We first met Krystyna when she came to the farm looking for her birthplace. Her story, or rather that of her parents is extraordinary. Her father had been a Polish cavalry officer who fought in the last cavalry charge against Russian tanks during the 2nd World War. He was captured by the Russians and narrowly escaped being one of the victims of the massacre of Polish officers in the Katyn Forest where thousands were shot.
Krystyna's mother had been captured by the Russians also and was sent to a camp in Siberia. She survived that terrible place. Somehow after the war they made their way to Britain and were married in Leicester & in turn somehow ended up buying a farm in Wales. They lived here for only two years but during that time Krystyna was born and although she was only baby when they left she had been brought up with stories of the Welsh farm. When we went to visit her she showed us her family photographs and there were pictures of Penyrallt as it was in the late 1940's.
This Polish connection is another example of how varied & odd the history of the farm is & how many different people from all kinds of backgrounds have been involved in its story. Certainly the idea of an aristocratic Polish cavalry officer living here is one of the most intriguing.
Krystyna now lives in Kracow & near Builth Wells where she runs a very good B&B in her lovely house in the Welsh hills (www.theyat.net).
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