Longridge, Preston

Gosh, I’m really struggling to find places I haven’t been in the North of England! I’d heard of Longridge as it’s a place for lots of engineering and stuff like that.  When I Googled and discovered it was a “medium-sized town” I thought we’d give it a go.  If it’s not so exciting we can go to nearby Preston.

Longridge is about 8 miles north east of Preston and 30 miles from Manchester.  From North Manchester take the M60, M61, M6 and exit junction 31A onto the B6242, B6243, B5269 and head towards Berry Lane.  There is free on street parking in Longridge, which is always a plus.

The town itself is a traditionally northern town built from the local sandstone.  Berry Lane is the main shopping area with quite a few local pubs dotted across the town.

It was a grey Monday afternoon, but Longridge did have a good deal to offer.  First and foremost it has charity shops – 5 in total including a Children’s Barnardos.  It made me chuckle to overhear in one charity shop, locals complaining that another florist was opening – there are about three in close proximity.

Longridge has a mix of traditional and modern independent shops.  I knew this was a classy town from the fact there was a designer dress agency there, unfortunately it was closed so I couldn’t have a look.  There were a few lovely looking café’s which seemed to be the busiest places in town.  One shop had a black and white dog resting in the window – so cute. I was thrilled to see a craft shop called “Oh Sew Crafty” so naturally I had to go in and have a browse.  They do courses there too, which is always a joy to see.

If you live in Lancashire and Cumbria, you will have heard of Booths supermarkets – they are like the northern Waitrose.  It’s always a sign of a good neighbourhood and it’s always a lovely shop to potter around.  Pricier than the Tescos and ASDA’s of this world, but a much more interesting shopping experience with more locally sourced produce than the high street chains.

Longridge seems to me to be a nice commuter town for Preston and Blackburn with good access to the M6.  Plus it has the advantage of being close to a number of large businesses on the outskirts of town.  It’s the sort of place you would bring up your family where you have the convenience of being close to a city and some large industrial towns, but just a stone’s throw from the countryside.  It’s a pleasant little town and I’d definitely stop off here again.

Neston, Cheshire

We hadn’t been to the Wirral for a while so as it was a nice day we thought we’d pay another visit.  Our main destination was the affluent Heswall – birth place of John Peel and home to lots of nice charity shops.  However our first port of call was Neston, which I was surprised to find was not in fact part of the Wirral, but on the very edges of Cheshire.

Normally getting to Neston from north Manchester is about an hour via the M60, M62, M6, M56, A540 and B5134.  However, due to road works we ended up going via Widnes / Runcorn, which wasn’t much better either as we got stuck in more road works.  Hopefully when they finish the bridge works over the Mersey it might be a better route.  At least we found free parking in Neston, which is always good. 

Neston itself is a quiet well-to-do town.  Architecturally small scale with some nice red brick buildings, interspersed with black and white rendered buildings with a hint to the 20^th century with a small stretch of newer shops.  There is a modern Sainsbury’s hidden behind the town hall, which helps to retain its small town charm.  There are a number of period pubs you could easily spend a cosy evening in or have Sunday lunch.  It seems like the sort of town you would like to bring up a family in or retire to. 

Obviously we were there to check out the charity shops and we toured the lot.  These included Oakwood Animal Sanctuary, Age UK, Sue Ryder and Hospice of the Good Shepherd.  I regretted not buying a cocktail shaker in one shop, but I eventually got one from Lymm.  Neil didn’t spot much, but then again we were heading off to nearby Heswall which is great for charity shops.

We were heading off to eat in Heswall, so we didn’t get to sample any coffee and cakes here.  Obviously there is a Costa here, although I’d like to know where there isn’t a Costa these days.  However if you are looking for a local independent alternative, Elephant Coffee looked like a really nice option.

To be truthful we didn’t stop long here as Heswall was our main destination, but people have since told us we missed out on going to nearby Ness Botanical Gardens, which is a shame as it was a lovely blue sky day.

Whilst technically Neston isn’t on the Wirral Peninsula, if you are planning a road trip around it, you should definitely take in Neston.  It’s a pretty little town and worth a quick detour, especially if you are going to charity shops or want to visit a botanical garden.  

Brighouse, West Yorkshire

We’d been meaning to go to Brighouse for a while as we know some people who live just outside of the town.  It has to be said that Neil was excited to go because of the Brighouseand Rastrick Brass Band who reached number 2 with “The Floral Dance” in late 1977. As you’d expect their albums can be found cluttering up the vinyl section of many a charity shop in the area.

The route to Brighouse is very straightforward from Manchester – M60, M62, exit junction 25, A644 and follow the signs to Brighouse.  We parked for free in Tesco which is at the edge of the town centre.  Although, note to self – must remember in future to turn off car lights, otherwise will end up needing to get new car battery.

The weather wasn’t too great in Brighouse - it was a bit overcast and drizzly. However it was much better than Manchester which was experiencing a monsoon that day.

Brighouse is typical of your Yorkshire town, sturdy and squat buildings made of local Yorkshire stone – understated but classy.  Although in Brighouse they have massive silos on the edge of town dominating the skyline.  One of them has been turned into a climbing gym, which sounds like a good alternative to normal gyms which can be rather boring. A canal cuts through the town too - no doubt it used to service the huge silos back in the day.

The town itself is a mix of traditional and independent shops.  Clearly it has been inspired by the nearby Hebden Bridge and Holmfirth to up its game in terms of attracting out-of-towners into Brighouse with cafes and restaurants.  But I do like to say it hasn’t gone overboard in that direction too so it retains much of its character.

At the back of the main shops there is an open air market.  It wasn’t that exciting as that Saturday it was a second hand market with locals flogging off stuff they didn’t need.  It reminded me of the flea market in Huddersfield, which is on a much larger scale.  The good thing I found about it was how friendly it was with stall holders and locals chatting. Apparently there is a Food and Craft market that pops up once in a while and dates can be found here http://brighousemarket.co.uk/.  I did notice on Visit Brighouse website they do various festival weekends throughout the year and it’s worth timing your visit to coincide with these events.

There are quite a few charity shops in Brighouse and naturally we toured them all.  The charity shops were rather busy and Neil again was experiencing a severe case of charity shop blockers – basically old men slowly browsing through all the records Neil wanted to look at.  If you are looking for wedding outfits or outfits for a fancy do, go no further than Overgate Hospice designer wear shop on Bethel Street.

As usual in Yorkshire we had our chippy lunch and we went to Blakeley’s by the market.  We both had fish and chips which were great.  Somehow we missed the entrance to the restaurant and went to the takeaway bit.  Thankfully they do have a sheltered outdoor eating place overlooking the canal which was a nice place to eat.  There was a mum struggling to make her kids eat their lunch as they kept wanting more tomato sauce, even though they still had some on their plates.

If you are looking for a place to drink in Brighouse you will be spoilt by the amount of pubs available here.  Many are the old traditional style pubs with lots of original features and I can imagine you’d be spoilt for choice doing a pub crawl here.  I was very surprised to find the local Freemasons had put up a banner to recruit new members.  I thought they were a rather secretive organisation, but clearly not in Brighouse.

It was a pleasant trip to Brighouse, although the weather was a bit overcast.  Brighouse is an interesting mix of the traditional and industrial, as the silos and industrial buildings do dominate the town.  It doesn’t lend itself to being a traditional pretty Yorkshire town, but great for photographers who are looking for something different.  Clearly the local town’s people are taking pride in the place and put on events throughout the year to attract people into Brighouse.  We’d definitely visit again, but will time it with the Food and Craft Market as I do love exploring these type of events.

Accrington, Lancashire

We hadn’t been to Accrington before and I had heard scary stories about the place from a former manager who lived there, so I wasn’t too sure what to expect.

The drive from Manchester to Accrington is straightforward - M60, M66, A56 and A680.  It takes about 30 minutes from north Manchester.  We found free parking behind some shops which is always good.

I was surprised to find there is some nice architecture in Accrington – the Town Hall and the Market Hall are fine examples of 19^th century architecture with their solid stone facades and symmetrical design.  It was great to see the Town Hall was being used to host weddings.  There is also a lovely arcade which has seen better days.  It has a lovely sweeping curve and light streamed in through the ceiling windows.  However the fine stained glass panels, high up on the shop windows are obscured as the shops have installed suspended ceilings so the stained glass colours can’t be seen.  This place is crying out for some TLC and some more occupants.

The main shopping area is a 1960s shopping centre, which isn’t very exciting, although I loved the massive banner across the buildings for the Accrington Pals as part of the WW1 commemorations.  Across the rest of the town there are lots of independent shops and bizarrely quite a few wedding shops. There are plenty of empty shops too, which is always sad to see.  However there seems to be a lively night time economy with plenty of pubs, bars and takeaways – I think this was what my former manager was referring to.

Obviously we were here for the charity shops and there are loads.  Other people had a similar idea and these shops were busy.  Neil experienced a severe case of record section blockers.  Most charity shops have their records under the DVDs, so you often find people slowly browse through the DVDs whilst blocking access to the records.  Then you find the older blokes who look at every record with no intention of buying anything. Thankfully the larger charity shops were where he had less chance of tripping up old ladies whist he was on the floor looking through the records.  For once I got lucky and bought some unused place mats for £1.99.

The Market Hall seemed to be a popular place for the older people of Accrington.  I think the fact it had lots of benches to sit on was part of the draw.  The lady at the pet stall was very helpful with my kitten queries.  I like these old Victorian markets as they do give a place a sense of heritage and community.

One good reason to visit Accrington is the pun names of the town’s shops. There’s a fish shop called “Passion for Sole” and a cycle shop called “Blood, Sweat and Gears”.  My personal favourite was the charity shop called “Only Foals and Horses” - sadly it wasn’t open but what a fab name!

We had a cake and a coffee in Costa.  I swear Costa has become the new pub, so it’s quite apt the chain is owned by the brewery chain of Whitbread.  It was full of old people catching up with friends and collecting points on their loyalty cards.  To be honest I’d rather meet up in a coffee shop with friends rather than a pub these days, but that’s more to do with the fact I do fall asleep after a few drinks.

Whilst it wasn’t a very exciting visit, I was pleasantly surprised by the place - the shop name puns alone put smiles on our faces.  It’s a down-to-earth working class town, which has seen better days and could do with investment.  However it does have a sense of community and that’s always a good thing.

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Uttoxeter, Staffordshire

Despite the miserable weather we ploughed on, over the county border from Derbyshire to Staffordshire.  Uttoxeter is 14 miles from Ashbourne and it takes about 25 minutes, driving via the A515, A50 and A518.

Before this visit I had very little knowledge of Uttoxeter apart from the many signs I’ve passed over the year on the A50, the film director Shane Meadows is from here and the Starbucks drive through at the Uttoxeter service station. 

We parked up behind the little precinct and wondered why there was a queue at the ticket machine.  Apparently people were waiting until 3pm to get a free ticket for parking, which is always good to know as these things aren’t always widely signposted.

As we walked through the little precinct, the song “Ghost Town” by The Specials went through my head.  It was a rather bleak concrete place from the 60s with lots of empty units. There was a handful of shops still open but mainly charity shops. 

When we made it out onto the main shopping street, things improved.  Firstly the street is pedestrianised which always helps.  Also the architecture is definitely market town, with many buildings dating back at least a couple of centuries. The butcher’s shop on Market Street had a little brown plaque stating it was from Elizabethan times – you could tell with its Tudor wooden beamed structure.  At least the town planners have kept the newer developments behind the main shopping streets to retain the character of the place.  

Luckily for us, there were a quite a few charity shops to explore in Uttoxeter.  I’m always a fan of good second hand charity book shops and the Katherine House Hospice had a particularly good one – plenty of books, well organised and reasonably priced.  I bought Cheryl Strayed’s “Wild” here, which is a gripping read by the way.  In the other charity shops, Neil was also having some luck with vinyl records and CDs and picked up some stuff – even some sheet music which happened to be in good condition.

On the mobile phone front, Neil was getting tetchy as the signal for O2 was pretty patchy, whilst on Vodafone there was a better reception.  Thank goodness for tethering is all I can say.

There were a few independent shops in the town too, but it must have been a slow day for them as the place was virtually empty as the wet weather kept most people indoors.  The only place which was experiencing shopping action that day was the local ASDA.

The main thing I really took from this place was the Staffordshire version of the Midlands accent.  It’s not as strong as you’d find in Birmingham or Wolverhampton, but it still has that burr which is captured beautifully by Shane Meadows in his films and TV programmes.  It’s fascinating how accents change with geography and the first time I’d spotted this accent was on a previous trip to Leek about 20 miles north west.  I do think it’s one of the most interesting things about the UK how accents can be so radically different over relatively short distances, for example there are only 30 miles between Liverpool and Manchester but the accents are poles apart.

I’m sure Uttoxeter on a race day feels like a different place, but on the day we went we found it to be a dull but functional place.  I’m sure it’s a nice place to live – the countryside on the door step, but within easy reach of Stoke, Derby and Stafford.  I wouldn’t be that excited to visit here again, but as ever with certain places the weather can really temper your experience of a place.

Ashbourne, Derbyshire

I discovered Ashbourne in Derbyshire through taking detours back to Manchester when the A40 or M6 had been jammed with traffic.  As I passed through, I noticed the town seemed rather nice and I made a mental note to return here to visit.

Getting to Ashbourne from Manchester takes about an hour and a half to drive.  There are several ways to get there and the route I took was the M60, M62, M6, A50, B5030, B5032 and A52.  I think there are better ways to get there, that’s for sure, and Neil was getting queasy on the B road part of the journey.  We parked up in Sainbury’s car park and you have to pay to park for a maximum of 2 hours, but you can get the parking fee refunded in the supermarket.

It was a grey and drizzly kind of day - not the best to go visiting towns, to be honest with you.  After parking up, the first order of our day was to get food.  As we didn’t want a pub lunch, we found Billy’s fish and chip shop in the centre of town and thankfully they had some indoor tables so we didn’t have to eat them out in the rain.  The fish and chips were nice which is always a bonus.

Ashbourne is a classy kind of town. Not only does it have a Sainbury’s and an M&S supermarket in a nearby retail park, but it rocks the holy grail of middle class supermarkets – a Waitrose.  It also has an Edinburgh Woollen Mill, which to me is always an indicator of a tourist destination.  It’s definitely upmarket with lots of lovely little independent shops too.  Ashbourne also prides itself on being a fair trade town which is always good thing.  If you like antiques and art you will find plenty of shops to your taste.  In one antique shop window there was a pair of glorious, white life sized greyhounds – they were so lifelike and no doubt cost a small fortune. 

There is both an indoor and outdoor market in Ashbourne.  The outdoor market wasn’t that big or exciting, but I did like the upholstery stall where they were selling footstools, which could be customised to your own taste.  The small indoor market was hosting a craft day and it was very busy as the rain was driving people inside.

Architecturally, there is a country market town vibe going on and the sort of place you could spend a weekend soaking in the relaxing calm.  The gallows sign “Green Man and Black’s Head Royal Hotel” spanning St John’s Street is a distinctive landmark in the town and I couldn’t help but think that some lorries wouldn’t be able to pass down this street because of it.

In the cities and suburbs, pubs are closing at a rapid rate, but here I was surprised to see so many -   apparently 1 in 4 of the buildings in this town had been a pub.  Many looked like they had been here hundreds of years and it’s a shame I was driving as it would have been nice to sample a pint or two here. 

We were here obviously for the charity shops.  One was particularly overpriced, but the others were fine.  In Oxfam I overheard a conversation where the volunteer was telling customers that the rain was keeping people away from Ashbourne, but come on a sunny day and the place would be teeming with folk.  Neil managed to pick up some CDs and vinyl and that always bodes well for a repeat visit.

Bizarrely there were two religious speakers near the market proclaiming their stories of redemption to all who would listen.  This was really rather strange and unexpected.  You sort of expect this on a busy city centre street in Manchester, but not in a sleepy market town in Derbyshire.

I can’t quite understand why I’d never really heard about this place before my detours as I know Derbyshire fairly well.  Maybe it doesn’t have obvious lures like Bakewell (the Tart) and Buxton and Matlock (the Spas), but I’m so glad to finally stop off in here and explore the place with Neil.  It’s an unassuming, but charming place to visit and it definitely makes its way on the ‘revisit and stay overnight’ list.  

Knaresborough, North Yorkshire

The first time I came to Knaresborough was on a school trip to visit Mrs Shipton’s Cave and the Dropping Well where you could, at the time, petrify your handbag on the little waterfall.  The tour guide took great pleasure in telling us 10 year olds about how people used to get hung, drawn and quartered, with their bodies being left on display by the river as a lesson to others.  I’m not sure many of us had pleasant dreams that night, but that piece of knowledge has stuck with me ever since. 

This time, we had just visited nearby Wetherby and so decided to go to Knaresborough.  There is supposed to be a B road route between the two towns, but as ever I missed the right road and ended up doing a detour via the A1.  When we got there we found a little car park behind the main shops on Chapel Street - £1 for 2 hours. 

Knaresborough is a pretty little town packed full of characterful buildings, dating back hundreds of years.  One thing I did notice about many of the buildings was that they had three floors which gave the place a more imposing presence.  I liked the fact that the centre of town was pedestrianised with car access for disabled parking.  It is also a pet friendly town and we kept seeing posh pedigree pooches all over the place, which is always nice to see.

There are so many independent shops in Knaresborough and I did notice there were plenty of vintage style shops selling clothes, knickknacks and upcycled furniture.  Definitely a place to go to get vintage stuff and style ideas.  I also love to visit stationery shops and I found two here which is always great to see in this digital day and age.

Neil is a fan of daft shop pun names and he remembered on our last trip there was a shop called “Mungo Deli”.  Thankfully it was still open and Neil managed to get a picture of it for his Facebook album of silly shop signs.

There are plenty of places to eat and drink here – lots of cosy old pubs, cute cafes and gastropubs.  We had already eaten in Wetherby, but as we are greedy we did pick up cake from the friendly and down to earth Hurst’s Bakery.  I have to recommend the chocolate cream cake, especially as it had a surprise layer of black cherries in it and tasted great too.

As ever we checked out the charity shops.  Other people had the same idea and we kept bumping into them in every shop.  There was a hospice charity shop which was really overpriced – although in fairness, with the proximity of so many vintage shops, they probably have a policy to mark up the stock so the vintage shops don’t profit on their donations.  Neil managed to get locked in one charity shop when he was browsing through the records upstairs.  I was a bit panicked and tried to phone him.  Thankfully the shop assistant checked the shop before she left and Neil managed to get out.  A practical point to note is that most charity shops in Knaresborough close about 4.00 pm so it’s better to get there earlier than we did.

Knaresborough is a great little place to go, and one to consider for a weekend away as it’s close to the countryside, especially when it’s only a short drive from Harrogate too (fab place, you must visit).  Our only advice is to get there earlier in the day, as it begins to close around 4ish – otherwise it’s another fab Yorkshire town to visit.

Wetherby, West Yorkshire

It was our first road trip of the New Year so where do we go?  We’ve been to loads of places in the North over the years, so finding somewhere new to go that’s nice can be more miss than hit.  So to ensure a hit on our day out, I wanted to go to Knaresborough as we’d been there before but I hadn’t written about it.  However, to make that journey worthwhile we needed to visit another town. I dusted off the atlas and found Wetherby, which is about 8 miles from Knaresborough – well, that is if you take the right route.

Getting to Wetherby from Manchester is straightforward enough – M60, M62, M1, A1, exit junction 45 and then follow the signs into Wetherby on to the A168 and A661.  I was very pleased to see on the way into town, a sign stating “Historic Market Town” – Wetherby looked to be a promising visit after all.  As for parking, I got a little confused and ended up going through the town.  Luckily we found 2 hours free parking on the edge of Wetherby town centre just off Crossley Street.  We had to laugh at the name of the gymnasium next to the car park – it’s called “Sunny Gym”!

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We cut through the car park and found ourselves on Westgate where we found our first charity shop of the day.  According to my Yell app, there were supposed to be 7 charity shops, but in reality there seemed to be many more.  The shops were teeming with older people browsing and chatting to staff.  There are some pretty good charity shops in Wetherby and Neil picked up some cheap vinyl records and CDs. Neil will definitely want to come back here again for the charity shops alone.

You will always find a place to eat in Wetherby with its wide selection of cafes, pubs and restaurants.  As it was a cold day we wanted to eat indoors somewhere and we found the Wetherby Whaler chip shop which had a restaurant upstairs.  It’s a nice, clean place and seemed to be popular with the locals.  Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and need them more often, but I noticed the toilets were well maintained and pleasant.  The fish and chips we ordered were tasty and we’d certainly come back here again.

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Wetherby is full of independent shops, which is always great to see.  I loved the pet shop with the animal tableau outside and there was a pie shop that caught Neil’s eye, especially the pies with black pudding in them.  Each Saturday you can find in the local town hall an antiques market.  It’s not a big market, but it was well organised and there was a camaraderie between the stall holders.  I also noticed there’s a farmers and craft market every second Sunday of each month.  This town seems like it has got its act together with lots of activities planned throughout the year.

The architecture in Wetherby is typically sturdy as it’s made from Yorkshire stone.  We did spot the odd building built in the 1960s and 1970s, but they look much more dated than the buildings which have been here for hundreds of years.  The place is very well maintained and you can tell people here really take pride in the town.  I wish this was the case everywhere.

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Whilst Wetherby is not really a touristy type of place, it seemed to me to be a nice middle class commuter town (well it does have an M&S supermarket after all) for people working in either Leeds or York.  It’s great to go to towns with no expectations of them, as you come with no preconceptions and just see it for what it is.  In this case we were pleasantly impressed with Wetherby and would definitely revisit.  

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Abergavenny, Monmouthshire

The final stop on the Welsh part of our road trip was Abergavenny, on the edge of the Brecon Beacons.  We had no clue what to expect there and were curious to find out.

We parked at the local car park on the edge of the main shopping area – it was £1 for 2 hours, but on a market day it’s better to get the £1.50 ticket for 3 hours.

Abergavenny is an old-school sort of town and very down to earth.  The central shopping precinct is a typical, functional concrete mid-20^th century building with many high street names.  However surrounding the precinct is where you will find more interesting shops and some interesting period buildings.  Many of the buildings are in typical Welsh style with painted rendered walls – all of which add character to the town.  The two buildings which stood out for me were the Abergavenny Baptist Church and Abergavenny Market Hall.  Both buildings used dark rough-hewn stone and sandstone in their construction to create a distinctive look.

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The town was busy as the kids hadn’t gone back to school yet and the pavements and side streets are quite narrow so you end up walking in the road, trying to dodge traffic.  The A40 runs through the heart of the town too so there is always plenty of traffic and you need to use the pedestrian crossings to navigate the town safely.

First thing we did was to find food.  We ended up at a little takeaway called the Codfather and had a generous portion of fish and chips - they were nice too.  Then there was the mission to find the local toilets.   I tried the local public toilets which weren’t great – lack of tissues and the overwhelming smell weren’t pleasant.  However Neil on the other hand used the toilets in Nicholls department store which were much nicer.

Obviously we were here to check out the charity shops and found plenty to choose from.  As we were in Wales it wasn’t clear whether some were charity shops or just local independent shops.  So I ended up being the Sherpa trying to suss out what was a charity shop and what wasn’t.

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There are plenty of independent shops in Abergavenny, which was great to see.  I did notice there were a number of empty shop units in the town and also there weren’t that many pubs either.  The recession has clearly hit this place, but the independent trade is keeping it afloat.  I found a few craft shops, which is always a joy for me.  One shop specialised in fabric and I picked up a few pieces in their sale.  There was a good wool shop too, but sadly I couldn’t buy anything as I can’t knit anymore. Neil found a house clearance shop, but the owners were impatiently waiting for Neil to finish browsing so they could shut up shop for lunch.  It’s definitely worth popping in Nicholls, which is a classy independent department store.  We’d seen one in Brecon and apparently they have a tiny chain of shops in South Wales.  It’s quite a pleasant upmarket place and the café seemed to be full of families and ladies-who-lunch. 

My favourite place was Abergavenny Market Hall as it was hosting the regular Wednesday flea market, which proved popular with the locals too.  It reminded me of the Sunday flea markets you find in New York – jammed packed full of interesting and quirky stuff.  I loved the realistic looking flying pigs which were hanging above the stalls and I had to take a few pictures of them.  Neil found some record stalls and picked up some nice 80s 7 inch singles.  I didn’t pick up anything, although a couple of the locals were commenting on my camera.  They have a wide range of different markets here over the month including a farmers, craft and antiques markets.  If I lived near here I would definitely be visiting this place on a regular basis.

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We had only planned to stay in Abergavenny for a couple of hours, but now wished we’d spent a bit longer here.  I really didn’t expect the place to be quite as interesting as it was, because it didn’t strike me as a tourist destination.  Clearly the community likes to shop local and it’s great to see a place like this teeming with people.  If we were ever in the vicinity again, I’d definitely pay another visit, particularly to the Market Hall.

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Hay-on-Wye, Powys

The base we chose for our South Wales excursion was Hay-on-Wye.  Obviously I’d heard about it due to the annual book festival, but also because my friend is a book fanatic and has visited this place to stock up his library.

Getting to Hay-on-Wye from anywhere is a chore as it’s in the middle of nowhere, well, on the edge of the Brecon Beacons close to the English border.  As we were coming from Manchester we had the choice of three routes – the A5 through the west of Shropshire, the A49 through the east of Shropshire or the longer route via the M6/M5.  Unfortunately the first two routes were ruled out for us due to the Creamfields festival in Cheshire, so we had to take the M6/M5 route.  All I’m saying is: don’t be fooled into thinking that driving on a Sunday down the M6 will be a breeze – roadworks plus Birmingham equals traffic hell.  That’s before the random cross country journey that involved finding an alternative route because of a car accident.   It was one of the few times I wished for a sat nav, as the iPhone was useless as the signal cross country was either non-existent or GPRS.  It felt like we were guided by divine intervention rather than anything else.  So what should have been a three hour journey took four hours instead. 

Hay-on-Wye itself is a lovely stone built town, full of character and rather well-to-do.  At the centre of the town, on a hill, is Hay-on-Wye Castle – its remains overshadow the little town.  These types of country towns have evolved over centuries and as a result the architecture is a real historical mixed bag.  There’s the distinctive Clock Tower that overlooks the town.  The small stone built Butter Market plays host to the various markets that pop up.  I lost Neil to the Butter Market for a couple of hours as there was a record fair going on. There are lots of places to explore and if you are an architecture photographer get there early as the streets get very busy late morning into late afternoon.

We stayed in the Old Black Lion on the edge of Hay.  It’s a pub, restaurant and B&B which dates back from the 17^th century, although parts of it date from the 13^th century.  It’s one of those characterful places with low beams and wibbly-wobbly floors, and it probably plays host to a local ghost or two.  You feel like you are drunk climbing the stairs to the bedrooms as the stairs are at an odd angle.  If you are tall like us, then be really careful as you could quite easily knock yourself out on the beams. 

Our bedroom overlooked the car park and the fields beyond so you really felt connected to the countryside.  The room was decorated in red and gold and had an en-suite bathroom.  As with these old buildings, en-suites can be a bit bizarre and our en-suite was split level with the shower on one level and the toilet and sink on another.  It was also dicey for both Neil and myself as you had to mind your head going down the steps otherwise you could give yourself concussion.  The breakfasts were really nice too with ingredients sourced locally and I would wholeheartedly recommend the restaurant for lunch and evening meals as they were the best we had on our stay.  The Beef and Butty Bach was ace and the Choc and Port Cake is divine.  If you are staying Sunday in Hay it’s best to book a table here as not all the restaurants are open on a Sunday evening.  I’d definitely come here again.

Obviously Hay-on-Wye is known for books and we explored most of the book shops.  I was surprised how pricy some of the second hand bookshops were, but my book fanatic friend did say later that he doesn’t get as many books as he used to in Hay because of the prices.  That said, my favourite bookshop was the Hay Cinema Bookshop on the edge of town.  It’s massive and I don’t think I’ve been into a larger bookshop – you could lose yourself for days in here.  The cheapest place to find books is at Hay Castle which has an assortment of cheap books and you pay for them by leaving money in the honesty box.

There is more to Hay than books and if you like your craft, vintage and locally-made stuff, this place will have something for you.  It made me laugh to look in one vintage shop where they had a sign in the window with the words “best quality old tat”– so true.  Another vintage shop was called “Nantique” – top name.  The Old Electric Shop had the classic combo of café, art gallery, upcycled furniture and vintage clothes - definitely a place to go to get inspiration for craft projects.  A special mention goes to the Fudge Shop who make their own delicious fudge and were very helpful too.  They recommended the Thursday markets as you can get really good sourdough bread from there.

We did visit the local charity shops too.  Plenty of books obviously, and Neil found some vinyl to rummage through.  The St David’s Charity Shop was particularly overpriced, but the rest were fine, even Oxfam to Neil’s astonishment!

There are quite a few pubs in Hay-on-Wye and as we were staying three nights we managed to visit most of them.  The Blue Boar seemed pretty busy doing mainly food.  It was nice to see generations of a family happy to be having a meal together.  There was also an American couple giving a running commentary of their trip to everyone in earshot.  The ThreeTuns, again another pub that specialises in food and in particularly pizza.  They seem to attract a younger clientele and it made me laugh to see the most sedate middle class hen-do known to man in the pub.  Honestly they were so tame – the bride wore a classy sash and crown, her friends were dressed in sensible walking gear and they probably drank a maximum one bottle of wine between them.  The Rose and Crown was a very different affair – it seemed to be the only bar showing sport in Hay and was only ever busy when there was a match on.  It had a funny smell and the barman looked as if he’d been a roadie in the 1970s.  We only had one drink in here, but the music was the best we had heard in Hay.  The Kilvert was particularly quiet too as we were the only ones in there, but I think that was because it was a Tuesday evening rather than anything else.  We did drink in the Old Black Lion too and they have a nice back room which is lovely to relax in with a glass of wine or a pint.  The locals seemed to hang out at the local social clubs - the Conservative Club and the Royal British Legion.  However we didn’t go in there as we were so occupied with the other places.

The other place we ate in was Tomatitos, which is a cracking little tapas bar.  It was very busy and it’s good to get there early.  The tapas was the best I’ve had for a long time – the chorizo was lovely and tender, the meatballs were tasty and everything was absolutely spot on.  My book fanatic friend really rates this place too and it comes up as one of the best places to eat in Hay according to Trip Advisor.

Hay-on-Wye is a nice place to visit and clearly knows how to rock its book angle for the tourists like ourselves.  What impressed me most about Hay was not the books, but the place itself.  It’s such a lovely part of the world and whilst the weather was not particularly great during our visit, we had a good time exploring the place, taking photos and having really good food.  I’d be back like a shot and if you are ever in this part of the world, you must visit.

Chepstow, Monmouthshire

All I knew about Chepstow was that it had a racecourse and that’s it.  I didn’t know it was in Wales as its name sounds English, but apparently Chepstow is the English name for the place.

We took the scenic route along the River Wye from Monmouth to Chepstow along the A466.  It’s only 16 miles, though as it’s a winding road it took much longer than anticipated and not good for passengers who get travel sick.  The plus points of choosing this route is that it’s pretty and you pass Tintern Abbey.  Sadly we didn’t have time to stop, but it did look good.

Parking in Chepstow is straightforward as there’s a big car park behind the main shopping area which costs £1 for 2 hours.

Chepstow is quite a compact town and certainly not as busy as Monmouth, but that could be just the time of day.  The architecture is rather mixed with new developments amongst the medieval and historic buildings.  At the top of the hill there is the Town Gate which dates from the medieval times and in the car park you can still see the remains of the Port Wall which used to protect the town.  There is also some random street art too with a surprising statue of a naked man complete with genitals.

Obviously we were here for the charity shops and they didn’t disappoint.  I found the shops were particularly good for books, especially newly published ones.  I picked up the Amy Poehler book “Yes Please” for a song at £1.50.  I’d have bought more books if I hadn’t already purchased them at full price.  I also picked up a practically new clutch bag for £2.99.

There were some good overheard conversations to be had in the charity shops and I spent far too much time eavesdropping on them.  One was a lady who was discussing her career change – she’s so much happier now.  The other was the concerned grandparents who were hoping their grandson will finally pass his driving test to improve his job prospects.  I forget, living in a city, how important it is to drive when you live in the countryside.  It’s practically a rite of passage to pass a driving test where there’s very little public transport available.

There are a few antique / vintage places in Chepstow and Neil spent almost an hour trawling through them.  He did pick up a good haul of vinyl records and CDs. I know he’d happily come back here again just for these shops.  As a result of this I spent quite a bit of time looking through the craft shops, exploring the tiny shopping arcades and taking photos.  Damn the traffic in this town though, as it makes it hard to take photographs of buildings without a blurred car in shot.

Neil noticed the WiFi was particularly good in Chepstow too and you could get a half decent O2 signal (3G).  He’s rather obsessed with these things and mobile phone coverage – it’s possible he may have a social media addiction.

Chepstow is definitely a good place to visit in South Wales; a bit quieter than Monmonth and easier to navigate without getting killed in the process.  We had already eaten but there are lots of cafes and restaurants to get something nice to eat.  If we are ever in the area again, we’d definitely stop off and have a wander.

Monmouth, Monmouthshire

Monmouth had been recommended to us as a place to go in South Wales by a friend who knew about our weakness for visiting towns and charity shops.

Traveling across South Wales is not like traveling across a city or between urban conurbations where the roads are straightforward and speedy.  The 33 mile drive took over an hour from Hay-on-Wye to Monmouth which I couldn’t believe.  This was not helped by Neil as he’s not a fan of winding roads, so I had to take them at sane speeds to avoid that inevitable phrase “Are we there yet?  I feel sick”.  All the same it was a pretty drive and we took a route along the B4348, A465 and A466. 

We parked up in a car park behind the main shops in the town centre.  It was a very busy car park and people were hovering like vultures trying to nab a spot.  We were very lucky to get a parking spot quickly and paid £1.50 for 3 hours.

Monmouth is a busy town and I’ve never seen so much traffic pass through one place.  How people cross the main street without getting hit by a car on a daily basis is a miracle.   This posed problems for me as I wanted to take photos of the buildings and kept getting random trucks and cars in shot.  The street was busy too, with old people, families and tourists.  I was genuinely surprised how popular this place seemed to be.  Given the amount of pubs and places to eat it seems to be a popular destination for tourists.  Behind the main shops I did spot a gardening shop-cum-café called the Potting Shed.  It was a nice little quiet spot where you could enjoy a cup of tea and a slice of cake away from the hubbub of the town.

Architecturally, Monmouth is a rather pretty mix of rendered buildings which have evolved over the centuries.  The baroque 18^th century ShireHall is certainly the star of the town, with its perfectly symmetrical frontage looking grand and refined overlooking Agincourt Square – it’s clearly well maintained by the local council.  On the edge of town is the Monnow Bridge which is the oldest surviving medieval bridge with a gate house in the UK.  It’s certainly worth a look and makes a good photo opportunity as well as a chance to feed the local ducks who live underneath it.

We were here for charity shops, and Monmouth did not disappoint.  Neil found a couple of CDs but managed to get stuck in Mind behind a mum and her screaming child.  The child wasn’t impressed with the shop as she thought it was “smelly”.  It wasn’t by the way, she was just tired and grumpy.  I did have a charity shop regret here as I found a pottery goblet but didn’t buy it.  As we walked around, I was bugged that I didn’t pick it up, so I went back only to find it had been sold already.  Damn – I never learn!

I was impressed that Monmouth had a few craft shops and I spent some time browsing the fabrics.  In one shop the assistant was upcycling a chair with vivid red chalk paint as it was a bit of a slow day.  Needless to say I ended up buying more fabric for my stash.

Neil grabbed a bite to eat and had an uninspiring pasty, whereas I went to Caffe Nero and got a nice latte.  It amused me to hear the staff discussing how well other chains had done over the weekend.  It’s funny to see the competitiveness in the coffee trade. 

All in all, Monmouth was definitely a successful trip for us – pretty, pleasant and some decent charity shops. The only downside was the traffic and I was certainly happy not to get run over – something from past experience I wouldn’t recommend.  This is the kind of place you could easily spend a night or two in if you fancied a short break in this part of the world.