Gingering it Up at Market Drayton

In 1245, at the behest of Abbot Simon of Combermere Abbey, Henry III granted Market Drayton a charter for a Wednesday market and two annual fairs. Marketing has been its main role ever since, serving a large area of rural Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire. Abbot Simon wasn't just thinking of the local peasants and farmers - his monks had their own produce to sell. They cultivated vines and kept honeybees, as well as participating in dairy farming, which flourished in the fertile countryside. Food has always been the main focus for Market Drayton's traders and, even today, the town is full of small, independent shops selling a wide range of locally made produce. Every Wednesday Cheshire Street is still submerged by a flood of colourful stalls heaped high with food, along with goods from the Staffordshire Potteries. So you can buy your cake and the plate to eat it from too.

To compete in the modern world, Drayton now markets itself and the theme is still food, as it tries to entice tourists to the 'home of gingerbread'. First made here in 1817, for many years there were four gingerbread dynasties in town, each with its own secret recipe. People then enjoyed gingerbread in 'junks as big as my foot', but nowadays you can buy it fashioned into hearts, teddy bears, sheep or footballers.

Traditionally, Draytonians dunked their gingerbread in port and one of the most popular recipes already contained rum. Billington's gingerbread is still made locally to a secret recipe, but Drayton also boasts plenty of other specialities, such as damson jam, damson cheese and damson gin, which possibly goes down well with a bit of rum-soaked, port-dunked gingerbread. Go into one of the bakers in town and you can choose from other local treats like butter buns, lardy cakes and oven bottoms, while pikelets and oatcakes from the Potteries are popular too. Since the 16th century, Drayton has been famous for dairy goods. Yogurt is made in a factory on the edge of town, but farm-made yogurts are also on sale in the shops, along with excellent cheeses. It is said that the only unpasteurised Cheshire cheese still made in England comes from Market Drayton.

Robert Clive was born near Market Drayton in 1725 and went to school there. He terrorised the town as a boy, even running a protection racket. His despairing family packed him off to India where he achieved great wealth and prestige in the process of establishing British supremacy there. Despite his fame (or notoriety), it's his culinary contribution they celebrate in Drayton. At the Clive and Coffyne (a coffyne is a pie case) they serve an award-winning Clive of India Pie which is said to be based on a recipe given by Clive in 1768 to the bakers of Pézenas in France. He has also, rightly or wrongly, been linked to the gingerbread tradition because of his involvement in the spice trade.

Where to eat and drink

The Four Alls is a popular place with lots of outside seating, ideal for families with dogs. Market Drayton has many friendly, attractive pubs - if you appreciate period buildings you'll want to try them all. You'll pass several of the best on this walk. Special mention must go to the Corbet Arms; the landlord in 1885 was my ancestor, Richard Wycherley.

While you're there

Hodnet Hall Gardens at nearby Hodnet, about 5 miles (8km) south west of Market Drayton, is worth a visit, with over 60 acres (24.3ha) of landscaped gardens around an Elizabethan-style house built in the 1870s. Enjoy the woodland walks and lovely water gardens with their chain of ornamental ponds.

What to look for

With a flight of five locks and a group of gorgeous buildings, Tyrley Wharf is a place to linger. It's hard to imagine this was once a real working wharf - rough, tough, noisy, smelly and mucky. It served the Peatswood Estate and was also a change-over point for the tow horses, which were expected to do about 25 miles (40km) a day.