Let’s Pop Over the Border to Wonderful Wales
Whereas England has around 60 million people, Wales is far smaller, with just 3 million or so. A beautiful country with gorgeous beaches, people in North Wales tend to speak Welsh, while the south tends to speak English with their beautiful musical sing-song accents.
The Offa’s Dyke Path is a 177-mile train that follows the Welsh border, which can be combined with walking the Wales Coast Path, if you’re feeling fit!
Always follow the Countryside Code, to keep all creatures safe. It at the coast, read our post on keeping dogs safe by the seaside.
Oswestry (nearest English town to Wales)
Oswestry is a market town in Shropshire, just 2 miles from the Welsh border. Named after King Oswald of Northumbria, he was killed in a battle here in AD 642.
Like Berwick-upon-Tweed (in Northumberland), this town has a long history of changing hands, sometimes being rules by England, and other times by Wales. You can still see ruins of a Norman castle from 1000 years ago, on a hill that overlooks the town.
This is Shropshire’s third largest town in one of England’s least populated counties. It still runs food markets twice a week, and has a rich and interesting history.
Although it’s in England, because it’s just five miles from the border, many signs and road signs are also in Welsh. Which nobody would understand unless they’re Welsh, because it looks like one of the world’s most difficult languages (on a par with Finnish!)
Poet Wilfred Owen was born here, but he only published five poems (he wrote many more) before his death in war age just 25, just one week before the Armistice. His poetry (which focused on the horrors of war rather than glamorising it) makes for powerful reading, even today.
Hay-on-Wye (a book town on the Welsh border)
Right on the Welsh border is Hay-on-Wye, which has more second-hand bookshops than any other in the UK. It also hosts an annual book festival, which draws thousands of visitors from across the world. Introvert bookworms meet new literary friends, in this most unique place.
Trying to save your independent bookstore? Be inspired by this town, which has over 20 of them! Most follow the golden rule of niching down, rather than just selling books about anything and everything. Some bookstores here focus on:
- Children’s books
- Antiquarian and rare books
- Nature and botany
Hay-on-Wye famously has ‘honesty bookshops. Where if shops are closed, visitors can leave payment in a box to buy books on outdoor shelves.
Local legend claims that Hay Castle was built in just one night by Maud Walbee (a giantess, who carried the stones in her pocket!)
Despite being in Wales, this town unusually has a (Herefordshire) English postcode. The town sits on the River Wye (the fifth longest river in England) forms the border with Wales.
Hay-on-Wye? Is that some kind of sandwich? Arthur Miller, American playwright on his first visit
From the gardens of Bombay, all the way to lovely Hay. Ian Dury
