As the fourth largest town in Powys, Welshpool commands a certain cache amongst its neighbors. This isn't due to some innate sense of self-entitlement but instead is based on a long history of pride and esteem within the town. Welshpool is most definitely a Welsh town in every sense of the word but it is only four miles away from England. This of course led to some struggles in the past, especially during the times when the Welsh and English weren't the best of friends.
One of the most stunning features of Welshpool is its background. The Long Mountains can be seen on the landscape nearly everywhere you look and these imposing stones heaps, reaching four hundred miles in height at some points, most definitely set the scene for the town. Welshpool is essentially built upon a swampy bog and the marsh seems to live and breathe within every citizen. If there is one thing you can say about the Welsh it is that they are capable of extreme bravery and strength under difficult circumstances. One can argue that the Scots are the same way but it is most certain that Wales has stood its ground in some formidable situations. Welshpool can be seen as almost a physical embodiment of this virtue.
Welshpool is a very old town in the same way that Wales is a very old country and it was already a full fledged town by the 1300s. Unfortunately, destruction was just around the corner in the guise of a man named Owain Glyndwr. Glyndwr is something of a mix between villain and hero. He was the last true Prince of Wales and it was he that staged one of the last and most destructive revolts against the English crown. His tactics and motives are arguable but he is nothing if not a well-rounded, deep figure. In the year 1400 he began his fateful campaign against Henry IV. Everything started off fairly well but the supreme power of England in those years made the defeat of Glyndwr inevitable. Glydnwr himself was never caught and the fact of the matter is that nobody really knows what happened to him or how he spent the last years of his life. One thing is certain, though; while laying siege to England he destroyed many, many towns and Welshpool was one of them.
Welshpool is now a Britishtown in the sense that Wales is part of the United Kingdom and it never grew much larger than the population it has maintained ever since it was rebuilt. There are a little over six thousand residents in the town and the economy mainly consists of small scale agriculture and farming. The residents don't speak Welsh exclusively and the signs in the city range from Welsh to English. Either way, Welshpool is most definitely a town that has seen its share of carnage and beauty and it is a testament to the Welsh people that the town has maintained so much of its original charming demeanor.
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