Postcard from Marcherland

View from Orchard Cottage, next to the Kerry Ridgeway

Unusually for NAH, he took holiday destiny into his own hands and booked us in for a last minute week away in the Welsh border* just after Christmas. This is the view from our cottage door complete with frost, rolling hills, farm buildings, sheep and architectural trees.

I was a bit grumpy when NAH suggested it, convinced nothing would be open. I was proved wrong... there was just enough, plus the draw of a friend to catch up with who has recently moved back home after many years of living in Seattle.

We visited NAH's beloved Tal y Llyn railway and for me there were the gigglesome yews of Powis Castle decked out in twinkly lights beneath their green skirts. We partook of the world's slowest pub crawl in Bishop's Castle, where I taught everyone the delights of windmill dominoes.

We found the canal at Welshpool and revisited the marvellous lost-in-time Bunners hardware store in Montgomery. There were frosted walks for us all, plus mountain biking for NAH to complete the more active exertions. There was plenty of time left over to curl up in our cosy cottage, drink wine, read, and restart learning the ukulele.

I may have been a reluctant holidaymaker at first, but it turned out to be the perfect time for an enjoyable getaway.

* = aka the Welsh Marches or Marcherland as I like to call it. We spent most of the week effortlessly alternating between Wales and Shropshire. The rolling hills and plentiful castles still gives the area a borderland feel and its rural nature makes it seem quite remote from the rest of England.

Comments

  1. Gwenfar's Garden9 January 2019 at 21:54

    I love the Marches. Sounds like you really enjoyed it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP10 January 2019 at 13:22

      I love it too Gwenfar. I'm sure we'll be back, especially now we have a good friend there.

      Delete
  2. Josefin10 January 2019 at 20:43

    Really beautiful, would love to visit sometime. How do you travel best when travelling from Stockholm, Sweden?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP13 January 2019 at 13:36

      Hi Josefin and welcome to Veg Plotting. I expect you'd do the reverse of when I went to Stockholm and fly in to London Heathrow. Bristol or Manchester airports are closer, but I don't know if you are able to fly there. You will need a hire car as this area is rural and fairly remote, though some of the larger towns (Newtown for instance which was a few miles from where we stayed) is served by train. Bus transport from there might be tricky though!

      Delete
  3. Anna13 January 2019 at 22:49

    Well done to NAH! Shropshire is our neighbouring county VP and we've enjoyed several trips there over the years. We stayed in the camper van a couple of years ago on a site within walking distance of Bishop's Castle so probably visited the same pubs. I remember eating some most delicious Guinness bread on the same holiday :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP15 January 2019 at 21:38

      NAH was trying to find the campsite in BC where he and his brother stayed in the 1970s. No luck with that, but the beer was fine at each pub. Shame the 3 Tuns had no early slots for dinner though. Thankfully The Bear was a good alternative and the welcome at the 6 Bells was great... a guy even stopped his car in the street to tell us we looked like High Noon walking into town!

      Delete

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