Day 8 Brompton Crossroads to Welshpool

We decided to take a detour through the Medieval  town of Montgomery on our way to Welshpool as rain was predicted for today, into the evening. We both like to camp, but putting up tents and taking them down in the rain is no fun.

We had a nice walk into yet another quaint Welsh village with another ruined castle on the hill above it. 

I don’t think there is any town in New Zealand that has the same kind of charm and character that these villages have. I just keep thinking that this is just like TV; as though I am walking through a movie set.

The walk was flat, and the farming mostly crops; wheat, maize, and barley.

I was pleased not to be walking through sheep shit.

I still get stunned by the beauty  of a village in the distance. Always rows of little stone cottages, a church or two with steeples calling to us as well as a ruined castle on the hill behind. The villages usually sprung up to service the castle.

It was beginning to rain so we made our way into a little cafe cum Post Office  with some difficulty because of the small doorway, tiny room and our large packs.  Molly did everything and as the 2 tables filled up we moved chairs and gear to let the next people fit in. There was an elderly couple on a road trip, another couple squashed in with their motor bike gear and  a couple of local men,  one with a dog that barked at me.  Molly was swamped, so the dog owner got up and helped carry coffees out with very trembling hands, so they only got  half a cup.

We saw our Monk across the street and gave him a call, so he squashed in as well. Now there are 9 people and a dog in an area the size of my kitchen.

The Monk received a free cup of coffee without even taking his bowl out, making me think about becoming a monk too.  The locals told us that our plan to walk to the bigger market town of Welshpool was not a good one.  Road too narrow and traffic too fast.

For about $3 we could take a bus.  Good idea, we thought and paud for the monk to join us.

While we waited for the bus we walked up another damn steep hill to have a look around another damn old pile of rocks. This castle was commenced around 1223 under the orders of Henry VIII because a Welsh prince was getting a bit stroppy. During the First English Civil War, it was the site of the largest battle in Wales on 17 September 1644; the walls were slighted after the Second English Civil War in 1649 to prevent the castle being used again.

I want to see a castle that is still being used. These old relics are magnificent and do make me marvel at the engineering and physical work that went into building them. I imagine what it would have been like living there. However, I’d rather see one for real.

Maybe I”ll give Queen Camilla a call and see if she has some spare time for a Kiwi visitor when I get back to London.

We had booked at The Stone House for the night in Welshpool This made me think that all the houses are stone houses in Wales so it was not  a very imaginative name.

The lovely gentleman greeted us and took us upstairs (of course) to a nice room with tea and coffee and a tiny bathroom.  A full cooked breakfast would be served downstairs in the morning at 7.30am. I could get used to a 3 course breakfast!! Better get camping again with porridge and coffee being the only things on the menu.

We showered and changed into our least worn clothes, then took everything else down to the laundrette for a proper wash and dry. Clean clothes do smell nice.

We did a food top up and found half-price salads for our dinner and half-price sandwiches for tomorrow’s lunch. A bottle of cider and a bag of chips were enjoyed while I caught up on Coronation Street. That program seems very real as I spend my days walking along cobbled streets lined with 2 story brick houses.