Ludlow Castle is located in the beautiful historic market town of Ludlow in southern Shropshire. The castle is situated in the heart of the town centre so is very convenient and easy to get to if visiting the castle specifically, or if spending the day in this lovely town.
We approached the castle from the main high street and bustling market where we soon saw the castle’s substantial curtain wall which was high enough to obscure the main keep, leaving us in suspense for that little longer. The entrance to the castle grounds itself is through an opening on the eastern portion of the outer wall, and once we bought our tickets (both individual and family tickets are sold) and headed through the collection of outer buildings where the ticket office and facilities are located, there stood the magnificent sight of Ludlow castle’s inner bailey.
Once inside the walls you do realise the fairly large area the castle occupies as in front lies the very well maintained outer bailey which houses a few picnic benches, ideal for a packed lunch weather permitting!
We walked through the outer bailey and first explored Mortimer’s Tower which is a 13th century three story gateway that guarded the western curtain wall. Today the stairway does allow you to go partially up the tower and gives a great view looking over the river Teme which runs around the town.
On leaving Mortimer’s Tower we headed towards the inner bailey, firstly crossing the bridge that leads over the large deep ditch and then passing through the inner bailey’s entrance. The majority of the castle’s inner bailey can be explored on ground level as well as some of the upper levels in the less ruinous parts of the castle. There are numerous information boards around the site detailing the different sections and rooms of the castle, such as the spectacular circular St Mary Magdalene Chapel, The Great Hall, Lodgings and the 12th century Great Tower which is a very dominating feature of the castle.
The Great Tower is open so after climbing the numerous spiral staircases to get to the top (well worth it!), we were presented with a truly magnificent view of the surrounding area. From here you truly get a sense of scale and the dominating position the castle is situated in, overlooking the rural landscape to the west and the town of Ludlow to the east. We enjoyed being up there so much that we ended up going to the top a 2nd time before we had to say our goodbyes!
Ludlow Castle holds many fun events throughout the year and I have previously attended their Medieaval Christmas Fayre and Spring Show which I would recommend.
Ludlow is on a main train line so connections are good for both road and rail. Being quite local, we drove and parked in one of the town’s car parks where we found the price of parking very reasonable at the time of visiting.
12th March 2022
Watch our Ludlow Castle video below