Ludlow - the food and drink capital
Food lovers' paradise?

Ludlow has deservedly acquired a reputation for being the centre for some of the best food and drink in Britain.

There are several reasons for this phenomenon: firstly, the unspoilt countryside of the Marches contains contains an amazing number of small independent food and drink producers whose commitment to producing 'real' food of the highest quality with the minimum of unnatural interference. In the words of Graeme Kidd, currently Mayor of Ludlow: "Quality food and drink produced by local companies that care about their crops and tend their animals with heart rather than with a permanent eye on the balance sheet, that is what is at the heart of the Ludlow experience."

The second reason is that Ludlow itself contains an impressive number of independent, specialist food shops: five butchers, four bakers, cheese shops, delis, whole food shops, organic food shops.... All selling products of the highest quality, much of which is sourced locally. Not just traditional shops, but also there is a farmers' market held once a month in the main square, as well as the traditional open-air market containing food stalls, held three or four times a week. . There are also more than a few farm shops in the surrounding area.

The next reason - and possibly the one that gets the most attention from the media - is the restaurants of Ludlow, and beyond. It's not just Michelin - other independent restaurant guides come to the same conclusion: in and around Ludlow there are more top quality restaurants than anywhere else in Britain except for London. Most of the chefs who started these restaurants chose the location at least partly because of the proximity of local food supplies of the highest quality - produced by people who really care.

It's not just gourmet meals that Ludlow excels in. At all levels of eating establishments from the humblest cafe upwards, you will be far more likely to experience genuine top quality, non-industrialised food than almost anywhere else in Britain.

But good restaurants and good producers are by no means the only thing that Ludlow has to offer lovers of good food and drink. The Ludlow & Marches Festival of Food and Drink takes place in the Castle and throughout the town centre. Now in its seventh year, it is the biggest and unquestionably the best of its kind, with a tremendous atmosphere of fun, enthusiasm and dedication to food and drink of all kinds.

The Slow Food movement has a strong local following in Ludlow as does Fairtrade and Ludlow 21 Food and Farming Group

As we said earlier, one of the reasons why Ludlow and the surrounding area has been building up a reputation for good food and drink is the superb local producers and retailers. In particular, there are no less than six quality independent butchers whose own-made sausages are the source of fierce local competition. We take a tour of the best on offer in On the Ludlow Sausage Trail.