Oswestry

We are enjoying lovely meals and lots of conversations with Cathy and Charles. A short walk into town from their home today meant we could visit all the sites. It is a lovely place with some Elizabethan buildings, a Motte and Bailey hilltop fort which was used as a troop training ground in WW1 - sadly probably destroying archaeological items. Oswestry has a very long history of battles between Welsh princes, Kings and the civil war patriots and then the effects of coal barons from the 17th to 20th century. It had a very busy railway link to other areas but sadly the station is closed although there are some steam train rides for special events. Thank heavens for steam train

enthusiasts.

We walked to see the old church that has had many changes over the centuries. They were getting ready for a Christmas nativity service.

There are many lovely shops and Christmas decorations across the streets.

We visited the Old Oswestry hill fort from about 800 B.C.E to the Roman invasion in 43 C.E. The hill fort is surrounded by a series of very large ditches and lots of cute black sheep apparently an old breed similar to those in the Iron Age. We walked up the path and the views from the top stretched around from Shropshire, Cheshire and into Wales. It was a lovely walk and the weather pleasant.

There may have been an afternoon tea in an incredibly old Elizabethan building and a bit of a shopping spree in the various shops!! I did happen to find some lovely things such as Christmas decorations and baby things for our new grand niece in Calgary - Quinn. Our bags are really full - oh well, part of the fun! We saw squirrels in the parks and a majestic statue of the young WW1 poet Wilfred Owen, born in Oswestry and sadly killed a week before the armistice in 1918. His mother was celebrating the end of the war when the tragic news came to her on Armistice Day.

Another lovely dinner - a vegetable curry and a delicious chocolate cream dessert…so yummy and good conversation too. Happy times!