I visited a homely and rural town where 'everyone knows everyone' and community spirit is a priority
Every door is open; every face bears a smile, and the locals are keen to tell you the best things about their home.
Four days on from the busiest day in the Eccleshall calendar, it is clear to see the mood in the town has not been dampened.
Flowers hung in baskets everywhere you looked, a high street packed with parked cars and independent businesses, it is hard not to feel a sense of homeliness when arriving in Eccleshall.
Seven miles northwest of Stafford and seven miles northeast of Newport in Shropshire, the town's market has been popular for centuries, ever since the town was granted the right to hold a weekly market in 1153.
While the market now only runs on the fourth Saturday of every month, Eccleshall has remained a popular destination for day trippers, with a range of pubs, restaurants and independent businesses along the town's high street, which does not even stretch to half a mile long.
We arrived a few days after Saturday's (June 28) highly anticipated Eccleshall Festival, when thousands of people descended on the town to eat, drink and be merry.
Our first stop on the high street was the town's florist, fittingly named ‘The Flower Shop’, where owner Amanda Alldritt was arranging a bouquet for a friend – the local estate agent - highlighting the ‘everyone knows everyone’ attitude shared by the locals.
