THE WELSH MARCHES ~ 08

April 21st ~ 4 nights

An opportunity for four nights in the beautiful Welsh Marches during Spring. Your guest house is the comfortable and elegant Edwardian house of Brookfields, on the edge of Church Stretton, where you will be made very welcome by your hosts Paul & Angie Bradley.
Our proposed itinerary for 2008 will see us drive up on to Wenlock Edge on our way to coffee at the remote redundant church at Upton Cressett at the end of a pretty valley with just one road in & out. Then on to Bridgnorth, standing on top of its sandstone escarpment looking down over the River Severn and the lower town, with the remains of its castle blown up in the civil war, a lovely & timeless church close and its historic funicular railway amongst many sights to be seen. We travel then to the delightful small medieval, 'black & white' priory town of Much Wenlock for lunch. In this unlikely setting lived Dr. William Penny Brookes, founding father of the modern Olympic Games. From here we continue to visit Ironbridge -inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1986, the Ironbridge Gorge is of universal significance for its unique role in the development of the Industrial Revolution which began in Britain in the 18th century and later spread across the world. In addition to viewing the Bridge itself we will take a trip back in time at Blists Hill Victorian Town. On a second day we will take empty and beautiful byways out through the Clun Forest and meander our way, far from the madding crowd, to Rhayader and the wonderful Elan Valley - truly a scenic splendour for all seasons with ever changing colours and light. The reservoir system was built as the 19th century turned to the 20th as water supply for Birmingham and was seen quite rightly as one of the greatest civil engineering achievements of the age. Our third day will offer a chance to explore our pretty little home town of Church Stretton before we climb steeply on to the remarkable Long Mynd, known as Shropshire's 'Little Switzerland', on our way to lunch in the delightful riverside black & white village of Berriew in Montgomeryshire and then an afternoon visit to the majestic Powis Castle standing proud sentinel above its world famous terraced Italianate Gardens. A lovely time of year everywhere, The Welsh Marches of Powys and Shropshire are always particularly beautiful in Spring, and we will spend as much time as possible exploring on the wonderful range of byways that abound in this very quiet and scenic secret area.

Based at Church Stretton in Shropshire.

Guest House : Brookfields - a large,elegant & comfortable Edwardian house with views to The Long Mynd.

Train meeting from Shrewsbury.

All prices are in GB pounds (GBP), per person, per holiday, and are pretty much all-inclusive - see holiday information page for full details.
Double, twin or single en-suite or private bathroom 595.00