I thought, dear reader, that you might like a little look around my local market town, Tenbury Wells. It’s where I get all the food for the B&B and the Hen House and is the friendliest local town I’ve ever lived near. Some days it's a bucolic reminder of times past with many of us tromping around in our wellies and tractors pulling trailer loads of potatoes or apples or hops, and other days it is a bustling modern country town serving its widespread community with things as exotic as sunblushed tomatoes, polenta and the interweb.
So approaching from the Berrington end of town my first stop would be the fabulous and ever busy Farm Barn Shop where I buy local tomatoes and mushrooms, free range eggs if my hens are being slack and butter.
Right next door is the lovely little fish shop which is a rare thing in many a town so we are very lucky indeed.
And opposite is Caldicotts builders merchants and funeral directors, a family firm who have seriously got it sussed because everyone needs somewhere to live before they die.
Further along is the lovely Spotty Dog Café & Gallery which has local art, crafts and jewellery and serves a very nice latte too – and lovely cakes.
You can also get jolly nice cakes from Swifts the bakers on the corner and opposite them is Country Flowers where I buy flowers when I can’t bear to cut my own.
Heading up Teme Street towards the river there is a dress shop, a jeweller, an optician, an electrical goods shop, a book shop (for which I have 10% off vouchers if you come and stay!)
And then after the library, The Food Hall which supplies all my free range meat (well all your free range meat if you stay cos I don’t eat it but am happy to support ethical producers and cook it for you).
Then there’s the proper little sweet shop and the newsagent and a shoe shop and the dentist (opposite the doctors) and then the fabulous Banfields where you can buy anything from fork handles to four candles and where they have lovely old drawers behind the counters.
Then you get to the girly end of town where you will find Soap Opera my hairdressers and Pure Beauty Salon where all my beauty secrets are kept! (Actually that might not be a very good advertisement for Jules the owner – but she is really very good, she can’t help what she’s given to work with.)
And up this end there are the banks too and the Spar, which of course we couldn’t live without because they never seem to shut and any B&B landlady will tell you how essential that can be at times…..
Pop over the bridge and you’re in Shropshire, drive along to the left a bit and you’re in Herefordshire, but this is Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire. It’s not fancy, but I love it and I can absolutely guarantee you will receive a very friendly welcome when you come to visit.
And I haven’t even mentioned the pubs yet…….
