As the name suggests, it is the old train station for the town. Due to the building of the bypass, there was a need to move the railway line. New platforms were built the other side of the then new bypass and the old train station building was converted into a shop. The building is still in it's original form and hasn't been changed much at all. It can be found just off the A483 bypass in Welshpool, Mid Wales (you can't miss it!).

While the shop is divided into departments, I believe it is owned by Edinburgh Wool. I was given an Edinburgh Wool voucher for Christmas last year and a shop assistant informed me that I could use the voucher on anything in the building (apart from in the restaurant, but that was common sense).

The Old Station sells everything from clothes (such as Edinburgh Wool, Camille Lingerie and Golfwear) to shoes and accessories (bags, belts etc), from models and toys (Hornby, Scalextric etc) to Welsh gifts. There is certainly plenty to choose from. I do find a lot of the Edinburgh Wool cloths more suitable toward the older generations, but there are a number of items that also suit younger generations too.

You can often find sales on at The Old Station. For example, on the weekend of Mother's Day they were giving a 20% discount on all clothes - I made use of this discount by buying myself a jacket and getting £5 off (I rarely come from The Old Station empty handed!). Local people can also save money buy using the Pool Card while shopping there (the Pool Card helps local people save money when shopping at certain local businesses).

If you are a visitor to the area then The Old Station can be the ideal place to buy gifts for friends & family back home. A nice selection of gifts are available such as local/Welsh real ales, jams, chutneys, honey, sweets, biscuits, wine and whiskey, as well as teddy bears, jewellery, t-shirts etc. My Dad is a bit of a fan of real ales, so if we spot a new one there then we pick up a couple of bottles for him. Sometimes they'll have tasters of certain drink/food products too, which is nice if you've not had something before.

Upstairs you'll find the restaurant and some more products such as Portmerion tableware etc. The upstairs is accessible via the stairs or lifts (there are also toilets downstairs by the lift). The restaurant has a range of hot & cold meals & snacks available as well as hot & cold drinks. Roast dinners, jacket potatoes, soup, sandwiches... Again, there's plenty to choose from. Although, I will note that it took them a good 20 minutes to make us 2 turkey & cranberry pannini's (and we'd originally asked for turkey & cranberry baguettes). It was Christmas time and they were busy, but I still couldn't believe it would take that long as most people were getting their food pretty quickly. Apart from that, it's all been good service.

Over the couple of years or so that I've been going to The Old Station in Welshpool (it's not far from where I work), the service has been good and the staff friendly and helpful.

As I said at the beginning, The Old Station can be found just off the Welshpool bypass and I've never had trouble parking (parking is also available to coaches). It is also right next to the "new" train station, so easily accessible to visitors to the town arriving by train.

It's certainly worth a visit if you're in the area!