The smart new Tanat Valley bus waits time at Montgomery en route to Newtown; it is the X71 service by the Town Hall. This note, by the way, is the first in a series of updates to A Guide to Slow Travel in the Marches. There's more to come over the summer so please check again.
One aspect that has improved is access from the Welshpool. The X71 and 81 buses offer a great improvement (google Powys bus times) but sorely need more people on board. The X71 does not pass the railway station on the outbound trip to Montgomery; only the less frequent 81 does that, and it stops opposite the supermarket across an awful roundabout. Anyway, that means you have to walk through Welshpool (about 10 minutes or so) to reach the High Street bus stops where you can catch the X71, but the walk is pleasant enough. On this trip we caught the 558 bus back to Shrewsbury from Montgomery, which seems to work well for an afternoon outing.
Not surprisingly, little has changed in Montgomery since the book was penned and the Castle Kitchen and Ivy House are as good as ever. The Crown Inn continues as a community local which welcomes visitors as does the Dragon Hotel. New on the block is the Michelin star restaurant with accommodation, the Checkers, which is well appointed and lauded for its excellent cuisine. Unfortunately, could not find Montgomery bike hire this time so this will be deleted in the next edition.
Despite the best efforts of local authorities to cut back buses in Herefordshire and Shropshire it is still possible to get to most of the towns and villages mentioned in the book. Powys Council has, to date, held on to a marvellous network of buses and we have to thank them for that. Their commitment makes travel to Montgomery just that little bit easier than before!
