Moving to Powys

Patchworkpony

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We are thinking of moving to Powys in Wales. Are there any members of this forum there or people who know what the riding and carriage driving is like and also whether there are many shows?

Is it a good place to live? Does it rain a lot? Is it friendly?

Any info or local background would be VERY welcome.
 

gryff

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Me too - fabulous riding over different terrains. It's a massive county though - I'm in the south of the county and having problems finding livery. I think most people who want horses tend to have their own land and the farmers don't seem to want horses on their land. Mine are still in livery 8 miles away - I know it's not that far but I'm used to having them two minutes away.
 

lara b

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My cousin [and family] have farms near Knighton they don't see horses as part of farming, but there are good forest rides, and some country roads, but also fast traffic on main roads.

That's interesting we holiday there quite a bit (black hall lodges?) and often wander whether it caters well for horses in the area? Do they have bridleways as such?
 

Patchworkpony

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Thanks SO much for all the info. We live in Devon at the moment and the increasing amounts of traffic coming fast round bends on narrow lanes now means we can't ride or drive safely any more. We don't know where in Powys we want to live but somewhere that is not too wet. We will be going there soon to explore the area.

Do the Powys farmers dislike horses or just don't want them on their land? I hate farmers who drive heavy machinery fast past horses - they are not true country folk; just ignorant contractors.
 

Archiepoo

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good luck- im english and ive been in wales for 35 yrs and im still known as the bloody english woman and i even speak welsh! my children are all welsh and my hubby too. dont go too far north theyre much less tolerant of english immigrants the further north you go. if you have school age children make sure your near to an english speaking school -again many more the further south you are:rolleyes:
 

sychnant

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People here have all been lovely - I have been here 9 years and have never encountered any anti-english feeling. I'm a few miles west of Oswestry so just over the border :)
 

R.A.H

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I live near the black mountains in Powys and the riding here is fab, you can ride for hours on the hills without seeing anyone
 

FionaM12

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People here have all been lovely - I have been here 9 years and have never encountered any anti-english feeling. I'm a few miles west of Oswestry so just over the border :)

My aunt and uncle had a farm about halfway between Oswestry and Welshpool, and I spent a lot of time there as a child. I have the happiest memories of lovely countryside and wonderful, friendly people. :)
 

McNally

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Its Wales...its all wet :)

Lol, I never really believed this....until i moved to England as a teenager and took my pony with me. I was amazed at how dry it was (not this year!) In my previous yard (Cardiff) i had string lines everywhere trying to dry out rugs, here i had 2 turn outs one on the pony one drying.
My dads family is from Talgarth and they have horses- not sure about bridleways sorry as they are retired/brood mares now.
Its a lovely area, Id love to live there.
 

lauraandjack

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I'm between Welshpool and Oswestry and it's a lovely area! Plenty of horsey goings on locally and within reasonable travelling distance.

Like anywhere the hacking is variable depending where your yard is situated! But in my experience the drivers are generally pretty good and there seem to be quite a lot of bridleways/tracks that you can ride on. Also quite a lot of arable fields so if you have a good relationship with the landowners/farmers you can ride on the stubble fields with permission. There's also Dyfnant forest not too far away which has miles of tracks for riding and driving. The tractor situation isn't too bad unless it's harvest time, you just have to pick your time and don't go hacking when people are silageing, they've got a job to do!
 

L&M

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We are on the Powys/shrops border - nr Welshpool. This area of Powys is very horsey.

We moved up from the south east 8 yrs ago and have not regretted it once. As we are on the border we do things on either side, with our RC, PC and Hunt in Powys, but compete more in Shrops.

Hacking where we are is fab and go straight off the yard onto 800 acres of open commonland to excercise on. Our other hacking is quiet country lanes and bridlepaths, and a short trailer ride away for the miles of tracks over the Shropshire hills. Our part of Powys is stunningly beautiful, with the most amazing bird life - we have a pair of red kites nesting nearby that circle our land nearly every day!

Housing prices, with or without land, are very reasonable and we managed to get a small farm with equestrian facilities for our 4 bedroom house in Surrey.

Everyone we have met have been very friendly - sure you get some welsh farmers that see anyone that isn't born and bred in the area as 'outsiders', but are still generally very pleasant.

Good luck with your move!
 

gryff

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I have found the farmers and other drivers hugely respectful of riders, but my experience is they don't want them on their land particularly.
 

Patchworkpony

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Thank you all SO SO Much for all your very helpful comments. You are all so kind to take the trouble to help us. It does sound like it might be the place to move to. We are finding Devon much less tolerant to horses on the roads as more and more townsfolk move into the area, looking for the country lifestyle but without really understanding what it means to live in a rural environment!

Traffic is so fast now that hacking is only safe if you box up to the moors or hire an indoor school. Such a shame - 20 years ago you could ride on lane in East Devon without meeting more than one car an hour. Also there are a lot less shows down here than there used to be and then there are often only 2 or 3 in a class. We went to watch a big qualifying show today and there was hardly anyone taking part.

We are going to go and look round Powys in about a month so hopefully we could come across exactly what we want. We are cash buyers so at least we will be able to move quickly and not mess people about. Maybe someone knows of a property for sale that might suit - you never know!
 

jaysh

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Im another from Powys, great off road riding, forests and can ride over such beautiful terrain of the Elan Valley, theres Radnor forest for masses of off road riding, local shows nearly every week in summer, fun rides etc. Lovely place to live i think!
 

Patchworkpony

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Am looking into riding on the Radnor Forest in Powys and came across this great set up for taking your own horse on an amazing holiday. Seem very charming and helpful on the phone - we shall certainly take advantage of their guided rides over fantastic country in the future. The website is www.yourhorseadventures.co.uk
 
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