Llanidloes

From Free net encyclopedia

Llanidloes is a town in Powys, traditional county of Montgomeryshire, mid Wales, lying on the River Severn. The town is close to the large dam and reservoir Llyn Clywedog. There is a scenic mountain road connecting Machynlleth and Llanidloes.

Llanidloes is popular with hikers who walk on the many scenic footpaths surrounding the town, including Glyndwr's Way, which in conjunction with the Offa's Dyke path forms a one hundred and sixty mile circuit around Mid Wales. The section of the route between Llanidloes and Machynlleth, with its passage over the spine of the Cambrian Mountains, forms perhaps the highlight of the whole route.

Notable buildings in the town include a timber framed market hall, built in 1600, and a parish church with a fifteenth century hammerbeam roof. Other attractions include a museum and the nearby Hafren Forest, known for its red kites. Llanidloes was also the site of a famous Chartist demonstration in 1839. The town, which holds a fancy dress festival on the first Friday of each July, has strong connections with Laura Ashley(the town is home to the second Laura Ashley store to be established in Wales). It has been known for many years as a place where old hippies go to die. A very quirky town, even the police stationed in nearby Newtown call it "Planet Idloes".