Editing Ludlow (section)

==Culture==

===Festivals and fairs===
The now-defunct Ludlow Festival was held annually from 1960, during June and July each year.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ludlow Festival|url=http://www.ludlowfestival.co.uk/|access-date=2 September 2011}}</ref> An open area within the castle served as the stage and backdrop for various [[Shakespeare]]an plays, while a number of supporting events at various venues included classical and pop/rock concerts, varied musicians, lecture talks from public figures, and entertainers. The 54-year-old Festival which had been "loss-making" collapsed in 2014 due to "financial troubles". Organisers said it was "simply not commercially viable".

The Medieval Christmas Fayre continued to take place until 2019, the Covid 19 pandemic meant that the 2020 and 2021 Fayres couldn’t go ahead. It was set up for 2022 but a storm caused damage the night before and meant it was cancelled at last minute. The financial impact meant that the festival organisers folded.

The Medieval Christmas Fayre was replaced by the Ludlow Winter festival in 2023 and is due to take place again in November 2024 <ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ludlowcraftevents.co.uk |archive-url= https://archive.today/20010417022602/http://www.ludlowcraftevents.co.uk/ |url-status= usurped |archive-date= 17 April 2001 |title= Ludlow Medieval Christmas Fayre |access-date=15 August 2008}}</ref>

===Gastronomy===
[[File:DW Wall - traditional butcher's shop, Ludlow - geograph.org.uk - 1601159.jpg|thumb|right|One of the two remaining traditional [[Butcher#Butcher shop|butcher shops]] in the centre of the town]]
Ludlow was for a time a [[gastronomic]] centre, at one point the only town in England with three [[Michelin Guide|Michelin-starred]] restaurants.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.touruk.co.uk/shropshire/ludlow.htm|title=Ludlow Shropshire tourist and visitor information|access-date=17 September 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070817174655/http://www.touruk.co.uk/shropshire/ludlow.htm|archive-date=17 August 2007}}</ref> The town had boasted eight [[AA Rosette]] starred restaurants, and three Michelin-starred establishments. In 2016, Ludlow lost its last Michelin-starred establishment — ''Mr Underhills''<ref>[http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/web/Restaurant/Ludlow-SY8_1EH-Mr_Underhill_s_at_Dinham_Weir-188206-41102 Via Michelin] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022113215/http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/web/Restaurant/Ludlow-SY8_1EH-Mr_Underhill_s_at_Dinham_Weir-188206-41102 |date=22 October 2014 }} Mr Underhill's at Dinham Weir</ref> — which had featured in the ''[[Sunday Times]]'' ''Top 100 Restaurants''.<ref>[http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2014/10/18/delight-for-ludlow-restaurant-as-its-named-one-of-the-best-in-britain/ Shropshire Star] ''Delight for Ludlow restaurant as it's named one of the best in Britain'' (18 October 2014)</ref> Another previously starred establishment in Ludlow was ''[[La Bécasse]]'' which went into liquidation for the second time in 2014.

The town hosts the annual Ludlow [[food festival]]. Ludlow was the first UK member of [[Cittaslow]] or "[[slow food]]" movement,<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.cittaslow.org.uk |title= UK Cittaslow Website |access-date=10 November 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://womans-world.co.uk/going-slow-in-ludlow.html|title=Woman's World – Going slow in Ludlow|access-date=17 September 2007}}</ref> but after ongoing controversy over public funding, the town is no longer a member. As of 2021, the town has three butchers (one located in the suburbs), four bakers, a regular [[farmers market]] and a range of specialist food shops. The town has a brewery which has been producing [[real ale]] (using local [[hops]]) since 2006; it is in a renovated goods shed near the [[Ludlow railway station|railway station]].<ref>[http://whatpub.com/pubs/SHR/5005/railway-shed-ludlow WhatPub.com (CAMRA)] Railway Shed, Ludlow</ref>

The annual Ludlow Marches Festival of Food & Drink is a [[trade fair]] that takes place in and around Ludlow in September. Centred on Ludlow Castle, where over 150 local, small food producers showcase and sell their wares, the three-day event involves the town centre in food and drink trails including a "Sausage Trail".<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.foodfestival.co.uk/ |title= Ludlow Food Festival |access-date=10 November 2007}}</ref>

===Arts===
The town is home to an arts and cinema centre, The Ludlow Assembly Rooms, that hosts live and streamed music, theatre, stand-up comedy and talks. It acts as an arts community centre, has a [[visual arts]] gallery, and on most evenings, shows a film, from a wide variety of genres (including classic, [[arthouse]], and [[blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbuster]]).<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ludlowassemblyrooms.co.uk/ |title= Ludlow Assembly Rooms |access-date=10 November 2007}}</ref> Ludlow is now also home to the Rooftop Theatre Company. Originally from the South East, they have been delivering contemporary-styled Shakespeare since 2003. Their first Ludlow production was The Comedy of Errors in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.rooftoptheatre.co.uk/ |title= Rooftop Theatre Company |access-date=9 April 2015}}</ref>

Ludlow has featured in movies and TV programmes including [[Tom Sharpe]]'s ''[[Blott on the Landscape]]'' and 90s TV adaptations of ''[[The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling]]'' and ''[[Moll Flanders]]''. In Shakespeare's [[Richard III (play)|''Richard III'']], Ludlow is mentioned,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Austin |first=Sue |date=2023-11-08 |title=Shropshire's remarkable connections with Shakespeare are fascinating |url=https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/north-shropshire/2023/11/09/shropshires-remarkable-connections-with-shakespeare-are-fascinating/ |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=www.shropshirestar.com |language=en}}</ref> as the place where the young [[Edward V of England|Edward V]] is to be fetched as Richard III plots to seize the crown. The town is described as the capital of [[Wales]] following a [[zombie apocalypse]] in the novel [[World War Z]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Brooks |first=Max |title=World War Z |year=2010 |publisher=Gerald Duckworth |isbn=978-0715637036 |page=188 |edition=Kindle }}</ref>

Ludlow has connections with a number of figures in the arts – including [[Alfred Edward Housman]], poet and author of "[[A Shropshire Lad]]" (his ashes were buried in the graveyard of St Laurence's Church and were marked by a cherry tree). [[Stanley J. Weyman]], the novelist known as the "Prince of Romance", was born in Ludlow, as was sculptor [[Adrian Jones (sculptor)|Adrian Jones]], whose ashes are buried in the same churchyard. The naval historian and novelist Captain [[Geoffrey Bennett (historian)|Geoffrey Bennett]] (Sea Lion) lived in Ludlow after his retirement in 1974 up to his death in 1983 and his ashes, too, were interred in the parish churchyard.

===Sport===
[[File:Ludlow Town FC - geograph.org.uk - 148132.jpg|thumb|right|[[Ludlow Town F.C.#Stadium|Ludlow's football stadium]], located at Burway on the northern edge of the town (actually in Bromfield civil parish), was home to AFC Ludlow and several other sports teams.]]
The town had a [[association football|football]] team (AFC Ludlow), which competed in the [[West Midlands (Regional) League]] Division One.<ref>[http://full-time.thefa.com/ProcessPublicSelect.do?psSelectedSeason=585583996&psSelectedDivision=7248658&psSelectedLeague=3244788 FA Full-time website] West Midlands (Regional) League Division One</ref> The club could no longer field a full team, and folded in June 2016. Ludlow's [[rugby union]] club have their ground situated just off Linney near the castle, competing in the Midland league. There is a [[cricket]] club sporting its 1st and 2nd XI teams in the Shropshire Premier Cricket League and its 3rd and 4th XI in the Shropshire Cricket League Division 5 and Division 6 respectively. The cricket ground is near the junction of Burway Lane and Bromfield Road in the north of the town and has a picturesque setting with the castle, St Laurence's church and surrounding hills and countryside clearly visible.

[[Ludlow Racecourse]] and Ludlow Golf Club are situated together just off the [[A49 road]] {{convert|2|mi|km}} northwest of the town centre, at a place called Old Field near [[Bromfield, Shropshire|Bromfield]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ludlow-racecourse.co.uk/ |title= Ludlow Racecourse |access-date=10 November 2007}}</ref> A smaller (9-hole) golf course exists at Elm Lodge, just off Fishmore Road on the northern edge of the town.

A privately run leisure and fitness centre, which includes a swimming pool, is on Bromfield Road on the northern edge of the town (near the secondary school).<ref>[http://www.teme-leisure.co.uk/teme-leisure-ludlow.html Teme Leisure] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407065937/http://www.teme-leisure.co.uk/teme-leisure-ludlow.html |date=7 April 2014 }} Ludlow</ref> [[Lawn bowls]] is played in the area, with several teams from Ludlow's two bowling clubs (Burway and Ludlow Castle) playing against each other and teams from further afield, in the Ludlow & District Bowls League,<ref>[http://ldbl.leaguerepublic.com Ludlow and District Bowls League]</ref> as well as in the higher Shropshire leagues. There is an amateur [[boxing]] club, situated on Wheeler Road, with its new clubhouse opening in 2014.

===Media===
[[File:Castle Square, Ludlow - geograph.org.uk - 1337418.jpg|thumb|left|Castle Square looking east towards St Laurence's Church. [[Ludlow College]] is to the left; [[Castle Lodge, Ludlow|Castle Lodge]] to the right.]]

====Newspapers====
The ''Ludlow Advertiser'' was founded in 1855 by John Crosse, with its original offices at 18 King Street. New premises for the Advertiser were constructed in 1914 on Upper Galdeford, still called the Advertiser Buildings, but now a fast-food outlet. It has published an edition weekly ever since,<ref>Lloyd, David & Klein, Peter (2006) ''Ludlow: An Historical Anthology'' p 96</ref> though is now the ''Ludlow and Tenbury Wells Advertiser'' and published from the ''Hereford Times'' offices in Hereford.
The current free paper is the ''Teme Valley Times'', founded in 2006.
In 2010 the ''Ludlow Journal'', a free weekly newspaper, ceased publication and was absorbed into its paid-for sister, the ''South Shropshire Journal''.<ref>[http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2010/news/caption-blunder-weekly-ceases-publication Hold The Front Page] ''Caption blunder weekly ceases publication'' (6 July 2010)</ref> 
The ''[[Shropshire Star]]'' – with its related publication the ''South Shropshire Journal'' – is published in [[Ketley]] and had an office in Ludlow, at The Angel on Broad Street, but this closed in 2017.
The magazine publisher [[Newsfield]] was based in Ludlow.

====Television====
Regional TV news is provided by [[BBC West Midlands]] and [[ITV Central]]. Television signals are received from the [[Ridge Hill transmitting station|Ridge Hill]] and the local relay transmitters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Ridge_Hill|title= Full Freeview on the Ridge Hill (County of Herefordshire, England) transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=25 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Ludlow|title= Freeview Light on the Ludlow (Shropshire, England transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=25 September 2023}}</ref>

====Radio stations====
[[Sunshine 855|Sunshine Radio]], once a [[pirate radio]] station, is now a legitimate commercial broadcaster in the south Shropshire and north Herefordshire/Worcestershire area on 105.9 FM, and more widely on 855&nbsp;kHz AM<ref>[http://www.sunshineradio.co.uk Sunshine Radio]</ref> which is broadcast from a transmitting station situated between Ludlow and Tenbury Wells.<ref>[http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/villa-farm.php mb21] Villa Farm</ref> Its [[Sunshine Radio (Herefordshire and Monmouthshire)|sister station in Hereford]] can also be received in Ludlow on 106.2 FM. [[BBC Radio Shropshire]], broadcast largely from Shrewsbury, has a number of frequencies in order to cover the county's hilly terrain, and broadcasts in this part of south Shropshire on 95 FM, referred to as its Ludlow frequency. There is a transmitting station above the town in [[Mortimer Forest]], which transmits Radio Shropshire and other television and radio frequencies.<ref>[http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/ludlow.php mb21] Ludlow</ref> [[BBC Hereford and Worcester]]'s 94.7 FM and 1584&nbsp;kHz AM broadcasts can be picked up in Ludlow.

BBC Hereford and Worcester's 1584 AM and Sunshine Radio's 105.9 FM broadcasts are made from the [[Woofferton transmitting station]], just south of Ludlow, which is notable for its [[Cold War]] history and now being the UK's only remaining [[shortwave]] broadcasting site.