Ludlow Castle

What is it that makes wandering around historic ruins on a lovely sunny day so appealing?

 It could be an old abbey or priory, an old house or a castle!  At Ludlow Castle there are plenty of ruins to wander around, plenty of nooks and crannies to get lost amongst and plenty of places to sit and stare!

 I love just sitting against the warm stone and feeling both past and present all around me

Here is the history
The castle dates from Norman times, one of many built along the Welsh marches for the defence of England against the Welsh.  It was first owned by the de Lacey family and then the Mortimers. In 1327 Roger Mortimer helped Queen Isabella depose her husband Edward II.  The castle passed from the last Mortimer to Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York who lost and then won back ownership during the Wars of the Roses. In 1459 Richard's wife Cecily and his two younger sons, George, Duke of Clarence and Richard, Duke of Gloucester were captured there. Richard of York's son Edward IV sent his two sons Edward and Richard to live at the Castle.  It was from here after Edward's death in 1483 that both Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III) and Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers  - both uncles of the new young King - vied to be the first to return him to London for his coronation. 

Henry VII's eldest son Prince Arthur and his bride Katherine of Aragon stayed at the castle after their wedding in 1501 but Arthur died there in 1502 and Katherine married his brother Henry.  Their daughter, Mary Tudor, later Mary I, also spent some time living at the castle.  During the English Civil Wars Ludlow was a Royalist stronghold until 1646 when,under siege by Parliamentarian forces, it was finally surrendered.

Above is the Norman or Round Chapel in the inner ward.

Above is the door to the North Range

The River Teme as viewed from an upper window in the North range.

A window seat overlooking the round chapel and below one of the many spiral staircases.

Below is another view of the Keep and the Great Tower

After our lunch in the Castle Tea rooms it was time to move on to our next destination.

 I'll be back with more about the Acton Scott Victorian Farm later!

At Ludlow

Ludlow, nestling  in the Shropshire Hills,  is a lovely historic town with some super shops and cafes and a wonderful market.  If any of you watched 'Countryfile' on BBC1 last night you will recognize the market from the photo below.

Ludlow is well known as a 'foodie' town; it's shops and markets are full of wonderful, local produce and there is a modern food centre on the Shrewsbury road on the outskirts of the town.  The building at the top left of the photograph  houses the Ludlow Information Centre and Museum.  We did have a browse around - it's free admission - and found it was a very interesting local museum with a super geology collection.

When we first arrived  we stopped for coffee on Church Street before setting off to look at some of the buildings around the town.  Ludlow is noted for its timber framed buildings some of which we managed to photograph.

The Feathers is probably the most well-known of these lovely buildings - below are some more

De Grey's tea rooms and town house on Broad Street - further down the street we found the lovely building below

and the wool shop, too!

We also had a wander around the Antique and Flea market in the  Ludlow College building before heading towards our main goal -  the castle.

 We had a good look around here and had lunch in the wonderful Castle Tea Rooms.  I think the castle deserves a post of its own so I'll be back with more.