A signpost informed me that the road led to Welshpool. Now to Welshpool I had no desire to go; it is a large town where, I believe, they manufacture flannels, a useful town, but it had no interest for me; however, as the road was a pleasant one I kept to it. By the way, the first signpost was inscribed "To Welshpool," but farther on this was shortened to simply "Pool." We duly reached Welshpool; it had a prosperous look; there was much traffic in its streets. We were glad to get out of it into the quiet country again, and a very pleasant country it proved to be, our road leading us along the hillsides and past fragrant pine-woods, with distant peeps of finely-shaped hills. Close to the hamlet of Wollaston I pulled up to consult the map, and to ask the name of the place from a youth who was passing by, and when he had told me this I jokingly queried if there were anything to see there, for it looked an uninteresting spot where nothing had ever happened, or was likely to happen. "Well," replied he, "old Parr lived here--you may have heard of him; there's a brass about him in the church. I know where the key's kept, I'll run and get it for you"--doubtless with an eye to earning an honest penny or two, where, I should imagine, pennies were hard to earn. But he was a civil youth, so I let him get the key. There in the church I found a brass against the wall with a portrait of that old man engraved on the top, and the following inscription below:-- The Old, Old, very Old Man Thomas Parr Was born at the Glyn In the township of Winnington Within the Chapelry of Great Wollaston And Parish of Alberbury In the County of Salop In the year of our Lord 1483. He lived in the reigns of Ten Kings And Queens of England (viz.) King Edward 4th King Edward 5th King Richard 3rd King Henry 7th King Henry 8th King Edward 6th Queen Mary Queen Elizabeth King James 1st and King Charles. Died the 13th And was buryed in Westminster Abby On the 15th of November 1635 Aged 152 years and 9 months. From Wollaston we had for some miles a pleasant stretch of pastoral country varied by shady woodlands, and we caught peeps on the way of some charming old half-timber homes, such as one finds in Shropshire, for we were in that shire now and approaching Shrewsbury again--so the signposts told us. We managed to drive round Shrewsbury by the Severn side, so did not enter the town, and were soon again on the open road, climbing, most of the way, to the village of Albrighton, having glorious panoramas, over a richly wooded country to our left, presented to us the latter half of the stage.