The late, great poet laureate John Betjeman called Ludlow "probably the loveliest town in England." He might well have been right. Alas for poor Betjeman, he knew the town well before its rise to fame in recent years as a heartland of culinary skill and incomparable cuisine. In fact, barring only London itself, the small southern Shropshire market town lays claim to being the virtual culinary capital of England.

Or so I'd heard. It only seemed fair that I sally forth to Shropshire and report on the matter for British Heritage readers. And Ludlow does have to be sallied forth to. It's not on the road to anywhere. Lying between Leominster and Shrewsbury near the Welsh border, the town is a good two hours' drive west of the city center of Birmingham. It seems an unlikely spot to be reckoned a culinary heaven.

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The basics are easy. There are seven restaurants in and about Ludlow listed in the Michelin guide, two of them with stars. Five local butchers make their own sausages and pork pies, and fiercely contest for the annual awards given by both local foodies and a panel of experts. Four local bakeries turn out daily rations of breads, cakes, pastries and savories. Specialist shops and delis deal everything from cheese to chocolate. The regular twice-weekly local market is supplemented by a popular bimonthly farmers market.

In fact, if you are beginning to pick up the theme, you are right: Local to Ludlow. Fully 15 shops in Ludlow as well as its open air farmers markets belong to the initiative, stocking comestibles of all sorts produced within 30 miles of Ludlow.

I started my own culinary adventures in Ludlow at The Globe, a lounge bar featuring Thai tapas. I nibbled on prawn toast with sesame seeds and sweet chili sauce, and gleow grob, delicate fried wantons filled with marinated minced chicken and prawns.

At the Unicorn Inn, I visited with landlord Graham Moore over a pint of Salopian Brewery's Darwin's Origin, the expert's choice on the Real Ale Trail at the recent Ludlow Food Festival, brewed up the road in Shrewsbury. The local Ludlow's Best was excellent as well. That was brewed just across the road. Graham also foisted upon me a sample of Cleric's Cure—what his grandmom called "a sniff of the barmaid's apron."

I ordered the chef's homemade Shropshire paté with sweet onion marmalade. It was smooth and light, almost a mousse rather than a paté. Among other interesting menu options was a hunter's cottage pie with minced venison, rabbit and pigeon. A special that evening was grilled rainbow trout with tarragon and black olive butter. Not your customary pub fare. But then, almost every pub in Ludlow is a gastropub. In fact, virtually every eating establishment in town makes an advertised virtue out of its food: local to Ludlow. Undoubtedly no other could stay in business.

At the Ego café bar, I finished up the evening with the Ego sausage sandwich: a local pork, sage and cider sausage on brown bread baked across the street, with old-fashioned piccalilli and homemade coleslaw. One of the specials at the Ego that night was Shropshire fidget pie, made with bacon and apples from? You guessed it: right nearby.

We did seem off to a promising start. I waddled back to my room at The Feathers, a famous half-timbered hostelry that's been receiving guests since 1647. The breakfast menu next morning made a point of announcing that the sausage was by D.W. Wall's, again, just up the street.

The town grew up around Ludlow Castle, begun in 1090, one of a string of Norman castles built along the Welsh border. Lords of the castle, the de Lacys and the Mortimers, brought Ludlow onto the national stage. From 1472 to 1689 Ludlow Castle was the headquarters of the Council of the Marches, charged with governing the border counties. Ludlow became a powerful center of government administration, with both civil and criminal courts located at the castle. The ill-fated sons of Edward IV learned here of their father's death. Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon honeymooned here before Arthur's youthful demise of tuberculosis. Mary Tudor and her court wintered here from 1525 to 1528.

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