passageways, particularly those that pass through a building from one street to another – shuts – derived from shoots as in “shoots through”. In Ludlow there are a few of these as well as several cobbled lanes and hidden courtyards which date from the medieval period.

The Vineyard off Lower Broad Street

Quality Shut

Vineyard Shut

Harp Lane

This post is a contribution to Fandango’s Flashback Friday. Have you got a post you wrote in the past on this particular day? The world might be glad to see it – either for the first time – or again if they’re long-time loyal readers.

A Ludlow Walkabout

I lived in Ludlow from 2011 to 2016 and spent many an hour walking around the town. On this walk we’ll begin in the Castle Square and head eastwards out of the market place calling in at Quality Square, a delightful cobbled courtyard dating back to the 16th century, for a good breakfast at ‘The Wine Bar’¹. We’ll sit outside to enjoy the morning sunshine if possible, and listen to the chimes of the parish church bells. I’ll have the eggs Benedict with a black coffee please, but I can also recommend the full English breakfast.

Moving along Church Street one of three ‘cross’ streets that run in parallel (Church St, High St and Market St) we pass two carved heads that were moved to this site in 1743 from the site of a conduit brought into town in the 16th century though nothing remains of the conduit now. Two pubs along here, ‘The Rose & Crown’ and ‘The Church Inn’ offer decent pub food and real ales with the later doing a huge range of pies.

Slipping down College Street we find St Laurence’s Church, rebuilt in 1199 and extended between the 15th and 17th Centuries. This is an example of the perpendicular style of English church building. The tower is from the 15th century and is 135 ft (41m) high and can be seen from a great distance across the Marches and is often referred to as the Cathedral of the Marches. It has many fine features such as the wonderful stained glass windows and famous 15th century misericords, still looking like new and it is well worth a visit.

You can also climb the tower for superb views over the surrounding countryside, though I confess I never did. The church bells are famous too and the carillon plays a tune at 8am, noon, 4pm and 8pm with a different tune each day. A memorial plaque to A E Housman, famous for his poems ‘A Shropshire Lad’ can be found on the North wall near where his ashes are buried and a cherry tree has been planted in his memory. Housman in fact is not a Shropshire lad, but came from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. Continue reading A Ludlow Walkabout

Scrobbesbyrig/Shrewsbury: Town Trail Part 2

Leave Bear Steps on Fish Street (1) via Grope Lane to exit onto the High Street. On the corner is the former Cross Keys Inn. (44)

(The medieval folk were quite apt to call ‘a spade a spade’, or in this instance, the heart of the red-light district was called Grope Lane (ahem… shortened from something even more unacceptable). These areas were often found in the centre of market towns, such as Shrewsbury, to please the visiting market tradesmen who came to the town and whose stalls were close by, as well as the locals. St Alkmund’s Place was used for the market until the thirteenth century. Most towns have renamed their streets to something more genteel, such as Grove or Grape or Grave – you get the picture. Shrewsbury has retained its name, but then with names like Mardol and Dogpole you can sort of see why!)

Opposite is the Square. From here you can see several important buildings: Owen’s Mansion (41), the former Plough Inn (40), Wolley’s House (39), the Old Market Hall (38), the former Music Hall (37), and the very interesting Alliance Assurance Company with its Flemish styled ornate building of pink banded brick and grey stone. Look at the top of this building and you will see the loggerheads (leopards or lions) the Salop coat of arms. Continue reading Scrobbesbyrig/Shrewsbury: Town Trail Part 2