Welcome to Borderlife
Welcome to my new website at Borderlife. A bit about me: In January 2023 I returned to the Welsh borders side of Shropshire after nearly 20 years living and working in Yorkshire. For those of you who don’t know the area, we’re west of Birmingham and south of Liverpool, right up against the border with North Wales. Offa’s Dyke, the ancient border defences which run the length of Wales from north to south, is just at the end of our valley.
It’s a place rich in history and mixed Anglo-Welsh culture, where you don’t have to go far to hear the Welsh language spoken. It often gets overlooked for the more famous visitor spots of Snowdonia and the coast. The lovely historic towns of Chester and Shrewsbury are each within 30 minutes of our wonderful part of the Borders.
I love this part of the world, and want this website to capture all the things I’m interested in, and that hopefully you will be too. I will be adding bits of my writing, updating progress on the retrofit to my stone cottage, and sharing the best walking and cycling routes I discover.
2024 was an unexpectedly busy year for me, which is why there is a rather large gap between updates from late 2023 until now. As planned, I project managed the retrofit of my cottage, and I’m glad to say that is now complete. More of that soon in the blog, but suffice to say I’m delighted with the result, aesthetically and thermally.
I’ve also spent a lot of time travelling around the UK and Ireland, exploring new places and visiting friends in more familiar ones. I’ve also dipped in to researching and writing a book and done loads of reading. Being retired gives me the chance to catch up on so many things I’ve not had time to do much of in the past.
I feel privileged to live in such a beautiful part of the world, and am looking forward to sharing borderlife with you as life unfolds and interesting stuff happens.
Imelda
