Ecological writer Satish Kumar once wrote that ‘unless you know Nature, you cannot love her’. Likewise, if we wish to protect England’s green and pleasant land, it’s important to get to know why. People who drop fast food litter, pollute our seas with oil and hunt our precious wildlife, obviously were never taught all about why our land is so beautiful and precious.
Shropshire is one of the least populated counties too, with way more sheep than people! Also situated near Wales, this is rich with canals, a throwback to the Industrial Revolution when boats would carry goods from the West Midlands to London. Home to the ‘blue remembered hills’, this is also full of some of the most stunning countryside in England. One journalist was sent around the country to find his favourite county. Northumberland almost won – but he didn’t like the wind and cold, so was pipped by Shropshire!
Ludlow is one of the most ‘foodie’ towns in England, home to some of the best farmers’ markets. Like Tavistock in Devon (where McDonald’s had to shut up shop as nobody wanted to eat there), this county has so much local food that indie shops and markets thrive, and are not so dominated by the big supermarkets.
