Wales - Hereford to Machynlleth

Hereford is very close to Wales and it was not long before we crossed the border.

Wales has a lot more hills than England and the population density is much less.

I don't think we took a photo, but all the signs are in Welsh as well as English.

We stopped in Llandrindrod Wells for lunch.

We came across a well patronized cafe near the train station. The menu on the wall reminded us of cafes in Australia.

We each had a delicious warm baguette filled cheese, leeks and spring onion in some sort of mayo sauce for under three pounds each. It seemed like most of the other customers were locals and they were mostly speaking Welsh.

The train station.

More about the spa that was the town's main attraction.

There weren't many people around. Apparently the local economy has flagged in recent years.

Butcher shop.

The Metropole Hotel which was a major Spa hotel in the town.

The place where we had lunch was for sale.

You could even buy a pub. Housing prices seemed quite low by English standards.

I think this sign says 'Wales'.

It was a pretty drive towards the coast. The roads are smooth and well sign posted and it's fun to drive around the numerous bends.

Aberystwyth. Even though it was cloudy, the town was quite busy beside the sea and all the parking spaces were taken.

Eventually we managed to find a space at the northern end.

If you have a few moments, take a look at the Coastal Walker's blogs of coming into Aberystwyth and then leaving. She has some spectacular photos of the coastline in this area.

Colourful houses across from the Promenade.

Soon we were going up and down some quite steep hills.

A static caravan site in the distance.

We stopped at Borth to gaze in wonder at the pebble beach.

It doesn't look very inviting at all.

I was puzzled why descriptions of Borth mentioned a sandy beach so I looked on Google's Streetview which showed sand when the tide is out. Still, I reckon it would be an uncomfortable walk in bare feet over the pebbles to the sand.

For an Aussie, it didn't look very inviting at all.

The Coastal Walker descended this hill.

At least the colourful paint was cheerful.

We continued on to Machynlleth. If you are wondering how it is pronounced, click here. I suspect if you don't learn it by the time you are five years old, you can never pronounce it properly.

We stayed in a pleasant Airbnb overlooking the graveyard.  While I was looking out the window a hiker with rucksack walked by with map in hand.

The entrance to the Welsh Museum of Modern Art. It was closed by the time we arrived.

The main drag through town.

The clock tower dates from 1874 when the first stone was laid.

At 6 pm, the streets were quiet.

Slate wall.

We went to the White Lion pub for dinner and the steak pie was pretty good.

OK, I can understand the headline on the right but the one on the left is a bit of a puzzle. Perhaps you can come up with a feasible explanation which includes how the cat comes up with the money.