The Lincolnshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) contains the highest ground in eastern England between Yorkshire and Kent, rising to over 150m along its western edge. Beneath its rolling chalk hills lies Louth, the Capital of the Wolds.

Louth has been a market town since the 8th century and since that time, has served surrounding villages and farms through its shops, inns and markets. There are no chain store supermarkets or out-of-town shopping centres here; instead, you can spend a pleasant day popping in and out of independent retail shops and being served by friendly shopkeepers. There is an excellent variety of local speciality food shops that make Lincolnshire sausages, plum bread, stuffed chine, and sell Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese and butter, locally produced fruit, vegetables, fish and bread. You can even follow the town ‘Food Trail’ to sample local delicacies; brochures are available from the Tourist Information Centre.

TV food chef Rick Stein calls Louth "The finest little market town in Britain".

A selection of Louth's shops

The Market Place and Cornmarket come alive on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, when traders set up their market stalls selling everything from fresh fruit and flowers, cakes and cheeses, to clothing, footwear, hardware, and arts and crafts. Fresh fish can be bought from the stall on the Fish Shambles, and locally-produced Appleby’s ice cream can be sampled throughout the year. Wednesday is also the day for the auction of farm and garden produce, and seasonal game, while the Farmers' Market takes place on the last Wednesday of every month.

Also, the covered New Market Hall is open every day for local speciality foods, art crafts and antiques.

Click here to read the Daily Telegraph's review on the food and shops in Louth.

Louth’s natural treasure is Hubbard’s Hills, its name taken from an eighteenth-century tenant farmer, Alexander Hubbard. This superb area of naturally formed narrow and winding valley with steep wooded slopes is popular with both locals and visitors alike. Through it flows the River Lud, from where Louth derives its name. The river bisects the town as it runs through it to join the Louth Navigation Canal. Louth is also bisected by the Meridian line at 0°, so bridging two hemispheres,

The charm of the older part of the town lies in its ancient street pattern and fine Georgian and Victorian Buildings, especially in Upgate and Westgate, dominated by the Gothic parish church of St. James with its spire soaring to a height of 295 feet, the tallest parish church in the country.

All this and more is but a short walk from your holiday home.