Weekend in Knighton

 It's late September and Mary is keen for another weekend break. The weather is turning colder and some wet weather is forecast. so Mary books a Shepherd's Hut in Knighton, Powys ...

Photo 1: Weekend Accommodation

The facilities were immaculate - the only drawback was the toilet and kitchen were 10 - 15 yards away. Fine during the summer months but a less attractive proposition visiting the loo during the night when it was either cold (3 ℃ overnight) or wet. We had one wet and two cold nights!

On the journey from Hereford to Knighton, we called in to the Old Chapel Gallery at Pembridge - the paintings we liked were a little outside our price range. Ye Olde Steppes village shop is up for sale so may not exist when we revisit; its coffee shop has permanently closed but we did pick up a few provisions (bread, mushrooms and a jar of ginger lemon curd). There is another coffee shop (Bloom & Grind) opposite but we had other plans.

Our next stop was Westonbury Mill Water Gardens, where we had lunch. We just managed to squeeze in this visit before the gardens close for the winter. More on these fascinating gardens in a subsequent blog.

We arrived in Knighton a little early for our accommodation so 'wasted' a little time with a pleasant walk around the town.

Photo 2: A Bit Early For Halloween?

We just missed afternoon tea as the cafe was closing (4 pm) but did manage to buy a long handle for Mary's winged hoe and some extra provisions for our stay (ground coffee and decaffeinated tea).

Knighton is situated on the River Teme although it is the Wylcwm Brook that divides the town of 3000 people. It was while we were on one side of the Wylcwm Brook valley that we had our first sight of the Shepherd's Hut on the other side ...

Photo 3: First Glimpse of the Shepherd's Hut

During our three night stay in Knighton, we had planned a busy schedule including:

• Community Market on the Saturday morning (Mary bought a Matryoshka doll for one of our grandchildren along with some pasties and cakes for our afternoon walk at Fishpools)
• A forest walk at Fishpools
• Folk concert on Saturday evening ...

• Visit to Knighton Museum on Sunday - the museum is only open on Sundays but we were thwarted by a leaky roof
• Visit to the Offa's Dyke Centre on Sunday - thwarted once again, as the centre was closed due to staff sickness
• Visit to the Spaceguard Centre, a couple of miles outside Knighton, on the Sunday afternoon. More on this in a subsequent blogpost
• A walk along part of Offa's Dyke on Sunday/Monday

For now, I'll just finish with a few photos taken from our Shepherd's Hut. These next two photographs were taken around 6.45 am after an early morning trip to the toilet (too much information?) ...

Photo 4: Early Morning Mist Over Knighton (late September 2024)

... when the sun was just rising ...

Photo 5: Sunrise Over Knighton (late September 2024)

Our trip home was largely uneventful apart from a short delay due to sheep crossing the road ...

Photo 6: From Shepherd's Hut to Sheep Hustling

... and a stopover in Ludlow for lunch and an exhibition of the calligrapher's art.