ABC: Staffordshire: Literary: Lud's Church

 So this was one of the first places I discovered using my ABC method of hunting stuff out, and it made me realise it was a great way of finding places that you normally wouldn't stumble upon. I found this via the excellent "Wild Guide' series of books, that seem to have a knack of picking out great places.

I really had no idea what I was stumbling into, but it was amazing. A long climb up a steep wooded bank, above the River Dane, and then you find this narrow entrance through some limestone rocks, and it opens up into this tremendous, huge cutting, caused by the shifting of the land on the hillside. It was cold, damp, and really atmospheric.

(and annoyingly I called it Shropshire on the video - oh well !)

In the 15th century, Lud’s Church was reputedly a secret place of worship for the Lollards — followers of John Wycliffe who sought to reform the Church long before the Reformation. Persecuted for their beliefs, they are said to have gathered here in silence, surrounded by stone walls and dripping greenery, hidden from prying eyes.

But Lud’s Church is also steeped in myth and poetry. Many scholars and romantics believe this haunting place inspired the Green Chapel in the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The eerie, natural atmosphere — remote, damp, and shadowy — matches the description of the otherworldly setting where Sir Gawain confronts the mysterious Green Knight.