Wednesday, 27th April
Morning loyal Reader! – Welcome to Day 4. Thanks for reading this far! π
Click for the previous three days…
Looks like it’s a bit cooler today compared with the previous few days! Today, we’re again staying relatively local and heading for Welshpool (a Market Town) and then National Trust’s Powis Castle – around 30 miles round trip.
Welshpool Town
9:43am: We crossed the border, and here we are in Welshpool. We left the car in their Pay-and-Display car-park near Poundland -1 hour for Β£1! (how appropriate!) π – and then walked to the main high street.
There were a few people about, but it wasn’t overly busy. Pleasant enough, but a bit ‘one-horse-town-ish’. Shops were mainly small affairs heading in all directions β most were ‘old school’ with local names mixed in with modern establishments like Gregg’s, Boot’s and a couple of the big Banks. There was even a Launderette – a Welshy-Wishy-Washy??? – I can’t remember the last time I saw one of those on a high street!
We did our bit for the local commerce by dropping into ‘Alexanders’. Locals call it “Welshpool’s Premiere Department Store” and in a way, we could see why! It may have said ‘Cookshop’ on the sign above the door, but food aside, it sold pretty much everything else! π How about a lawnmower or maybe a tent sir?? Also worth a visit if you require a topping-up of your Tupperware or something larger!
We had a thorough look around the shop. It stocked an impressive range of hardware. With all the excitement of spending almost Β£12, π² we said goodbye to Welshpool and headed off in the direction of Powis Castle!
Powis Castle
10:23am: The car-park was almost empty when we arrived, but as the Castle itself didn’t open until midday, we weren’t surprised. Like a few others who had the same idea, we planned to spend the next 90 minutes ‘pre-Castle’ looking around the Garden.
We weren’t to be disappointed! These were the neatest, most colourful, dramatic and extensive we’d seen in a long time.
Impressive or what!? The Garden is apparently Baroque in style and the terraces can be dated as far back as the late 1600s. Wow!
11.25am: Just time for a cheeky coffee and a slice of cake before we stormed the Castle! Except that the coffee machine was broken! π Still, the Rhubarb Flapjack and the Chocolate Brownie slipped down just as easily! ππ
11.55am: Just time to grab a few shots of the area immediately opposite the Castle’s entrance.
12:01pm: We’re going in!!!
Powis Castle is a Grade I medieval castle, fortress and grand country house that was built in the 13th century. It is the seat of the Herbert family, Earls of Powis. The Herbert family continue to live in part of the castle, under arrangement with the National Trust who have undertaken a number of significant restoration projects in recent years. The Castle is also well-known for their ‘Clive Museum’ (as in ‘Clive of India‘), however, because of the increased sensitivity in recent times over the link between country houses and colonialism, the Museum was now closed for (ahem!) ‘reinterpretation’.
After the epic scale of the Garden, inside all felt a bit claustrophobic to me – and dark too! On a more positive note, the Guides/Volunteers were the most enthusiastic I think we’ve EVER met! They were happy to give us chapter-and-verse on the origins of the House (and then a few more chapters and verses just to make sure!). Excellent stuff! I probably would have taken more photographs, but after the first few snaps, I was politely reminded by one of the Volunteers that photography wasn’t allowed. Apparently, it was something to do with Photoshopping people into various scenes around the Castle. Not sure I fully ‘get it’, but “rules is rules!” π²
So, here is the sum total of our visit in pictures (just 6 in total!). Photography restrictions aside, we couldn’t see upstairs and there was nothing to see ‘below stairs’ either. All-in-all, although we felt the garden was magnificent, the Castle was a bit disappointing. I think if the Museum had been open that would have added another dimension to our visit, but as it was, we were ‘all done’ inside 30 minutes! A real shame!
Tomorrow is our last full day here and we’re super-local looking around Oswestry, just 3 miles away. Catch you then! π
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