Ynghylch Cymru a’r fro
About Wales and the locality
Mid Wales has
something for everyone. The breathtaking scenery of the
mountains, reservoirs, castles, historic sights, festivals and
unique attractions all add up to a great holiday or short
break.
The Forest Country Cottages is centrally located with good
road links across Montgomeryshire, Powys and Shropshire, Mid
Wales. The following guide gives relative distance from our
self catering accommodation to some of the main visitor
attractions and major tows.
The village of
Kerry is 3 miles from Newtown in The Marches of Mid Wales. The Cambrian Mountains extend to the
northwest and the Brecon Beacons lie to the south. Slightly
further away lie Snowdonia in the northwest and Cardigan Bay in the west.
There are many
beautiful places to visit in the area with famous walks such
as the Kerry Ridgeway , Offa's Dyke and Glyndwr's Way. There
are wonderful lakes at Elan Valley, Llyn Clywedog and Vyrnwy
and many forests such as Hafren and Radnor.
The closest towns
of interest include Newtown, Welshpool, Llanidloes,
Montgomery, Machynlleth, Knighton, Bishops Castle and Clun.
Other major towns
such as Aberystwyth, Shrewsbury and Ludlow are within an
hour's drive of the self catering cottages.
Mid Wales
Mid Wales borders England via the Welsh Marches to the east
and the Irish Sea via Cardigan Bay to the west. The region approximately consists of the
principal areas of Ceredigion and Powys, or the traditional
counties of Brecknockshire, Cardiganshire, Montgomeryshire and
Radnorshire. Across the border lie the counties of Shropshire
and Herefordshire.
Mid Wales is dominated by the remote Cambrian Mountains which
run down the centre of the area. It is sparsely populated,
with most settlements being situated to the east of the
mountains, including Builth Wells, Welshpool, and Newtown.
There are also a few towns on the coast, most notably
Aberystwyth, the de facto capital of the region. Mid Wales has
a lot to offer and makes an ideal short break in our self
catering cottages. Kerry (Ceri in Welsh)
 Kerry is a village
with a rich history dating back
to 1176 when a Norman Church was built. In 1228 King Henry III suppressed the
uprising of Llywelyn the Great and Kerry became part of the
House of York. The 4,500 acre Dolforgan Estate and
Brynllywarch Hall contributed much to the development of the
village during the 19th century. The Forest itself was part
of the Dolforgan Estate until sold in 1922 the rest being broken up in 1957.
Kerry is known for its Kerry Hill Breed of sheep, the
foundation of the modern Eisteddfod and the ancient 15 mile
Kerry Ridgeway, thought the oldest road in Wales.
Kerry has a village post office, 2 pubs, a village hall,
a hair dresser
and a primary school. There is a lively community spirit in
Kerry with many local events and a 60 page
Kerry
News newsletter published every month.
Newtown (Drenewydd in Welsh)
 The
ancient market town of Newtown is
in the heart of the magnificent Montgomeryshire countryside
nestling on the banks of the River Severn. The bustling town
is steeped in history dating back to 1279 when it was founded
by Edward I. Within the ruins of the once parish church at St
Mary's is the resting place of the Pryce family, founders of
Pryce Jones, the world's first ever mail order company. In
the Robert Owen Gardens you will find a statue in testament
of Robert Owen, arguably Newtown's most famous son. Robert
Owen, the founder of the Co-operative movement, set new
standards in business for providing workers with better
living and working conditions and went on to establish model
communities in Scotland and America.
Situated on the banks of the River Severn in one of the most
visually arresting areas in Wales, Newtown's small town charm
is supported by a thriving business community. Residents and
visitors alike can enjoy excellent shopping, first class
theatres, museums and art galleries. There is a series of
events throughout the summer including the Carnival, Food
Festival and the prestigious Motor Show, and world record
breaking, Santa Run in December.
The most central populated town in Wales, Newtown sits
approximately 20 miles from the English border and has a
population of 20,000. It was built within a narrow valley,
restricting development north and south of the town.
PowysPowys
is named after the Welsh princedom and is a network of
highlands, lowlands and plateaus. The 8th century Offa's Dyke
attracts numerous visitors each year together with the remains
of several Norman castles. Take a look around Powys Castle
located in Welshpool, with its magnificent gardens and home to
the Clive Museum with displays of Indian treasures. The castle
has been home to the Herberts and Clives for generations and
they have maintained the opulence of the past together with
the preservation skills of the present.
The Welsh flag
 The
origins of the Red Dragon flag, or "y Draig Goch", could date
back to the Roman period, when the dragon (or draco) was used
by Roman military.
After the Romans left, the Red Dragon remained as a key emblem
of Wales and there are accounts of battles against the Saxons
under the Red Dragon.
Wales and its History
Welsh recorded
history begins around 2,000 BC when Bronze Age inhabitants
left their great burial chambers and stone circles on the
hilltops. The Romans occupied the land for 300 years but
didn't manage to subjugate the Celts as much as their
neighbours in England where, after Roman withdrawal, the
native population was overrun by the Saxon invaders from the
East and Offa the Saxon king raised a great earthwork
separating his kingdom from the "weallas" - the foreigners or
Welsh. These Welsh retained their old language and cultural
identity and existed on the boundaries of Europe for the next
500 years or so.
The Normans began the process of gradual erosion of Welsh
territory and during the reign of Henry I (1107-1142) a
network of castles tightened around the country. Llywelyn the
Great headed up an independent state whilst the King of
England was absent at the crusades however Edward I eventually
conquered Wales and built the famous castles including
Caernarfon and Conwy.
There was a brief successful flurry for the independence
movement masterminded by Owain Glyndwr in the first half of
the 15th century but this was short-lived and Wales was
gradually incorporated in Britain.
As a country, Wales began with Henry VIII's Act of Union in
1536 which
gave upper class Welshmen equal opportunity but the language
of justice and administration was to be English.
Welsh Language - Cymraeg
Of all the Celtic
languages, Welsh is the strongest survivor. Spoken by between
a quarter and a fifth of the population, it is most common the
further north or west you go.
The survival of Welsh, and its modest resurgence, is a
remarkable story after centuries of steady decline.
The status of the Welsh language has long been a thorny issue. During the nineteenth and much of the
twentieth centuries, there was considerable official
indifference, even hostility, to its fate. Only in the last
thirty years has that turned around, with government support
and funding to try and reverse the decline.
There's a lot more going in Welsh than that, however. A
buoyant music scene, covering everything from folk to hip-hop,
thriving publishers of poetry and literature, festivals
and a wealth of new technology in Welsh make this a very
exciting time for the language.
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Contact Us
Address: Forest Cottage, Kerry, Newtown, SY16 4DW
Email:info@forestcottageskerry.co.uk
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