Food Memory: The Church Inn ~ Ludlow, Shropshire, UK

The last time I was in England, I went to Ludlow for the first time. Ludlow is a market town close to the border of Wales. Steeped in history, it has an amazing collection of medieval and Tudor buildings. Also a mecca for "foodies", it boasts the annual Ludlow Marches Festival of Food & Drink in September, this three day affair features the infamous 'Sausage Trail'.

After a morning of sight-seeing, we stopped at the Church Inn for lunch. It is a popular, cozy, traditional pub. When asking about the Pub's history, we were presented with a book that listed most of the Landlords from over the past seven centuries. Throughout the building's history, it also housed a blacksmith, chemist, a barber-surgeon (Sweeney Todd anyone?) amongst other things.
They had a nice selection of ales, but I opted for a nice country cider. I love going to pubs in England and trying ciders that I can't get in the supermarket. James and his father opted for fish and chips, my mother-in-law had a steak baguette, and I went for the infamous pub classic: the Ploughman's Lunch. This isn't something I usually order, but I am so glad I did. Their Ploughman's was the best I've ever seen. It had a generous amount of ham, some salad, bread, pickle, a nice hunk of Cheddar cheese and the star of the day: Shropshire Blue. Having never tried this cheese before, I was in seventh heaven. Shropshire Blue is sort of like a Stilton meets Cheshire Cheese. I love trying new things and this made the choice of pub officially a good one. It was truly a lovely day that I will never forget, and will always have the warm memory of the first time I tried this cheese.