Presteigne

Presteigne makes a good base for exploring the quieter reaches of the Welsh Marches, and its accommodation reflects that: historic coaching inns in the town centre, country B&Bs in converted farmhouses, and self-catering cottages scattered through the surrounding hills. The Radnorshire Arms Hotel on the High Street is the obvious choice for anyone wanting to stay somewhere with real history - a sixteenth-century inn with oak panelling and a priest's hole - but there are gentler, family-run options too, many of them a short drive out into the border countryside towards Offa's Dyke or the Lugg valley.

Because Presteigne sits right on the England-Wales border, it also works well as a base for visiting both sides at once: Herefordshire's market towns and orchards to the east, and the Radnorshire hills and Elan Valley reservoirs further west into Wales. Booking ahead is sensible around the Presteigne Festival at the end of August, when the town's limited number of rooms fills up quickly with visitors attending the concerts. Outside festival season, this is a peaceful, uncrowded corner of the country where you can generally find somewhere to stay without too much planning, whether you want a proper pub room with a pint downstairs or a quiet farmhouse retreat with views over the hills.

Presteigne punches well above its size for things to see and do, especially for a town of barely 2,000 people. Here are some of the best.

• The Judge's Lodging — A restored 1829 courthouse, gaol and judge's residence on Broad Street, now an atmospheric museum exploring 19th-century justice, the old Radnorshire Constabulary and the story of Mary Morgan, reputedly the last woman hanged in Wales.
• Offa's Dyke — Walk a stretch of the ancient earthwork that once marked the boundary of Mercia, with the national trail passing within easy reach of the town centre.
• Stapleton Castle — The ruins of a medieval castle on a hill just outside town, with views back over Presteigne and the Lugg valley.
• St Andrew's Church — The town's parish church, whose origins as a minster church gave Presteigne its start as a settlement centuries before the town itself existed.
• Presteigne Assembly Rooms — A restored Georgian building on Broad Street with a domed ceiling and tiered seating, hosting concerts, theatre, talks and exhibitions year-round.
• The Withybeds and Wenties Meadow — Riverside nature reserves along the Lugg, good for an easy wander and a spot of wildlife watching close to the town centre.
• Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts — A well-regarded classical music festival held each August, drawing performers and audiences from well beyond the Marches.

The Radnorshire Arms Hotel on the High Street is the town's best-known address, a sixteenth-century coaching inn once linked to Sir Christopher Hatton, with oak panelling, a priest's hole and a bar serving Wye Valley ales. Elsewhere on the High Street, Wild Thyme brings Italian cooking to the town, while the Royal Oak and the Duke's Arms on Broad Street offer more traditional pub food and a proper local atmosphere. For a small town, Presteigne has a good enough spread of places to eat that you won't need to venture far for a decent meal.

Presteigne and the surrounding Radnorshire countryside offer some genuinely peaceful camping, set among the rolling border hills where England gives way to Wales. As with the rest of Wales, wild camping without the landowner's permission is not legal here, so stick to established campsites and farm-based pitches, many of which make a virtue of their setting - open fields with views towards Offa's Dyke, small woodland pitches, or riverside spots along the Lugg valley. The terrain around Presteigne is proper hill-farming country: steep-sided valleys, ancient hedgerows and quiet lanes, so campsites here tend to be small, family-run affairs rather than large holiday parks, which suits the unhurried character of the area.

The best camping season runs from late spring to early autumn, when the ground is drier underfoot and the long summer evenings make the most of the border views. This is walking country above all, with the Offa's Dyke Path, Mortimer's Trail and Glyndwr's Way all converging near the town, so many visitors camp here specifically to break up a long-distance walk or to base themselves for day hikes into the hills. For those who would rather skip the tent, a growing number of glamping options - shepherd's huts, safari tents and converted farm buildings - have appeared on farms around Presteigne in recent years, offering a more comfortable way to enjoy the same quiet countryside without compromising on the views or the sense of being genuinely away from it all.