Shrewsbury; Sunday, 15 November, 2015

The heavy driving rain of the previous day had been replaced with a light mizzle that was equally as soaking, but just a different way of getting soaked.

After breakfast I headed out over to the train station and picked up the train one stop down the line and over the border into Welshpool. From the station I walked into the centre of town and then up through the estate parkland to the impressive Powis Castle, perched high on a ridge over the town.

I had a long wander around the staterooms and the more interesting servant’s areas of the castle before heading over to look at the impressive gardens.

Unfortunately the weather had taken another turn for the worse and in trying to look around the gardens I was getting soaked, so I abandoned that and instead headed over to the tearoom to get a late lunch and to dry out.

With the weather showing no sign of improvement I headed back from the castle down to town and onto the station with the intention of getting the train just before 3.

The weather had been so poor for so long that the ground water and rivers were no longer able to cope and slightly further down the line the tracks had been flooded and the rail line was currently suspended, with no replacement buses planned, no service buses on a Sunday and no sign of any taxis.

I retreated to the old station building – which is now an outlet store with a very nice café – to try and found out how to get back to Shrewsbury. Keeping an eye on the internet I was able to spot that one train that had been heading towards Aberystwyth had been turned round at the next town down the line and was now preparing to return back to Welshpool and Shrewsbury, so once it was confirmed it was on the move I finished my tea and headed back down to the station.

The train arrived, and after a 20 minute wait for the train in the opposite direction to come off the single line from Shrewsbury, we set off into the dying light of day.

Back in Shrewsbury I headed back to the hotel for a long hot bath and then a pleasant dinner in the hotel restaurant, before turning in for the night