Ludlow Castle

 In all the years I've lived in Hay, I've never made it into Ludlow Castle, so I decided that yesterday was the day.

Not wishing to get up at the crack of dawn, I took the 9.50am bus into Hereford.  This meant that I had about an hour to wait for the train to Ludlow.  I could have done a bit of shopping, but there was nothing I really needed to get - so I was on the platform when the steam train came through!

So that was fun!

The Manchester Piccadilly train was about ten minutes late, but the journey to Ludlow was a smooth one.

I had been to Ludlow many years ago, but I didn't remember the layout at all.  Fortunately, there is good signposting from the station, and I found the castle quite quickly (unlike Abergavenny, where I went round in circles for a while before realising that the castle was further down the hill!).

It costs £8 to get in, and I got the 50p guide book.  

I was pleased to find that my archaelogical knowledge hasn't completely deserted me - I spotted the blocked up archway in the wall of the keep straight away.  This was the original entrance to the inner bailey of the castle, and was replaced in Tudor times by the gateway to one side of the keep with a bridge over the moat, which is the present entrance.  It's quite similar to the original entrance to Hay Castle, in fact.

This was a magnificent castle in its day, owned in turn by the de Lacy and Mortimer families and the headquarters of the Council of the Marches.  It was where Richard III's nephews lived before they were transferred to the Tower of London to become the Princes in the Tower, and Prince Arthur visited with his new wife Catherine of Aragon.  The castle and town surrendered to the Parliamentary forces in the Civil War, and one notice I read as I was going round said that this is probably why so many early buildings survive here.  There are something like 500 listed buildings in Ludlow.

I had great fun exploring.  There are fireplaces in the walls everywhere - the place must have got through wagonloads of firewood!

I met the dragon:

I am not a great fan of spiral staircases, but I was determined to get to the top of the keep, too.  The view of the surrounding countryside is magnificent, and there's a pretty good view of the chapel and its new roof, too:

This is the Chapel of St Mary Magdalene, which is unusual for having a round nave.  You can just see the remains of two walls leading to the inner bailey wall - this was the chancel, where the altar was.  I was amused to see that the first floor was put in in 1580 - the original nave is Norman - so that the Council of the Marches could attend services without mingling with the lower orders.

After wandering round the castle, I headed off to find a pub.  I always try to find somewhere to have a half on my days out.  I came upon the Rose and Crown, which claims to be the oldest pub in Ludlow (records going back to 1102!) and possibly one of the oldest in England (though I'm sure the Trip to Jerusalem in Nottingham would like to dispute that!).  The pub is built around three sides of a small courtyard, and I sat in the Mouse Bar.  This was actually created in its present form in 2016, when they installed woodwork - panelling and cupboard doors - saved from the workshop of the Mouse Man of Kilburn.  He was the chap who 'signed' his work with a little carved mouse.  The pub serves real ale from Joules Brewery, and I had the Slumbering Monk.

They also have an accessible toilet, though I went upstairs to the toilet so I could have a bit more of a look round at the building.

Then I made my way slowly back to the station.

I didn't really have time to do St Laurence's Church justice, but I did find the second St Laurence's Church, built in 1824, when the town needed a new graveyard.  The graveyard is now a haven for wildlife, and there are picnic tables.  The chuch is now a One Stop Print Shop!  Originally this was the site of a Carmelite Friary.

Nearby is the site of a chapel of the Knights Hospitallers, which later became a glovers' workshop, and a little further on up a side street is the Quaker Meeting House.

Near the station is Ludlow Brewery, which does brewery tours, which is something to bear in mind when I visit again.

Back in Hereford, I had to catch the 4.25pm bus again, with all the college students on board, but this time a lovely young lady stood up and gave me her seat.