Land's End to John O'Groats on a Bike Friday Tandem

Day 8 (June 22)


Market Square, Leominster	Grange Court, Leominster

We decided to spend another day mainly resting and sightseeing. Leominster is a fascinating historic town, and the Town Walk displays many of the historic buildings. Leominster Priory Church is impressive, with a Norman tower and three great naves each of a different period. Inside the church is a ducking stool said to be the last one used in England. Many of the buildings in the town date from Tudor times. Some retain the characteristic black-and-white structure, for example those in Market Square. Others have had Georgian or Victorian fronts pasted over the older structure. Broad Street is dominated by an array of elegant Georgian buildings with a variety of stylish facades. One, now housing the Lion Art Gallery, has a bored looking lion on the roof. Grange Court is a magnificently carved building from 1633, and the Chequers Inn dates from around 1600 and possibly goes as far back as 1480. It is described as one of England's finest examples of an early timber framed inn.

Shakespeare in Ludlow Castle

Five miles on from Leominster is Croft Castle. This is a National Trust property described as a "castellated manor house set in stunning countryside with panoramic views". We had joined the Royal Oak Foundation before we travelled: this is an American charity associated with the UK National Trust organizations, allowing free entry into the properties. Even visiting a few National Trust properties, this saves quite a bit with the current exchange rate from dollars to pounds. We admired the elegant Georgian furnishings - a delicately embroidered box and a stone inlay table were the most striking of the contents. The whole building was surrounded with scaffolding since the roof was being repaired, which rather spoilt the outside appearance. However visitors are allowed to climb up to the top of the scaffolding to watch the repair work - perhaps the most interesting part of the tour!

We had a lunch of the local Moncton cheese and then cycled on to Ludlow. The castle is the main attraction here. Again we didn't get to see it unencumbered, since it was being prepared for the Shakespeare Festival just about to start. Actors were rehearsing a play in the main courtyard. The views of the surrounding countryside from the top of the keep were nice.

Probably because of the festival, a B&B was hard to find. We got the Tourist Information Office to search one out for us, and ended up a couple of miles out of town at the Tean House B&B in Middleton. We unluckily chose the time of a heavy rain shower to ride out there. The B&B is a house in a modern housing estate, but at the edge of the town so that cows were happily munching in the field right behind.

Mileage: 16.7 miles

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Last modified 23 July, 2007