POWYS |
| Brecknock Museum |
Captain's Walk, Brecon |
The classical facade of Brecknock Museum is a fitting
showcase for the treasures within. The stone building once served as the Shire Hall;
inside, the old Victorian assize court is preserved intact. An archaeology gallery
displays early Christian inscribed stones, monuments from Roman times and an ancient
dug-out canoe found in nearby Llangorse Lake. A traditional Welsh kitchen has been
re-created, and includes a collection of intricately carved lovespoons. Another museum in
Brecon, beside the Barracks, is devoted to the South Wales Borderers. |
| Craig-Y-Nos Country Park |
Off A4067, 5 miles north of Ystradgynlais |
The Gothic mansion of Craig-y-nos Castle looks down
onto the ornamental grounds and open meadowlands of this lovely country park. The castle
(not open to the public) and park were the 19th century country home of the
internationally acclaimed soprano Adelina Patti, who died in 1919. The great attractions
of Craig-y-nos lie in the variety of habitats within its relatively limited space. An
arboretum of specimen trees selected for their colour, fragance or fruit merges into thick
beechwoods leading down to the River Tawe, and a tributary, the Llynfell. |
| Montgomery Castle |
In centre of Montgomery |
The ruined fortress stands in a lofty, strategic spot
on an outcrop above the Severn valley, its stumpy stonework and fractured walls looming
over the handsome little town round its base. Montgomery Castle was built by Henry III in
the early 13th century and last saw active service in the Civil War, after which it was
dismantled. Some evidence of its original strength still remains in its large,
twin-towered gatehouse and the formidable rock-cut ditch. Finds from excavations at the
castle are on show in the museum in the town. |
| Offa's Dyke Heritage Centre |
West Street, Knighton |
Created by King Offa of Mercia in the 8th century,
Offa's Dyke formed the first official border between the Welsh and the English, and the
huge earthwork snakes from Prestatyn in North Wales to Chepstow in the south. A168 mile
long-distance footpath now follows the line of the dyke, keeping close to it wherever
possible. Some idea of the monumental construction effort involved in building the dyke,
and details of its history, can be obtained in the Offa's Dyke Heritage
Centre. |
| Powis Castle |
On A483, 1 mile south of Welshpool |
Although it began life, in 1200, as a simple stone
fortress, it evolved in opulence over the centuries. The transformation was largely
wrought in the late 17th century by the 3rd Baron Powis, who also created the formal
gardens. In 1784, Lord Clive - son of Clive of India - married into the family, bringing
the Clives' vast wealth to Powis. The Clives enriched the castle's store of treasures with
fine paintings, furniture and memorabilia from their years in India; these are on show in
the Clive of India Museum. |
| Rock Park Pump Room |
In centre of Llandrindod Wells |
Today's visitors can sample three types of spa water in
Edwardian style, at the Rock Park Pump Room, which stands in 18 acres of wooded parkland.
The Victorian and Edwardian heyday of this and other Welsh spas is recaptured in a
pictorial history displayed at the Bath House next door. The Town Hall Gardens are the
setting for the Llandrindod Wells Museum. Another side of Victorian life is explored at
the Automobile Palace, in the town centre. |
| Tretower Court and Castle |
Off A479, 3 miles north-west of Crickhowell |
Tretower takes its visitors back into two different
periods of history. The Court is a substantial medieval manor house, commodious and
comfortable by the standards of its period. Across the meadows stands another, older
Tretower, a tall round tower which is the shell of an early military stronghold.
Tretower's fascination lies in the contrast, expressed in stone and timber, between the
bellicose early medieval period in Wales and the more settled late 14th and 15th
centuries. Tretower was the home of the Vaughan family whose best known member was the
17th century metaphysical poet, Henry Vaughan. |
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