Knighton
Knighton
The pleasant country market town of Knighton lies so close to the welsh border that the railway station is in England. The place is somewhat affluent in appearance, it sits on a steep hill on the southern bank of the river Teme surrounded by lovely rounded low hills.
The name Knighton refers to the knights who kept the peace in the border country, the town was a Saxon settlement that was overrun by the welsh.
This proximity was cause for conflicts in the past as the Welsh princes battled to push the English back. Offas dyke passes right through the town and the old castle sits across this demarcation line the dyke was constructed by Offa in the 8th century to politically mark the borders between the two countries. The name Knighton in welsh Tref y Clawdd means town on the dyke.
Knighton has remains of two castles the Norman one which was sacked by Owain Glyndwr this can be seen near the fire station, the other lies to the east of the town.
The town is popular with Walkers as it sits on the Offas dyke trail and at one end of the Owain Glyndwr trail details of these Walks can be obtained from the tourist and Offas dyke information centre. Thousands of walkers from all over the world come to Knighton to walk the dyke; it is especially popular with Dutch walkers.
The town has some Tudor buildings in the narrows a Tudor Street with little shops there is a market square with a lovely 19th century clock tower.
Other interesting buildings include the George and dragon a 17th century coaching inn, in Broad Street is the Old House which is a Tudor building which has a hole in the roof for a chimney.
Activities in Knighton
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