The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

Did you have a 'go-to' book that you read endless times as a kid? I had three: 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe', 'The Adventures of Holly Hobby' and 'The Wolves of Willoughby Chase'. TLTWATW was the first book my son read independently, aged 5, and I still tear up at his verdict 'I'll never read a better book, mummy'. Today we went to Hay-on-Wye and I bought him 'The Wolves of Willoughby Chase' and I'm hoping for a similar reaction.

Hay-on-Wye is a magical place: it's USP is as a haven for bibliophiles and it's stuffed with bookshops. We went into the amazing Richard Booth's bookshop and cinema where I bought two books for my son and just one for me.















Afterwards we looked in the windows of some other shops: this deli particularly caught my eye.




And we treated ourselves to a drink in the Granary Cafe.




Then I had to make a decision: to drive up to Brecon and take the more dramatic road (presumably) through the Brecon Beacons or head towards Raglan, our original objective? I'm glad we stayed with our original plan as we stopped first at Tretower, a Cadw site, which was faintly unprepossessing from the outside and amazing inside. It has recreated the great hall of a fifteenth century lord and it is fascinating inside.













There is also the original Norman keep on site, glowering away against the backdrop of the Brecon Beacons.




Our next stop was Raglan castle (another Yorkist stronghold during the Wars of the Roses: my son and I identify strongly with the Yorkist cause). It was one of the last castles to be built in the British Isles and is heavily influenced by French architecture. Brilliantly, it has a moat with water in, which is fairly rare. It was a hugely imposing and impressive ruin.

















Our final stop was Cardiff. We will be staying here for three nights; I'm embarrassed to admit I've never been here before. As a treat my son and I went to watch 'Skyfall' at the IMAX and we both loved it.