Ludlow oak

Ludlow oak, originally uploaded by CharlesFred.

A midwinter afternoon in the Marches area, the clouds breaking up enough to allow some sunshine through, an oak tree having lost its leaves, marking out the boundary of the grounds of Ludlow castle. We passed through here a week ago, choosing the A roads up north rather than the M5 and M6. We arrived later than planned but were rewarded with some lovely landscapes, such as this.

We did not stay in Ludlow too long, Fred not feeling so well and us being a bit on the late side to visit my Dad, but from what we saw we really liked the place, from the butcher's with the pheasants hanging up outside, to the wonderful local cheese shop, the castle and grounds and the quaint looking pubs. I had only known Ludlow from there being a racecourse there but it seemd to be a real working town, full of country folk, surprisingly prosperous and not too twee, not as if it had been taken over by tourists and casual visitors.

We managed to pick up a couple of copies of the new magazine Tate in Shropshire, which has been produced by my cousin Bruce, who is based further north near Shrewsbury. The magazine is a celebration of local food, whether it be sold at farmers'markets, delicatessans, pubs or restaurants. It looks great and I wish Bruce and Caroline much luck with their future issues.