Ludlow

Ludlow was laid out as a planned Norman town around a castle begun about 1075 to hold the Welsh border, and it kept its grid and nearly five hundred listed buildings, from the timber-framed Feathers Hotel of 1619 to Georgian brick along Broad Street. The castle became the seat of the Council of the Marches, effectively governing Wales and the border counties for over a century. From the 1990s the town gathered an unusual concentration of independent butchers, bakers and greengrocers along with restaurants that drew national attention, and the Ludlow Food Festival, started in 1995 and held in the castle each September, was among the first of its kind in Britain and prompted many imitators. The parish church of St Laurence has misericords carved with drinkers and dishonest ale-wives.

What you actually see

• The castle - a Norman border fortress that governed Wales for a century.
• The Feathers - a 1619 timber frame among the most elaborate in England.
• The independent food shops - butchers, bakers and grocers still in the centre.
• The misericords - carved seat undersides in St Laurence with everyday scenes.

When to go

April to October; the Food Festival in September fills the town and books out accommodation months ahead. The Thursday and Saturday markets in the square run year-round.

Honest expectations

Ludlow's restaurant scene has changed since its peak and the Michelin stars it once held are gone. It is expensive for the region. The castle is a roofless ruin. Parking in the centre is limited and the town is hilly.

Nearby

The Clee Hills and Stokesay Castle lie close; Hereford is south and Shrewsbury north.