Following a delicious and nourishing breakfast at the Motel One Manchester Picadilly, we’re anxious to be off to our first Wales destination.
It’s a short walk to the Picadilly Train Station. I stop to purchase a snack for the train when the clerk tells me, “Sorry dear, that money is no good.” I was giving him a £20 note that I had kept from a 2017 trip to London. It seems in the intervening years, the UK had abandoned their paper notes for a polymer or plastic substance. My alternative was to find a bank or post office to exchange it. OK, fortunately I had stopped at an ATM for some additional funds.
Onto the train heading for Machynlleth with a connection in Shrewsbury near the Welsh/English border. The trains run frequently, are comfortable and an opportunity to chat with fellow riders who are quick to start a conversation. While wizzing by fields of sheep and meadows, my seatmates who were traveling to South Wales for a weekend with friends are free with local information and political opinions. They share that Shrewsbury is a lovely town worth visiting is you ever have time for more than a quick transfer.
We arrive for one of several stops in Wales and are welcomed at the Wynnstay Hotel, everything you would expect in a village inn with dark wordwork, a welcoming lobby and a warren of small and intimate dining and meeting rooms. No elevator, of course, but isn’t this a good reason to travel light?
We’re off to tour the village and begin with the Glyndwr’s parliamentry buildings that now serve as a museum. Glyndwr lived in the 13th and 14th century, a rebel, a military man and politician who fought for Welsh independence and was successful in conquering the Normans on several fronts.
Before returning to our hotel for dinner, we take a brief hike down Glyndwr’s Way and then a climb up an extending trail. Machynlleth is still described as a market town. It has a thriving main street with an independent bookstore, pubs, clothing stores, everything you could want in a small town. By the way, the ancient home along the trail with modern addition pictured below has a ‘for sale’ sign should anyone be interested in a move to an idyllic Wales village.
I must include this photo for any of my fellow milkshake lovers. This is the first of many I saw through my travels, a self-serve stand for various milk products including milk shakes in several flavors.
Tomorrow, off to the Wales Coastal Path. Come along with me.
Still a Runner 