Special Offa: the mild side of north Wales

Northern Powys’s soothing landscape, characterful cottages and bracing walks are perfect for a city dweller’s getaway

Pembrokeshire, Snowdonia, the Brecon Beacons … Wales is not short of dramatic holiday destinations, but in a year that has seen more drama than anyone would want, a less show-offy spot seemed called for – and one that would not be teeming with staycationing Brits.

There’s probably nowhere in the UK more soothing than the historic county of Montgomeryshire, now the northern bit of Powys, bordering Shropshire. Bristling with castles and crossed by Offa’s Dyke, it has, like many border lands, a turbulent past, but the epithet most often applied is Mwynder Maldwyn, the “mildness of Montgomeryshire”. Both people and landscape are known for their gentleness – an alluring prospect for townies feeling ragged after months of worry and home-working.