The Village of Long Melford

Long Melford has been settled for many centuries. It can still be seen as a piece of medieval strip-development from the great green below the church for three miles southwards beside the river Stour.

It was a busy village in Tudor times, and still is, attracting visitors and holidaymakers from all over the UK and the world. Houses, shops and other businesses are comfortably mingled along Hall Street and Westgate, making a delightful environment for the wandering pedestrian.

Hall Street, the main North-South road, is wide and spacious, and even allows parking throughout much of its (considerable) length. Nowadays it is lined with a remarkable collection of buildings dating from the fifteenth century onwards. Black and white Tudor beams at the Bull Hotel rub shoulders with Georgian facades and Victorian terraces.

The shops are something special, catering not only for the local population, but also forming an oasis of quality shops for the district and beyond. They include a baker, a bookshop, two butchers, fashion shops, a department store, five art galleries, two picture framers and an undertaker, besides a number of antique shops that featured in the "Lovejoy" TV series a few years ago.

Five hotels in the village offer a wide range of accommodation, from luxury four-poster beds to sensibly-priced motel rooms. There are lots of options for good eating too, from nouvelle cuisine through traditional English dishes to tea and snacks.