Tenbury Wells is a very pretty little town. Since we have been here we have learnt that it has been known as the “Town in the Orchard” since the 19th Century. It is a small market town and these are held three times per week, but they mainly consist of flowers and don’t compare to markets we have been to in France, Italy and Germany.

The orchards…mainly of apples, provide the raw product for cider which this area is famous.

Many of the small shops that line the main street (Teme, named after the river that flows through the town) are family owned and independent, and have the look and feel of an era long gone. There are four op shops and a “wet fish shop”. I will leave you to work that one out.

There are plenty of pubs in Tenbury (as the locals refer to it) and it will be our duty to try each one while we are here. These include the Ship Inn (which we have already tried), and three others that have black and white fronts typical of the 19th Century – the Royal Oak, Pembroke (Michael tried it today) and the King’s Head ( very old and quaint, but no one in there except for us today). The Vaults is one I am unsure if I will go into, it looks a little creepy but is said to be the one pub that retains the feel of a traditional drinking pub from decades ago. Plus there are a few others… The Crow and The Bridge to name two more. We had lunch at the Bridge today.

The town has a few famous landmarks and attached are our photos of some of these plus some of the pubs I have mentioned.

The Pump Rooms – were built in 1862 with the aim of making Tenbury into a spa town, but they were never a success.

Teme Bridge – splits the counties of Shropshire and Worcestershire. It has an interesting bend in it to increase its strength against the fast flowing river. Yesterday the town was awash with water and many of the shops were sand bagged just in case. The photo here shows the river flowing very swiftly.

Next weekend (20-22July) the Rose and Crown in Shropshire (a few steps across the bridge) is hosting a Beer Festival where there will be 20+ real ales and 5 ciders. We are planning to work our way through that lot and luckily I have just found the name and number of a local taxi firm. It might come in handy.