Mick and I wandered around the narrow streets of Brecon on the afternoon we arrived – the streets were lit by Christmas lights, and at 4.00pm they were needed as there was very little sunshine left.

There was an indoor craft market on and we wandered through what looked like the end of a ‘sad’ day. There were only two other shoppers there, the other forty plus people were the stall holders. Mick and I were not good customers either as we do not want to buy anything – our bags are heavier enough.

Many of the shops in the old town had original Georgian features, and all were still open late on Saturday afternoon. Mick and I were really looking for somewhere to have dinner, and we eventually found an Indian restaurant quite close by to some parking. One thing that we have found very difficult in UK towns is finding a place to park our hire car.

This is St Mary’s – it is located in the centre of the old town – the tower was visible from quite a long distance away and made it easy to get our bearings along the narrow streets. I read later that the 90 foot tower was built by the then Duke of Buckingham in 1510.

After a good night’s sleep, Mick and I decided to explore the town a little further, but we were not too keen to have a big day out – the previous two days had caught up with us both. We were happy not to go too far afield.

We had spotted a castle, or should I say some ruins, in the centre of the town on our first day and we decided we would go and take a closer look.

But that was harder than we thought. Nothing was very well sign posted and the back of the castle was actually attached to a hotel – Brecon Castle Hotel. In 1809 the castle ruins and outbuildings were renovated to become the “first modern hotel in Wales.” That made it difficult for us to get up ‘close and personal’ to the ruins.

William the Conquerer’s brother Bernard commenced the construction of the castle in 1093, on the convergence of the rivers Usk and Honddu, after he defeated the locals in the Battle of Brecon. It was the first stone castle in Wales which I found hard to believe after all I’ve said about the stones and rocks Mick and I have seen in Wales.

The castle has had several ‘lives’. After commencing as an 11th Century Norman Castle it was attacked several times by the Welsh during the 13th and 15th centuries, and several times the ownership changed. But during the reign of King Henry VIII, the then owner – the Duke of Buckingham was executed. After that, it later became a coaching inn and then a private residence before becoming the hotel.

By now Mick and I were ready for some sustenance and we headed for the canal.

The Brecon Basin (or inland port) is located about a ten minute walk from the main shops. Right alongside the canal basin now though is the town’s theatre. It is the “first wholly funded Lottery new build arts organisation in the UK”, but that didn’t interest us  as much as the fact that it had a cafe where we could get a cuppa.

This is considered Britain’s prettiest canal, but Mick and I walked along the towpath for a short while only. The canal runs through the Brecon Beacons National Park, taking in what some people consider “some of the loveliest countryside in the UK”.

This canal was opened in 1800 and was closed in 1962. However it is undergoing restoration and some parts have been reopened.

Initially used for  transporting coal, it was threatened by the railways, with some sections converting to rail as early as 1853. By 1881, the canal’s terminus at Brecon had been filled in, but following sterling work by the restoration movement it was completely restored in the 1990s.

Brecon is right on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, and Mick and I got a glimpse of some of its beauty before the weather deteriorated and we headed home for a restful afternoon.

We are heading to Bristol tomorrow to return the hire car and to commence our next house sit – which has come with a ‘sad’ twist.