House-Hunting in Wales: part 2

We hit the Brecon estate agents soon after 9 a.m. this morning and armed with a sheaf of property details, we were soon driving around main roads and mountain roads. Some of the properties were next to A roads (no thanks). Some of them were in new developments (no!). Some of them were suitably inaccessible, up single track roads with hedges higher than a double-decker bus and no passing places (and even then we failed to locate one such property).

Near Brecon: no garden and another house right behind

We next migrated to Llandovery, where we had been told suitable properties were cheaper. To our surprise, the estate agents all closed for lunch so we bided our time and after collecting another bundle of properties we were soon off again. One property was down a rutted, puddled, muddy track next to a river: we rejected a future life of dampness.

The A40 running through Llandovery

Another was high in the Black Mountains National Park with a view of surpassing loveliness. However, it was old and backed into the sodden hillside – damp-fed moss and fungus coloured the rear walls while the front of the property was too small to support a walled garden, which would have blocked the view.

Great view, shame about the damp cottage

We have ended up in Builth Wells (The Lion Inn) and will tomorrow do a similar exercise in this area before moving on to Hay-on-Wye and home. We are beginning to draw some conclusions about the nature of properties in mid-Wales and I guess we will share our thoughts with you tomorrow or Friday.