Colin Churcher 2013: Satutday 14 September - Welshpool and Llanfair Railway and Powis Castle

It was cold and windy whem we boarded the train for Welshpool this morning but seemed warmer at Welshpool, only 20 minutes away. The sun came out and it has been hot or cold depending upon whether or not there are clouds about.
There were no sign posts for the steam railway for pedestrians until we got there after 20 minutes walk right through the town. Going by the minimal railway facilities at the Raven Square station it appears that Welshpool is not encouraging the railway one iota.
After a pleasant chat with the booking office staff I was delighted to see Countess arrive with our train. It is in green and lettered GWR - one of the original locomotives on the railway along with Earl which is in black.

Arriving at Welshpool with the first train of the day

Taking water at Welshpool

Preparing to depart from Welshpool

Typical GWR

There is quite a pull out of Welshpool. The entire line is through pleasant country with occasional wide vistas and plenty of sheep and cows to keep the kids happy. I was surprised to see so many pheasants running around in the fields and underbrush. Sometimes as many as 20 at one time. In some parts the train runs through sylvan woodland and close to a river which was the haunt of ducks and herons.

Llanfair

Llanfair signalbox

We reached Llanfair Caerinion and had a soup and a sandwich in the tearoom. There was just time to have a quick look around and chat with Eileen who was minding the engine. She sent her regards to Charles Spencer who is a trainee fireman there. The trip back was another pleasant ride through superb scenery.

From the kid across from us looking at a flowerbed at Sylvaen, "That's there somebody died. The ground has been dug up and there are some flowers."

"I'm getting bored. Can't we come back a different way?"

Welshpool

Click here to see all pictures taken on the Welshpool and Llanfair
http://www.flickr.com/photos/colinchurcher/sets/72157636283634646/
Click below to see these in slide show format.

Back at Welshpool there was ample time to visit Powis Castle. It was about a mile through the deer park in which we saw a few deer and some magnificent trees. It is Heritage Weekend so we got in for free saving over 20 pounds. We took a quick visit of the castle but the grounds were the most impressive. The growth on the cliff below the castle was great and the grounds were well manicured. Although many visitors had come to take advantage of the free entry it was possible to find some tranquility around the pool.