Powys

History of the County

The name Powys is derived from the Latin word “pagus”, which means ‘the countryside’. During the early Middle Ages, the Gwerthrynion dynasty ruled the area and in the 8 th century, when writing “History of the Britons”, Nennius mentioned the town as Caer Guricon, which was one of the “28 British Towns” of Roman Britain. In the following centuries, the English colonists from the nascent Anglian dominion of Mercia encroached on the eastern border of Powys. The name Powys disappeared with the introduction of the Laws in Wales Acts, 1535–1542, as its marcher authorities were integrated into the newly created counties of Montgomeryshire and Denbighshire.

Geology and Landscape

In 1974, the land locked county of Powys was formed from the old counties of Radnorshire, Montgomeryshire and most of Breconshire and covers about 5,196sq km. One of its most important towns is Llandrindod Wells. The county consists of various small towns and villages and the majority of it is mountainous. This makes it difficult to travel by car in the north and south of the region.

Major Towns

Powys has many small towns, including Builth Wells, Brecon, Crickhowell, Cefnllys, Hay-on-Wye, Knighton, Llanfair Caereinion, Llandrindod Wells, Llangors, Llanfyllin, Llanidloes, Llanwrtyd Wells, Montgomery, Machynlleth, Newtown, Presteigne, Rhayader, Tregynon, Talgarth, Trewern, Welshpool and Ystradgynlais.

Brecon is a historic town, in southern Powys, with a population of about 8,000 and was the capital of the important county of Breconshire. Crickhowell is a little town, which is administrated by Powys County Council and is a popular tourist attraction. Hay-on-Wye is commonly known as “the town of books”, because of the large number of bookshops it has. It is a well-known destination for booklovers throughout the United Kingdom and has two Norman castles, both located quite close to each other.

Knighton is another small town, which is one of the major attractions of the county. It has the remains of two early earthwork castles, one towards the east and the other towards the west of the centre of the town. The popular sports here are cricket, football, golf, hockey and rugby. Llandrindod Wells is commonly known as “Llandod” and it is an important town in Powys. In the 19 th century, it was a popular spa town and has many beautiful buildings. The annual Victorian Festival is very popular and offers street theatres, music, a craft fair, historical play acting, entertainment and exhibitions.

Newtown is one of the most important towns in Powys. It lies on the banks of river Severn and is home to some popular museums, such as Robert Owen Museum, W H Smith Museum, Textile Museum and Oriel Davies Gallery. Presteigne, which was the county town of Radnorshire, is located on the banks of the river Lugg and has become a cultural centre in the county and hosts two autochthonic festivals every year. Welshpool is located only 6km from the border with England and was initially called Pool, but was renamed Welshpool in 1835.

Celebrities of the County

Newtown is renowned as the birthplace of popular industrialist Robert Owen, in 1771 and his former house is now a museum, the Robert Owen Museum. Julie Christie, the Oscar-winning actress, lived close to Knighton in the 1970s and the popular actor, Richard Thorp, lives at Skyborry.

The Attractions of Powys

The county has many attractions to delight visitors. There are many cave systems, lakes, castles, museums and so on. The cave systems can be found at Ogof Ffynnon Ddu, 48km long; Ogof Agen Allwedd, 37.5 km long; Ogof y Daren Cilau, 27km long and Ogof Craig a Ffynnon, which is 13km long. The lakes and reservoirs include the Elan Valley Reservoir, 52m deep and about 118km long; Lake Vyrnwy, 44m deep and covering around 4.53sq km; Llangorse Lake, 154m deep and covering around 1.53sq km and Llyn Clywedog, 66m deep and covering around 2.5sq km. Look out for a pull up banner stand advertising the above attractions.

There are a number of castles here, including the 11 th century Montgomery Castle, which is Norman. Aberedw Castle also dates from the 11 th century and is a rectangular stone construction, supported by circular towers. Medieval Powis Castle dates from the 12 th century and was built by Welsh princes. Tretower Castle is a 12 th century motte and bailey castle; 13 th century Dolforwyn Castle is another constructed by Welsh princes and finally Castell Du, which was built in the 13 th century by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, a prince of Wales.

The county has many museums and exhibition buildings, such as Brecknock Museum, in Brecon; the Centre for Alternative Technology, located in Machynlleth; Llandrindod Wells Museum, Llanidloes Museum, Newtown Textile Museum and Powysland Museum, in Welshpool. Other notable attractions are the Brecon Beacons, Pistyll Rhaeadr, Radnor Forest, The Black Mountains, The Welsh National Cycle Route, Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway, and Y Gaer, Brecon Roman fort