Tuesday 10 July 2018

A Castle in the Sky

After the excitement of our blogger meet-up on Monday, we opted for a relaxed day on Tuesday. Not venturing too far from our adopted home, we hopped over the border with Wales - we were, after all, in an area called the Welsh borders - for a visit to our first National Trust property.

Trundling along the quiet country roads in a leisurely fashion, we soon passed a sign welcoming us to Wales. We could easily have missed it, were it not for the road markings, in which the Welsh word "ARAF" suddenly appeared next to the English "SLOW", and the bilingual road signs. But such is the erratic nature of the border here that in a matter of minutes we were welcomed back to Shropshire! Talk about confusing. Our destination was well and truly in Wales, though!

Perched on a narrow ridge above its world-famous terraced gardens, and offering spectacular views across the Severn Valley towards England, Powis Castle was originally built as a medieval fortress in about 1200 by Welsh princes.



The drizzle which, interspersed with some sunny spells, had accompanied us on our journey, increased to a steady downpour once we'd parked and were making our way to the castle's entrance. 

Before visiting the castle itself, we had our first glimpse of the garden, a breath-taking panorama, with its backdrop of hills and fields all but obscured by fog.

Powis Castle was adapted and embellished by generations of Herberts and Clives who, over four centuries, transformed the castle into a grand family home, furnishing the castle with fine furniture and paintings.  In fact, the present Earl of Powis still keeps an apartment here.


There is also an extensive collection of Indian artefacts, which are displayed in the Clive Museum. These were brought home by Robert Clive, better known as Clive of India, and his son, Edward, and were obtained during their service with the British East India Company.

Powis Castle is full of exceptional portraits, the majority of which record the fascinating history of the family over the last 400 years. These are currently the subject of an exhibition, with works by prominent artists such as Joshua Reynolds, John Singer Sargent and Thomas Gainsborough. But the centrepiece of the exhibition is one of the National Trust’s recently acquired treasures – a Jacobean miniature portrait by Isaac Oliver (1565-1617), featuring Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, who was a statesman, poet, diplomat, musician and knight. 


As a result of the exhibition, the castle's halls and rooms could not be fully admired, as the portraits required them to be quite dark, while in others, the state bedroom, for instance, the carpet was rolled up and displaced furniture marred the view of the opulent state bed in its alcove.

Photography was not allowed and much to our surprise, there wasn't even a guide book on sale, except one for the garden. 

On our way out, however, I did manage to take this photo of the servants' bells in the basement.


After lunch, we descended into the garden, but not before giving you a brief glance at what I was wearing. 

My second pair of floral print trousers came out of my suitcase.  I wore it with a green short-sleeved jumper and a hot pink cardigan. On top, my trusty green holiday raincoat, although it had stopped raining by now.


George Herbert, great-grandson of Clive of India, inherited the title of  Earl of Powis along with the castle and estate in 1891.

Together, he and his wife Violet focused on remodelling the castle, which included introducing electric lighting and a state of the art hot-water central heating system, while Violet persuaded George to let her manage and improve the garden.  Violet’s Edwardian garden with a croquet lawn, flowering borders and meticulously trimmed fruit trees, is still one of the garden’s highlights today. 

Influenced by Italian and French styles, the garden retains its original lead statues, and the Italianate terraces and formal garden contain imaginative and colourful herbaceous borders.




The terraces at Powis Castle are said to be the finest surviving example of a 17th century terrace garden in Britain. The exact date of their construction is unknown but is thought to have begun in the 1680's.

Above the Top Terrace, with its magnificent views of the surrounding countryside, is the yew topiary, which Powis Castle is renowned for. The fourteen yew trees, named “the tumps”, were planted in the 1720's. 


Below these are a series of niches in the terrace wall. These would have been for the display of busts, but are now displaying a series of potted plants. 



The second terrace is the Aviary Terrace, which once had fruit and vegetables growing on it.

Above the orangery is a pathway with a balustrade from which time-weathered statues of shepherds and shepherdesses are gazing down upon the garden below.




Finally, the Orangery Terrace runs in front of the orangery, which was built to overwinter citrus fruits, now a cool and rather empty room housing a number of potted plants.



On either side of the orangery is a pathway lined with abundant and colourful planting. We took our time exploring and admiring the flowers. As I love poppies in all shapes and sizes, I was particularly enchanted by this delicate strawberry and cream one, which was just being visited by a busy bee.



Just off the formal gardens are a number of buildings, including a semi-detached half-timbered cottage. The cottage to the left is named “The Bothy” and is a National Trust owned self catering cottage available for rent. With all the visitors to the garden I'm sure it's not as quiet as our own little cottage, though, and presumably a lot more expensive!



At the bottom, behind the formal garden is the Fountain Garden, an addition made by Violet, and replacing a kitchen garden which she considered unsightly.

We thankfully made use of the deckchairs displaying The National Trust's emblem, which were set out on the lawn.


From this vantage point, and accompanied by the meditative tinkling of the fountain, we contemplated the red-stone castle perched proudly on its ridge, clashing and at the same time blending in with the vivid greens provided by the layers of garden.


In 1912, Vilolet commissioned the spectacular wrought iron gates near the fountain garden as a present for George’s birthday.

Above the gate is the Powis coat of arms, and surmounting each pillar is a wyvern (a legendary dragon-like creature), one of which is holding a severed hand in its mouth.





In the 18th century, an informal woodland wilderness was created on the opposite ridge. 

The Wilderness ridge is in complete contrast to the rest of the garden and is the perfect place for a woodland walk. Further exploration should reveal an ice house, sculptures hiding in the trees, and the graves of much-loved family pets, but our weary feet were making us take the shortest route.



We stopped to admire one last time the castle when it appeared in a gap between trees, rising like a mirage above its terraces and gardens.





Then it was time to return to our car for the drive back to our cottage at the other side of the border.

Please do tune in for more travel stories in my next post!

38 comments:

  1. Well I've oft heard the name Powys castle mentioned but never actually seen it. It looks great. Shame about the lack of guidebook or photos. Nice outfit too. I also like poppies.x

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    1. Thank you Kezzie. It's well worth a visit, if you're ever in the area! xxx

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  2. What a difference a couple of seasons make. when we visited Powys castle it was shrouded in mist and look at it now, glorious. I think we need a return visit!
    It was disappointing about the no photo policy, I wanted to share Tipu Sultan's tent with the world.
    Love your floral trousers, they look so good. I can see them being a firm holiday favourite along with Jos's legendary green jacket. xxx

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  3. What a gorgeous castle! I really love that last shot of it through the trees.

    Suzanne
    http://www.suzannecarillo.com

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    1. Thank you Suzanne! I could't get enough of that view! xxx

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  4. beautiful place!!
    i have a weak spot for terraced gardens - all the different views - it feels like tiny cultivated mountains.
    your flower pants look great with your green coat!
    hug you!
    xxxxx

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    1. Thank you Beate. I'd heard a lot about that castle, but the garden really exceeded my expectations! xxx

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  5. That looks really lovely; I remember Vix posting about going there.

    My guess about the 'no photography' rule is that too many people seem unable to turn their flashes off, and flash light can damage pigments in paintings and textiles over time... or perhaps they just don't want people clogging up the place taking endless selfies!

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    1. I think the "no photography" rule was mainly because of the paintings. All other properties we visited were OK with photography, as long as you turned off your flash. xxx

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  6. what an amazing place to visit, and the gardens look really awesome!. And I love your floral pants, so cute with the green raincoat, really gorgeous!
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica, I was quite pleased with how the floral pants worked out ... xxx

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  7. Powis Castle looks like it's worth a visit. What a shame photography isn't allowed inside, but what lovely photos you captured of the gardens.
    xx

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    1. The gardens certainly made up for the no photography rule inside! xxx

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  8. The history of the Welsh marches is fascinating and Powis Castle looks glorious. It's a shame the weather wasn't better, I thought it was good whilst we were away but it looks like it was quite patchy.
    As ever your photos are beautiful Ann. xxx

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    1. Luckily, the weather was only patchy the first couple of days. It was glorious the rest of our holiday. For some reason, I have always been drawn to the Welsh marches ... xxx

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  9. I love how full of color and beauty your posts always are. I enjoy looking at the landscapes and buildings as much as anything else. A feast for the eyes!

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  10. How did you ever drag yourself away?! So beautiful.

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    1. It was indeed really difficult to drag ourselves away, but we promised ourselves a return visit next year! xxx

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  11. Can you believe, I have still never made it to this castle! This is a reminder for me to rectify that as soon as possible, what lovely photos xx

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    1. You really should, it's very beautiful, well worth the trip! xxx

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  12. What magnificent photos of this fairytale locale. The castles and the terraced gardens are simply magical. It is too bad the interiors were not lit adequately, but the photos that you still are just incredible. What a beautiful display of indoor artifacts as well. The tudor cottage is splendid also. This really inspires me to travel.
    I also love your floral pants and your outfit it’s really cool.
    ❤️❤️❤️
    Elle
    https://theellediaries.com/

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    1. Thank you Elle, it was indeed quite a magical place, and the gardens were simply magnificent! xxx

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  13. Oh, Ann, how lovely this all is! The castle and grounds are so beautiful, and it looks like you had most of the place to yourselves.

    Those floral pants - I just covet them! So fun!

    Thank you for sharing your lovely pictures of Wales - I will probably never make it there, so it's wonderful to see it through your eyes.

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    1. Thank you Sheila. The floral pants are from H&M by the way. It wasn't too crowdy, but photographing around the crowds is my speciality! xxx

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  14. What an amazing place to visit, Ann! So much fascinating history and the gardens are so beautiful. You look fab in your new floral trousers that look great with your pink cardigan and green coat! Lovely! XXX

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  15. Wow Ann this is such a magical place.
    THe castle lookst amsolutely stunning, I totally understand why you needed to visit it.
    Thank you for sharing these beautiful impressions with us.

    take a look at my Blogpost about these lovely beautyproducts

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  16. What a fabulous garden! You and Jos both look right at home in such lovely surroundings in your colourful clothing.

    Hope you're enjoying nice summery weather now you're home.
    xxx

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    1. Thank you Veronica! Would you know, when Jos posted a photo of himself with Powis Castle in the background, someone remarked: his Lordship in the castle gardens! If only! xxx

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  17. Ann how wonderful! I love these old castles, thank you so much for this trip with you. I love it, you shoot so nice details. I am a great fan of these little, maybe hiden details in castles.
    You look great in green Ann ❤️
    Have a great weekend, huge hug Tina

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    1. Thank you Tina. I'm a great fan of little details too! xxx

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  18. Floral trousers become you! I love the look!
    All your photos are so gorgeous! England is beautiful! (I have to admit that I had to stop and think whether it was your blog or Vix's on a few occasions :))) Love the nature, the castle, the cottage, the old stairs... Thank you for taking me with you - even a virtual tour is awesome!
    Lots of love, my dear!

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    1. Thank you Natalia! Glad you loved the virtual tour. xxx

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  19. What a lovely account of your day. I remembered the yews from when Vix posted about Powis Castle a while back. I particularly like to visit the gardens at NT properties, this one is delightful. xx

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    1. Thank you Fiona! You do have quite a few lovely NT properties in your area, don't you? When we were touring Kent and East Sussex, we visited a lot of them. xxx

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