Ludlow United Kingdom

Each April, the English Song Weekend fills this Shropshire town with music by composers from both near and far

- Rebecca Franks

If you love the music of Benjamin Britten, chances are you might pay Aldeburgh a visit. But where do you go if you want to savour the tradition of Vaughan Williams and Finzi? Cue the Ludlow English Song Weekend, which takes place every April in Shropshire, the county of AE Housman's evocative 'blue remembered hills'. Spring feels like an apt season for song, and so I happily pack my bags for a long weekend in Ludlow, which as the festival's artistic director Iain Burnside tells me, is 'such a bonnie place'.

He is spot on. Ludlow is a beautiful market town, surrounded by lush green countryside in the Welsh Marches. It boasts layers of historical architecture, with winding medieval streets, timbered Tudor and elegant Georgian buildings all jostling for attention. Much of the Song Weekend takes place right at the town's heart - in the Assembly Rooms, now home to a cinema and café, on the market square. The nearby St Laurence's Church is the other venue. You can easily pop over to Ludlow Castle between concerts or, as I do, have lunch in the square's charming deli and browse the independent bookshop. I later learn from Burnside that I've missed a wonderful pottery down a side road. 'Oh, take your credit card!' he enthuses.