Builth Wells, Wales - Day 4

Monday, June 16

A misty morning greeted us when we opened the curtains of the Meadow Suite and looked out at the hills in the distance. Our breakfast basket was delivered to us as usual, along with the owners cat who wanted to join us, but they are not allowed in the rooms.

Breakfast in the Meadow Suite

 

We planned on visiting the "Wells" towns today, namely Llandrindod Wells (Wales' historic spa town) and Builth Wells where our B&B is located just out of town. Llandrindod Wells was only a 15 minute drive away, and has the remains of the largest Roman fort in Wales - however this involved a lengthy walk through fields to reach it so we decided to pass on this historic opportunity!

There was some interesting architecture in the town, mainly Victorian and Edwardian, and we were surprised that the town only "officially" came into existence around 1870. This was to take advantage of the mineral springs that occurred naturally in the area (and obviously appealed to the Romans as well) so they promoted it as a spa town similar to Hepburn Springs in Victoria. Over 100 years later there is only one spring still working and it is set in a beautiful park, but the bath house hasn't operated for quite a while.

Noelle taking a rest in Rock Park Spa

We followed the heritage trail around town and came across some informative panels that told us about the sites around the immediate panel. Near the pavilion in the garden was a statue of Thomas Jones, a Welsh landscape painter who was born nearby and came home from Europe to end his days at the family property. He got involved in the county politics and ended up as the High Sheriff of Radnorshire! The Hotel Commodore was across the road and had some interesting architectural features we hadn't seen before.

Thomas Jones looking at the Hotel Commodore

 

Back in Builth Wells we enjoyed a healthier lunch than normal before going for a walk around town to check out in detail some of the streets we'd previously driven through. We noticed a sign on a shop window about a scarecrow competition, and as we walked around we saw a number of them in the front yards of people's homes. Our favourite was the patriotic Winston Churchill scarecrow!

Winning Winston Churchill scarecrow

 

We then wandered around the graveyard in St. Mary's Church, and then chuckled at the signs on the door as we went in - they were very witty but were genuinely welcoming to all.

St. Mary's church in Builth Wells

Door to St. Mary's Church

The River Wye runs through Builth Wells so we walked along the path beside it under a canopy of lovely trees. The Irfon River runs into the Wye so we turned and followed it for a while before heading back into town to get the car and head back to Smithfield Farm to enjoy the late afternoon sun.

Bridge over the River Wye

 

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