I visited an underrated West Midlands market town with chatty residents, charming business owners - and 'comprehensive' CCTV
This small town in the West Midlands is an underrated gem full of chatty residents, charming business owners and picturesque views.
Cleobury Mortimer is a charming, clean and above all quaint rural market town in southeast Shropshire.
Most would agree that it's hardly spoken about in the same fashion as its neighbours Ludlow or Church Stretton, but there's plenty to uncover here.
We headed down to see if - and why - locals enjoy living in Cleobury Mortimer and find out whether people should put it on their bucket list.
We first bumped into Martin Evans of Oswestry in High Street. He told us his long history of working in Cleobury Mortimer as a truck driver - and how nice of a town it is to be in.
“It's kept its tradition,” Martin said.
“It's a traditional place. This is a lovely place to visit. While we call it a village, it's a bit more than a village these days. They are like mini-towns right now.
“The high street is lovely, yeah, and then that's just a really nice place to visit.”
Martin, who was only popping into the town on his way elsewhere, said he frequents Ashley’s Bakery, which started in a small shop in Cleobury Mortimer’s High Street before expanding to Bewdley and Stourport-on-Severn.
Now, the business supplies plenty of cafes, pubs and eateries across these areas - and returned to the town just over a month ago.
It’s evidently well-loved here. Every person that walked by the shop on our visit to Cleobury Mortimer popped in for a fresh bread roll, baguette or iced bun.
Jane Key, a former estate agent, works behind the counter at the popular bakery. She told us her family has been here for generations - and she doesn’t think about moving anytime soon, either.
With a strong community spirit and plenty of facilities, Cleobury Mortimer is an ideal place to live, Jane said.
“Brilliant schools, library, fire station, Co-op, brilliant medical centre, pharmacy - we've just got all the facilities in one place.
“A brilliant travel network [too]. Buses go through from Kidderminster and Ludlow, it’s just a really pleasant little place.
