Wem: Discover Market Traditions, Gardens and Walking Routes

Wem between market history and special gardening traditions

Wem combines a long local history with vibrant market and gardening traditions. The town’s history reaches back to Saxon times, and it has been a market town since 1202. At the same time, Wem Market was established as early as 1205. Anyone wishing to combine a trip with culture, regional character and walks will find various reasons here to get to know the town more closely.

Wem also has an unusual connection with gardening history: sweet peas were first grown commercially in Wem by Henry Eckford in 1887. This tradition is celebrated at the annual Eckford Sweet Pea Show, held every July. The Wem Sweet Pea Show honours old-fashioned sweet pea varieties; flowers dating from before 1910 have their own competition class there. For your travel planning, this is a particularly vivid highlight if you find local events and horticultural culture more interesting than simply viewing historic buildings.

Markets, buildings and local discoveries

The indoor market takes place at Wem Town Hall on the High Street. In addition, the Wem Farmers’ Market is held from March to December on the second Saturday of every month. At the market, the local Vermulens bakery offers characteristic breads, cakes and pastries. Artworks, handicrafts and gifts are also sold, including products labelled „Made in Wem“. This allows you to combine your stay with regional flavours and handmade souvenirs, rather than viewing the town solely through its historical facts.

Attractive Georgian buildings stand out in the townscape. Park House, the former residence of one of Wem’s most prominent families, is of considerable local interest. The town’s historic character can therefore be understood through individual buildings as well as market traditions and the history of the sweet pea. The Millennium Gardens are within easy reach of Wem town centre and complement this urban orientation with another garden destination.

Walking routes with varied landscapes

For active days, two described routes with clearly different focuses are available. Walks Around Wem Walk 6 starts at the town car park, leads through woodland and across meadows, climbs the Hundred Steps and returns to Wem. The route therefore combines several landscape impressions with a notable ascent. If you are looking for a route with woodland, meadows and a clearly named section within the town area, this itinerary can be easily incorporated into your day’s plans.

Walks Around Wem Walk 4 has a different focus. It follows the River Roden, passes close to Ruewood Nature Reserve, crosses meadows, uses a short section of the Shropshire Way and returns to Wem. In the vicinity of Wem, Ruewood Nature Reserve consists of two damp, wildflower-rich meadows; a footpath leads there. This gives you a choice between a route with the Hundred Steps and woodland sections, and a route along the river and through the area around the nature reserve.

Wem as a base for your trip

Wem is accessible by train and bus. Wem railway station provides connections to Shrewsbury and the Cheshire region. This transport link is one of the practical considerations you can take into account when looking for a holiday apartment or holiday cottage.

Wem’s annual Carnival is also part of the events calendar: it takes place on the first Saturday in September. Together with the Farmers’ Market and the Sweet Pea Show, it creates a year-round schedule with different reasons to visit. When planning your trip, check your preferred period and choose accommodation to suit the experiences you actually intend to include.

Discover more places in the surrounding area

If you would like to extend your search beyond Wem, you can also include Worfield, Cleobury Mortimer, Longville, Clee Saint Margaret, Burlton, Ludlow, Much Wenlock and Market Drayton in your wider travel plans.

For the broader travel overview: Shropshire.