| It stands on a crossroads on the Hereford to Shrewsbury road, with the road to the east and west leading to the Midlands and Mid-Wales. It is its position on this crossroads, together with the railway that made Craven Arms what it is today. This crossroads of trade routes between north and south, east and west became the venue for an annual event which was of some importance to the town, its people and the surrounding districts. It was not an arts festival, an agricultural show, or even a flower show as favoured by other towns in the county. It was the annual sheep sales which were first held in 1847 where upto 20,000 sheep could be sold each day of the sales. In early years, before the coming of the railway, sheep bought at the sales would often be driven to their new pastures, and it is on record that sheep have walked from Craven Arms to Leicestershire. When the railway came the sheep sales thrived. Although sheep sales no longer play a major role in the economy of Craven Arms, it is still very much a town supporting, and in turn being supported by agriculture in the area. If the visitor takes the time to walk around the town, he or she will discover that, perhaps their is a time warp in Craven Arms. I found the shops were mostly small and family run, with none of the big chain names found elsewhere. The result is old-fashioned courtesy and friendliness and an atmosphere more reminiscent of the fiufties and sixties. Besides that there is the pleasure of invariably being able to find a place to park outside the shop one intends to visit, which has to be a rarity in modern-day England. | |
