Wales – Welshpool (En)

Welshpool is a market town and community in Powys, Wales. It is four miles from the border between Wales and England and lies low on the River Severn. The city has beautiful canals, modern art, and most notably, the 13th-century Powis Castle—a sandstone castle overlooking the Severn Valley.

Where to stay

We stayed in the municipal car park (52.660023, -3.144889 lat, long) beside the canal. Parking costs £8 all day, free from 6 pm and on public holidays. There are no toilets, but there are supermarkets nearby with toilets if you need them. It is large enough to accommodate motorhomes and is within walking distance of everything there is to see in the city.

What to see

We walked along the canal which is beautiful. Squeezed into a modern building next to the canal is the Powysland Museum, a small museum of local artefacts and customs covering everything from the history of the local railway, canal-building and farming to fashion.

We then walked along the main streets lined with beautiful Georgian buildings, many with brick facades, until we reached the beautiful Market Hall. We went in and walked around the different stalls selling local products.

From there we went to see St Mary’s Church, the oldest parts of which date back to the 13th century when a simple rectangular building with a tower was erected on the side of the hill. The oldest preserved object inside is a monument from 1597 dedicated to Sir Edward Herbert, nephew of King Henry VIII. We couldn’t see the inside of the church because it was closed.

We finished by seeing the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway Monument, a narrow gauge steam railway that runs during the summer months. It was originally built to take local people to market with their sheep and cattle. The line closed in 1956 but was reopened by enthusiasts in 1960. It runs for 13km from Raven Square.

What to eat

There are plenty of places to eat, in restaurants, hotels or bars, all close to the city centre. We decided to eat on the terrace of a café near the church as the weather was so good, Ben ordered the full English breakfast with a banana milkshake and I had the English breakfast without egg and black pudding with a huge cappuccino! Full English breakfast for £7!

Here our journey through Wales ended and we returned to England where our first stop was Shrewsbury, whose Tudor centre is lined with half-timbered houses, which you can see in the next post!