When we arrived at breakfast we noticed a new gentleman that seemed to be in charge of the dining room. The breakfast area was calm and efficient with none of the chaos we had experienced over the previous few days. The tea was perfect, two individual pots with just the right amount of teabags. My pancakes were presented in a delightful way and had more fruit than on the previous days.

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and headed towards Hereford but on arrival we decided we weren’t quite in the mood for visiting a city so we continued on the route home, stopping in Leominster. After a few minutes in the town we found that Leominster didn’t quite fit our mood either. We headed off to a garden centre in Tenbury Wells, where we thought we might have lunch. Once again we weren’t quite in the mood for it when we got there. I think by now we were on plan Z.

We decided to stop off in Ludlow and against all odds on a busy day we found a parking place. From the car park we admired the views over the Shropshire countryside before wandering around the town looking for a suitable teashop for lunch. We hadn’t quite finished our recce when we happened across a bakery that provided fresh filled rolls. The weather was perfect so we purchased rolls (turkey and salad for me) and cake and made our way to a bench underneath the castle walls to enjoy a picnic.

After enjoying our picnic in the sunshine, we headed off to the Ludlow Food Centre hoping to pick up an interesting ready meal for our evening meal. We left disappointed as this type of food is no longer available in the centre, leading us to opt for plan B.