"Caersws is situated on the main North to South Wales A470 trunk road, in the beautiful Severn Valley, some seven miles north of Llanidloes. It is a small village with a population of around 1500. Within the Community of Caersws there are three other smaller villages - Clatter, Llanwnog and Pontdolgoch and the hamlet of Bwlchygarreg to the north.

Caersws is really an ideal place to live in, or visit as apart from being in the middle of Wales and not far from the borders of Shropshire, you can really be in Cardiff or Pembrokeshire, Ynys Môn, Rhyl or the Midlands all within 2 to 2½ hours. It has the only remaining station open on the Cambrian Coast line between Newtown and Machynlleth. It has a regular bus service to Newtown, Welshpool and Shrewsbury as well as Llanidloes, Machynlleth and Aberystwyth.

Bradley's Garage in Caersws is the only garage that has survived between Llanidloes and Machynlleth. It now has a thriving Costcutter on the premises.

Caersws also has a Post Office open six days a week, a butcher's shop, a hairdressers, a Spar and a Fish and Chip shop all in the centre of the village. The train station and bus stops are also within easy access. There is also a doctor's surgery in the village open 5 days a week.

Along with all these convenient services you can still pick up your milk from your doorstep delivered early morning by the local milkman. There are many other businesses thriving in the village.

Caersws can be very proud of its excellent local Primary School with over 100 pupils.

On Sundays you can join the congregation in any one of three local chapels the Presbyterian, the Baptist or the Wesleyan Methodist or at St Mary's Church. One is always warmly welcomed in their friendly services.

If you are in need of refreshments there are three pubs in the immediate village, The Unicorn, The Red Lion and The Buck Hotels as well as a Village Club. There is also a very popular restaurant, The Talkhouse, in Pontdolgoch as well as Maesmawr Hall Hotel on the outskirts of the village.

As well as these beautiful hotels and inns there are some very charming architectural buildings in and around Caersws, e.g. Plas Maldwyn, The Village Hall, The Railway Station, The River Bridge which was built around 1821, just to mention a few.

Life in Caersws is for enjoying and you can certainly do this in the small but busy little village.

There are numerous walks in the area with delightful views ofthe Severn Valley which can be enjoyed in the hot summer or on a fresh winter's day. Other Leisure Activities in Caersws and the area are numerous and varied. The list is endless.

Football is probably the most popular with the village boasting the fact that they run 10 football teams at different levels from under 9's to a team in the League of Wales. They have sported a team in the League of Wales since its start in 1991. An achievement no other village in Wales can equal.

I can not leave this introduction to Caersws without mentioning one of its famous people John Ceiriog Hughes, the Welsh bard who was a station master at Caersws looking after the Van line. He is known for his Welsh poetry; "Nant y Mynydd" being one of his most popular poems. It is said that he had a favourite corner at the Buck Inn, just like Dylan Thomas had at the Brown's Hotel in Laugharne!

In a small village, it is an amazing fact that at the moment there are twelve residents over 90 years of age living in Caersws. There must be something extremely good about living in such a beautiful area."

Written by Delma Thomas from Caersws