DAYTRIPPER LET’S VISIT... CRICKHOWELL

Madeleine Howell finds out whether this small Welsh town really does have ‘the best high street in Britain’

Last month, the Collins Dictionary named “single-use” its word of the year. Can it be coincidence that the immaculately preserved high street of Crickhowell – home to the first zero-waste fill-up shop in Wales, with absolutely no big chains in sight – has been named the best in the UK by the Great British High Street Awards (followed, if you’re interested, by Altrincham in Greater Manchester, Alness in Scotland and Portadown in Northern Ireland)? Well, quite possibly. But let’s move on anyway.

Earlier in the year, Crickhowell is home to the Green Man arts and music festival and the Crickhowell Literary Festival. It’s also a popular stop-off for those who flock to the annual food festival in nearby Abergavenny. But it’s worth a visit in its current, festively twinkling state, too, affording ample opportunities to recover from a bout of sustainable shopping with a mug of mulled cider.

Having set off from Paddington at 9am, I know I’ll be too late to enjoy breakfast in one of the town’s many cwtch-like (it means “cupboard”, and also “cuddle”) cafés. Still, I’m surprised to find myself already chewing the fat with the shopkeepers and perusing their wares by half-past eleven (it takes two hours on the train from London to Abergavenny, via Newport, followed by a 15-minute cab or bus journey to Crickhowell itself ).

According to my cheerful cab driver, Crickhowell welcomes a similar number of tourists year-round, largely thanks to hikers, horse riders, mountain bikers and caravanners, who come to spend time in the Black Mountains, possibly commencing at the Iron Age hill fort that gave the

town its name, “Crug Hywel”. But I’m here for the high street shopping experience – and it doesn’t disappoint.

An array of businesses, both eclectic and traditional, ply their trade here. There’s Petals the florists, crafts and gifting at Lush by Zoe Claire, decorative antiques and interiors at Beatrice & Maud, country attire at Nicholls… even the off-licence, Bacchus, is a treasure trove, where I pick up a bottle of Aber Falls Welsh orange marmalade gin for an forthcoming Secret Santa exchange.

As I pootle, I learn that the muchlauded zero-waste shop, Natural Weigh, is housed in a prime retail building run by Corn Exchange Crickhowell Ltd, an organisation established in 2015 “by people who love Crickhowell” to prevent a former pub from being bought out by a supermarket chain.

The resultant collection of shops, with flats above for locals, was opened by the Prince of Wales in July: other tenants include the dog-friendly Brownies & Brunch vegetarian and vegan “gastrocafé”, and The Emporium, where Lindsey Jones (below) sells crafts, collectables, vintage and retro goods. Resident Tim Adams, a proud spokesman for the organisation, tells me that the project was curated with the aim of “preserving and enhancing the character of the buildings and the town.” And this it has undoubtedly achieved.

Should you wish to outstay your daytripping remit and stay longer in order to explore the surrounding area, holiday cottages abound: scour Airbnb for centuries-old ty-doli or “doll’s house” cottages, shepherd’s hut retreats, farmhouses and converted barns. Dreamy.