New Year and more stories

After a long break, too long a break to be truthful, the Slow Travel in the Marches blog is back. 

Must admit that I simply got tired of the endless 'greenwashing' on the web. In my book, slow travel is not about travelling thousands of miles by plane, hopping into a car hire and having a week's luxury stopover to admire someone else's market place. I know, I am being unkind, but thought it best to express my feelings right now.  

For me, slow travel is not only about spending time at a destination, the travel bit is also the destination. It is how you feel when walking through woodland, or your inner reflections about the past when standing in haunting ruins; we have enough of them in the Welsh Marches. It's about gazing, gazing through the window when on a train or bus, about a cinematic change of scenery which unfolds a little more each and every time. And so many villages have intriguing stories to tell and when you step off the bus there's no better place to visit than traditional inns like the Sun Inn at Leintwardine. 

The blog will focus on the Welsh Marches, although we'll stray east on occasion towards the Malverns and the Golden Triangle as well as into Mid Wales as the history of these parts tells us that it really has been hard to nail exactly where the border lies. Buses and trains, yes, but also walking and cycling adventures too. 

Back soon with information and tips on how to get the best from travels in the Welsh Marches.

Les Lumsdon

Researcher Writer, January 2025