Powys 4 - Welshpool/Trallwng/a night on a car park/boy racing /strange goings on and a cockpit

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Gabby the motorhome is parked up on a free car park in the middle of Welshpool or to give it its welsh name Y Trallwng. Thankyou Powys council for being so kind to give us this free overnight spot within walking distance of the town. Welshpool wasn't treating us like lepers. The car park was huge with spaces for a couple of hundred cars. At the top of the car park a number of cars were parked up. We guessed it was the local bowling club and the members stayed there until around 10 when they drifted away. A few cars were parked at the Poundland shop. Shoppers popping in and out over the evening. It looked like we were in for a quiet night. Hold that thought .

How did we end up in Welshpool? We had not intended to be here. We had returned from holiday a touch disallusioned with the weather a few weeks ago and had not made any plans to go anywhere. We had been looking forward to long lies in the baths, getting back to normal food and normal life whatever that was. Gabby was cleaned , the grass was cut. The garden looked lush. The rain had brought on a beautiful display of pale lilac Potato plant flowers and a rambling pink Clematis. The apple tree was heaving with fruit and we had bought courgette seeds to plant, strawberries and filled a hanging basket. But how quickly we got fed up. Doctors appointments completed, hair cut. All we needed was to get the screen replaced and we could get off again. The first appointment was cancelled when the fitter went off sick. The re-arranged appointment was cancelled due to the rain. In the end we had to go over to Sheffield to get Gabby sorted. The house went back on the market and we got the holiday books and maps out. Sicily was quickly chosen and a basic route down to the toe of Italy was sorted. Prices checked for the ferry from the mainland. It doesn't take long for the travel bug to kick in again does it?

Time to travel - do we go up North ? Northumberland perhaps. Down to the south coast ? Winchester area. Instead we chose Mid to South Wales again. Lurking in and out of the Brecon Beacons and perhaps the Welsh Marches.

Thursday Gabby was packed and ready. Fuelled up, filled with food and ready for the off. I had a day at work to contend with first . Every ten or twenty minute interview gobbled up time until it was time to leave and hit the road. Our journey was to take us three hours. Three hours of slog where we ended up in queues of mums picking up kids from school and workers leaving work for the day. Stoke a nightmare and a stop off just south of Shrewsbury for a much needed fish and chip supper. It was after 7pm that we found ourselves in our idyllic but unlikely night stop. Had you asked us 7 years ago if we would spend the night on a town car park we would have laughed. No chance. Now well we were saving £26 on a campsite fee. Our solar panels were pumping in power to the leisure batteries and there was nothing we needed.

Welshpool is a bustling town with a population of around 6700 . That is 3300 less than the population of our tiny village. Our village has one church, a doctors surgery and pharmacy, a couple of shops, a deli , two pubs and a fish and chip shop. Welshpool is better served with a bustling high street and two huge supermarkets . A lovely marina and canal with craft shops. We meandered slowly around and checked out the organised boat trips which ran at weekends through the complicated system of locks. The town sported many shops , estate agents and pubs. The population lacked for nothing . "Could we live here?" we asked each other. Yes perhaps we could but only if we find a buyer for our home and that is proving harder than finding hens teeth.

Our last port of call was the cockpit . Attached to a local pub it was still exactly in the same spot as when it was built . It was situated down New Street and was purpose built in the early 18th century for cockfighting. At the time was probably part of the Castle Inn and was built in 1727 The building built of red brick is six sided and is the only cockpit still in its original location. It was still in use until 1849 when cockfighting was made illegal. I hadn't imagined within a few days I would see another cockpit .

Back at the car park we settled in for the night . Then the boy racers turned up. The first one parked up and opened his window testing his base. Then his mate turned up, parked up alongside , opened his window and tested his sound system. Whose was the best we wondered? How long would they stay there ? They settled down to just talking and up popped a black BMW which parked up in a corner. Now that one confused us. Too far away to see if it was drug dealing, drug using or something different. An illicit meeting. Our final entertainment for the night were the boys in their newish cars who drove onto the site at speed. They parked at the top, revved up like Lewis Hamilton on the start line of F1 and roared off down the car park. This went on for a while but not long enough to bother us. Peace decended , they got fed up and went home. With the nights entertainment over we had the car park all to ourselves .

Once again thanks to a far seeing council who realise the value of our money to their community.

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Comments

[Jackie Harrison]

Sicily
We drove down to Sicily in the Campervan so might be worth seeing if our blog is the route you will use. From memory, we went from Genoa to Sardinia and then from Calgari to Palermo....Your night sounded fun with the Boy Racers! I think thats why I sleep better in a campsite!! Although, the Welsh Campsites were always expensive!

[JenGog]

Sicily
Hi Jackie - Think I read yours a while ago but need to revisit it. Not sure which way to go round clockwise or anti clockwise. I once read one way is better than the other . But cant remember where I read it. Got a plan - down to the bottom , over to Sicily and on the way back over to greece via Bari. Your part of the world - yes - we had a quick look at houses in Welshpool and oddly it is the same distance from my daughters house to Welshpool as it would be if we moved back to Rhuthun. Got to sell the house first !!!!!! We could have stayed on Brecon car parks on the Promenade had we known . We were always a bit cautious of free camping but somehow after 7 years we dont care any more . Brecon Camping and Motorhome site was too regimented for us . Stayed at Erw Lon near Llandovery and also Monmouth camping which was quite nice . Back home now . Work tomorrow .