Why We Love the Shire
Food and drink, or The Whole Point of Herefordshire
Where to eat and drink, and where to buy things to eat and drink
Want burgers? Want messy delicious burgers that require a napkin (and maybe a shower later)? You want a Beefy Boys. Set up by a gang of school friends, this place has become legendary in the town and beyond, winning international bbq competitions and commanding loyal fans, both of the busy restaurants (in Hereford and now Shrewsbury and Cheltenham) and the pop-up events wagon. Well-cooked, locally sourced meat, generous portions and great fries - try the Millionaire's Fries - make it a reliably great pitstop.
56 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
The Beefy Boys
Want burgers? Want messy delicious burgers that require a napkin (and maybe a shower later)? You want a Beefy Boys. Set up by a gang of school friends, this place has become legendary in the town and beyond, winning international bbq competitions and commanding loyal fans, both of the busy restaurants (in Hereford and now Shrewsbury and Cheltenham) and the pop-up events wagon. Well-cooked, locally sourced meat, generous portions and great fries - try the Millionaire's Fries - make it a reliably great pitstop.
Want burgers? Want delicious burgers that won't drip down your hands while you eat them? Want a cool outdoors location as well? Head to the Burger Shop, part of the Yard, an enterprising small empire on Aubrey Street. (If you get there and want something fancier, try their sister restaurant, The Bookshop). Another indie pop-up turned bricks and mortar restaurant, this is a reliable favourite, where the food is local and the service is charming - and the owners even appeared on that Britain's Top Takeaways programme.
26 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
Burger Shop Hereford
32 Aubrey StWant burgers? Want delicious burgers that won't drip down your hands while you eat them? Want a cool outdoors location as well? Head to the Burger Shop, part of the Yard, an enterprising small empire on Aubrey Street. (If you get there and want something fancier, try their sister restaurant, The Bookshop). Another indie pop-up turned bricks and mortar restaurant, this is a reliable favourite, where the food is local and the service is charming - and the owners even appeared on that Britain's Top Takeaways programme.
The smart place in Hereford for a meal out, The Bookshop's menu is fresh, local, thoughtful and reliably delicious. The Sunday lunch has won awards! It's also great for a morning coffee, with strong coffee and perfect pastries from Hereford bakery Nizi.
34 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
The Bookshop
33 Aubrey StThe smart place in Hereford for a meal out, The Bookshop's menu is fresh, local, thoughtful and reliably delicious. The Sunday lunch has won awards! It's also great for a morning coffee, with strong coffee and perfect pastries from Hereford bakery Nizi.
THE place for top quality local meat, cheeses, bread, vegetables, plants, and in the summer, the very best homemade gelato-style ice cream around.
19 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
Oakchurch Farm Shop
Brecon RoadTHE place for top quality local meat, cheeses, bread, vegetables, plants, and in the summer, the very best homemade gelato-style ice cream around.
Tillington's local pub - a friendly country inn with good beer, decent food, board games and fires in the winter. Dogs are welcome.
17 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
The Bell Inn
Tillington's local pub - a friendly country inn with good beer, decent food, board games and fires in the winter. Dogs are welcome.
Located next to Saffron's Cross Garage, outside Bodenham, this friendly milk dispensing machine will absolutely make your day - but you may never look at supermarket plastic bottles in the same way again. Refill your own chilled glass bottle with delicious creamy milk from relaxed cows that wander into the robot parlour when they feel like it, and are so obliging that they also produce milk in several flavours (strawberry with a couple of ice cubes in it = the perfect summer refresher). The ultimate in low food miles produce. Also to be found near the station in Leominster, in the Old Market shopping centre in Hereford, and at the Wonky Barn farm shop between Ledbury and Much Marcle.
Whole Moo World Milkshake Vending Machine
Located next to Saffron's Cross Garage, outside Bodenham, this friendly milk dispensing machine will absolutely make your day - but you may never look at supermarket plastic bottles in the same way again. Refill your own chilled glass bottle with delicious creamy milk from relaxed cows that wander into the robot parlour when they feel like it, and are so obliging that they also produce milk in several flavours (strawberry with a couple of ice cubes in it = the perfect summer refresher). The ultimate in low food miles produce. Also to be found near the station in Leominster, in the Old Market shopping centre in Hereford, and at the Wonky Barn farm shop between Ledbury and Much Marcle.
You can't visit Hereford and not do a mini cider tour! Westons make (in my opinion) the best mainstream cider - the Vintage variety is delicious and deadly - and they have a museum and gift shop for you to explore their various different strengths and flavours. The cafe attached is also great for a pitstop lunch/breakfast.
77 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
Westons Cider Mill
You can't visit Hereford and not do a mini cider tour! Westons make (in my opinion) the best mainstream cider - the Vintage variety is delicious and deadly - and they have a museum and gift shop for you to explore their various different strengths and flavours. The cafe attached is also great for a pitstop lunch/breakfast.
Tanners is Hereford's best bet for an interesting bottle of wine to go with your steak. The staff are knowledgeable and friendly, and there are some great own-label bargains to be had.
Tanners Wines Hereford
4 St Peter's SquareTanners is Hereford's best bet for an interesting bottle of wine to go with your steak. The staff are knowledgeable and friendly, and there are some great own-label bargains to be had.
If you're planning a cocktail night in, The Secret Bottle Shop will have whatever obscure or random ingredient you're looking for - as well as an extensive selection of whiskies, rums, gins (many locally produced) and other spirits. The wine cave is also fantastic. And it really does feel as if you're sneaking into a secret hooch store, down the alley way and round the back. Impossible to leave empty-handed, in my experience... (hic)
Secret Bottle Shop
39 Widemarsh StIf you're planning a cocktail night in, The Secret Bottle Shop will have whatever obscure or random ingredient you're looking for - as well as an extensive selection of whiskies, rums, gins (many locally produced) and other spirits. The wine cave is also fantastic. And it really does feel as if you're sneaking into a secret hooch store, down the alley way and round the back. Impossible to leave empty-handed, in my experience... (hic)
An excellent family-run butchers in Ledbury, well worth a visit to stock up on breakfast sausages... and everything else. The local farms from which the meat comes are listed on the wall, and there's a strong emphasis on high welfare and accountability. At Christmas, the queue of customers collecting their turkeys and ribs of beef stretches down the street - and is kept happy with mince pie and Quality Streets. It's that kind of local butcher.
D.T. Waller 'The Family Butchers Shop'
71 The HomendAn excellent family-run butchers in Ledbury, well worth a visit to stock up on breakfast sausages... and everything else. The local farms from which the meat comes are listed on the wall, and there's a strong emphasis on high welfare and accountability. At Christmas, the queue of customers collecting their turkeys and ribs of beef stretches down the street - and is kept happy with mince pie and Quality Streets. It's that kind of local butcher.
The quintessential Hereford pub, serving ale to locals since the 18th century. Everyone goes to The Barrels eventually. Though it looks small from the outside, there's a sizeable covered yard out back, in which Herefordians of all varieties congregate to hang out and drink Wye Valley beer, which was till fairly recently brewed on the premises. Food options are limited to 'crisps' but it's opposite a couple of popular curry houses, and a minute or two from all the other eating places in town.
The Barrels
The quintessential Hereford pub, serving ale to locals since the 18th century. Everyone goes to The Barrels eventually. Though it looks small from the outside, there's a sizeable covered yard out back, in which Herefordians of all varieties congregate to hang out and drink Wye Valley beer, which was till fairly recently brewed on the premises. Food options are limited to 'crisps' but it's opposite a couple of popular curry houses, and a minute or two from all the other eating places in town.
Where to get coffee and a cake
This gets its own section, because it's basically my specialised subject.
Scotch eggs are the stars of the menu at The Nest (it's owned by The Handmade Scotch Egg Company) and for good reason - they're delicious, freshly prepared and come in many permutations, including veggie versions. Come for the Scotch eggs, stay for the Newent Garden Centre next door, the Posterity reclamation antiques, and the extensive range of farm shop goodies. And the coffee comes with a tiny complimentary shortbread button.
34 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
The Nest, Little Verzons Farm
Hereford RoadScotch eggs are the stars of the menu at The Nest (it's owned by The Handmade Scotch Egg Company) and for good reason - they're delicious, freshly prepared and come in many permutations, including veggie versions. Come for the Scotch eggs, stay for the Newent Garden Centre next door, the Posterity reclamation antiques, and the extensive range of farm shop goodies. And the coffee comes with a tiny complimentary shortbread button.
A light and airy place for a lazy breakfast, coffee pistop, or a sandwich lunch, King St Kitchen is a lovely spot to enjoy Hereford's peaceful cathedral quarter. Good local food, excellent coffee, charming and friendly staff. Not open at weekends at the moment which is a good thing as we'd be there all the time.
King Street Kitchen
12 King StA light and airy place for a lazy breakfast, coffee pistop, or a sandwich lunch, King St Kitchen is a lovely spot to enjoy Hereford's peaceful cathedral quarter. Good local food, excellent coffee, charming and friendly staff. Not open at weekends at the moment which is a good thing as we'd be there all the time.
All Saints Church once nourished the souls of parishioners with prayer and sermons - it still does that several times a week, but now it nourishes the people of Hereford in a more literal way, with thoughtful, locally sourced food and excellent coffee. Take your lunch up to the mezzanine seating area and enjoy of the most glorious atmospheres in Hereford - the soaring arches, beautiful stained glass windows, and a rude medieval stone carving of a man mooning at his creator. (You have to wonder if the original craftsman ever guessed that one day people would actually see it...)
It's particularly lovely in December, when the church is decorated for Christmas, and the craft fairs held in the side chapel take a festive turn. Bill's also has a sister branch in Ludlow if you're up that way.
Bill's Kitchen Hereford
High StreetAll Saints Church once nourished the souls of parishioners with prayer and sermons - it still does that several times a week, but now it nourishes the people of Hereford in a more literal way, with thoughtful, locally sourced food and excellent coffee. Take your lunch up to the mezzanine seating area and enjoy of the most glorious atmospheres in Hereford - the soaring arches, beautiful stained glass windows, and a rude medieval stone carving of a man mooning at his creator. (You have to wonder if the original craftsman ever guessed that one day people would actually see it...)
It's particularly lovely in December, when the church is decorated for Christmas, and the craft fairs held in the side chapel take a festive turn. Bill's also has a sister branch in Ludlow if you're up that way.
What to see, or A Run Out
Hereford Cathedral is most famous for the Mappa Mundi, a detailed map of the world as it was understood in the late 1200s, complete with monsters, wild animals, the Garden of Eden and the Day of Judgement. It also owns one of only four remaining copies of the 1217 Magna Carta, part of the Chained Library which contains documents dating back as far as 800AD.
Services are open throughout the day, but it's also a very peaceful space to sit and think. Hereford endured its fair share of battles and sieges, being a key strategic point for various conflicts, and the cathedral feels like a border stronghold - a solid, unpretentious place of refuge as well as worship. The stained glass is particularly beautiful. The newest window, Ascension, is inspired by the SAS and creates a constantly shifting pattern of blue, white and yellow light that moves slowly across the flagstones as the day passes.
Hereford's cathedral is dedicated to St Mary and St Ethelbert, an East Anglian king who was invited to Mercia by King Offa in 794 AD, to discuss marriage to Offa's daughter Aelflyth. However - and it's unclear why, unless Aethelbert was a supremely tactless bloke - he was murdered at the royal villa in Sutton St Nicholas, a few miles away. According to legend, as Aethelbert's body was being removed, the head fell off the cart at Marden, where it restored a blind man's sight. Aethelbert was buried in Hereford, in what was a small church; some decades later, it became the site of the cathedral. Have a drive out to Sutton St Nicholas and walk around the perimeter of what was an Iron Age fort, and later Roman settlement - on a warm summer's evening, when the wheat's rustling in the fields, and the swifts are circling, it's not hard to close your eyes and imagine it unfolding.
147 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
Catedral de Hereford
Cathedral CloseHereford Cathedral is most famous for the Mappa Mundi, a detailed map of the world as it was understood in the late 1200s, complete with monsters, wild animals, the Garden of Eden and the Day of Judgement. It also owns one of only four remaining copies of the 1217 Magna Carta, part of the Chained Library which contains documents dating back as far as 800AD.
Services are open throughout the day, but it's also a very peaceful space to sit and think. Hereford endured its fair share of battles and sieges, being a key strategic point for various conflicts, and the cathedral feels like a border stronghold - a solid, unpretentious place of refuge as well as worship. The stained glass is particularly beautiful. The newest window, Ascension, is inspired by the SAS and creates a constantly shifting pattern of blue, white and yellow light that moves slowly across the flagstones as the day passes.
Hereford's cathedral is dedicated to St Mary and St Ethelbert, an East Anglian king who was invited to Mercia by King Offa in 794 AD, to discuss marriage to Offa's daughter Aelflyth. However - and it's unclear why, unless Aethelbert was a supremely tactless bloke - he was murdered at the royal villa in Sutton St Nicholas, a few miles away. According to legend, as Aethelbert's body was being removed, the head fell off the cart at Marden, where it restored a blind man's sight. Aethelbert was buried in Hereford, in what was a small church; some decades later, it became the site of the cathedral. Have a drive out to Sutton St Nicholas and walk around the perimeter of what was an Iron Age fort, and later Roman settlement - on a warm summer's evening, when the wheat's rustling in the fields, and the swifts are circling, it's not hard to close your eyes and imagine it unfolding.
Another Iron Age hill fort site, Symonds Yat is a beautiful place for a walk, with signed routes, birdwatching viewpoints, and several dog-friendly pubs along the way. We can never go back after a Very Embarrassing Incident involving our dogs, sadly.
191 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
Symonds Yat
Another Iron Age hill fort site, Symonds Yat is a beautiful place for a walk, with signed routes, birdwatching viewpoints, and several dog-friendly pubs along the way. We can never go back after a Very Embarrassing Incident involving our dogs, sadly.
A lovely spot for a stroll, with or without a dog by your side. The arboretum stretches over 47 aces and contains over 1,200 species of trees, many of them very rare. It's the only country park in Herefordshire and is a valuable wildlife study resource. A range of signed trails will take you around the park (including a Gruffalo Trail for tinies and trails suitable for mobility vehicles, which can be hired from the office) highlighting the different flora and fauna on show. Spring and autumn are breath taking. There's a play area for children, a nice cafe and picnic tables.
42 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
Queenswood Country Park y Arboretum
A lovely spot for a stroll, with or without a dog by your side. The arboretum stretches over 47 aces and contains over 1,200 species of trees, many of them very rare. It's the only country park in Herefordshire and is a valuable wildlife study resource. A range of signed trails will take you around the park (including a Gruffalo Trail for tinies and trails suitable for mobility vehicles, which can be hired from the office) highlighting the different flora and fauna on show. Spring and autumn are breath taking. There's a play area for children, a nice cafe and picnic tables.
Shopping shopping shopping
A treasure trove of beautiful things, from pigeon garlands to perfect tea mugs to handprinted fabrics to Tilley Printing's magnificent letterpress poem posters, it's impossible to leave Tinsmiths empty-handed. You have been warned.
15 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
Tinsmiths
High StreetA treasure trove of beautiful things, from pigeon garlands to perfect tea mugs to handprinted fabrics to Tilley Printing's magnificent letterpress poem posters, it's impossible to leave Tinsmiths empty-handed. You have been warned.
Everything from statues to school desks, cartwheels to china cups, in this warehouse of reclaimed architectural salvage and general antiquery, housed in an old munitions factory on the Rotherwas Industrial estate. There will be something here that is just what you need for your garden, kitchen, hallway or desk, even if you currently don't realise you're missing it. There's also an outpost of The Nest cafe onsite (see above) which makes it the best coffee-opportunity south of the river even without the rooms full of history attached.
6 personas del lugar lo recomiendan
Warehouse 701
Fordshill RoadEverything from statues to school desks, cartwheels to china cups, in this warehouse of reclaimed architectural salvage and general antiquery, housed in an old munitions factory on the Rotherwas Industrial estate. There will be something here that is just what you need for your garden, kitchen, hallway or desk, even if you currently don't realise you're missing it. There's also an outpost of The Nest cafe onsite (see above) which makes it the best coffee-opportunity south of the river even without the rooms full of history attached.