The National Trust's best garden (Powis Castle)

Member Name: jo@145

Product:	Powis Castle
Date:	11/07/08 (146 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful terraced gardens and castle

Disadvantages: No access to castle for disabled people

Powis Castle is close to Welshpool, a lovely little market town on the English/Welsh border, in the county of Powys. Standing high above the road, the drive winds round the castle, and there is plenty of parking. It is run by the National Trust and how I wished I had got my membership sorted out as I had to pay £9.45 whilst the rest of the group I was with got in free (well sort of, they had previously paid their membership!)

Powis Castle has been well preserved, and the red walls, looked welcoming in the sunlight. There is a small inner ward surrounding a tiny courtyard, this dates back to about 1200. The stable housed a state coach.The castle has a lot of history, and needed refurbishment in the 1600's, some of this work still survives, in the form of the grand staircase, which is no longer in use but you can admire its beauty from the hall and from above and the state ballroom which houses the Clive of India Museum. Further extensive building was carried out from 1772 by the young George Herbert, the second earl, but he died in 1801 in great debt, but his sister had married Clive of India's son, and so could afford to keep it in good condition.

Bequeathed to the National Trust in 1952, it remained in part a private home until 20 years ago. We were able to wander around and in each room were given sheets of information by the volunteers, ropes prevented you from getting too close to many exhibits and you could only peep into some of the bedrooms at the four poster beds. As is usual in these properties the sun is excluded making it hard to see some of the beautiful wall coverings.

We were amongst the first to visit the kitchen which had been opened for the first time that day, it felt cold and bleak, but we were assured it would have been sweltering hot as the huge fire would have been on all day. The kitchen was empty except for a table and welsh dresser and we were told they would not be adding kitchen tools etc as it wasn't their policy to buy things in only to use products that belonged there. There were some books and menus to see what was eaten at special functions.
It is not suitable for the disabled as the stairs are narrow in places, but wheelchairs are available and there is a route through the beautiful gardens avoiding steps.

The Clive Museum
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This was set up in 1987 to display collections of Indian art acquired by Robert Clive, his son Edward and daughter in law Henrietta Herbert in the late 18th century. There is also a video giving the background. There was such an assortment of bits and pieces that there was something to suit everyone and even a display behind glass of the bed Clive used in India, which was very elaborate, he certainly didn't rough it!

Eating and Drinking
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Unfortunately we spent too long in the gardens and the tearoom had closed (earlier than stated on my map!) But it was supposed to serve tea and coffees, main meals and light snacks, using locally sourced produce.
There are also picnic areas.

Toilets
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Obviously I can't comment on the men's toilets but the ladies were adequate with one for disabled people. The water was exceptionally hot, and there were notices stating this fact. One block near the stables, and another by the formal gardens which I didn't use.

Shops
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There were two shops one in the courtyard selling souvenirs and NT gifts and another selling garden products and garden related things including some lovely plants, near the Stable.

The Gardens
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I think this is the reason so many go to visit Powis Castle. The gardens were wonderful and we really needed longer to explore it more fully. It is one of a few baroque gardens to have survived more or less in its original form. It was revived by Violet, Countess of Powis in the early 1900's.

In July even though we have had a lot of rain the gardens were stunning, I have never seen so many flowers, mostly named, trees laden with apples lined the paths down to the formal gardens, with herbs growing around their bases. We worked our way along the terraces, sitting sometimes to enjoy the view of the welsh countryside, and absorbing the peace and fragrance of this beautiful garden. Yew trees clipped to a precise shape and box hedges neatly surrounded garden beds. There was also a lake to visit, but by then time was running out so we just walked down to it but not any further. We noticed too that there was a tree tour and a leaflet was available with all the information about various trees, but that will be for another visit, as I know another time I'm near Welshpool I will be visiting Powis Castle again.

Summary: A great place to visit in Wales