Powys (; ) is a
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
and
preserved county
The preserved counties of Wales are the eight current areas used in Wales for the ceremonial purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty. They are based on the counties created by the Local Government Act 1972 and used for local government and othe ...
in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. It is named after the
Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh
successor state,
petty kingdom
A petty kingdom is a monarchy, kingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the Heptarchy#List of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, numerou ...
and
principality
A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...
that emerged during the Middle Ages following the
end of Roman rule in Britain
The end of Roman rule in Britain was the transition from Roman Britain to post-Roman Britain. Roman rule ended in different parts of Britain at different times, and under different circumstances.
In 383, the usurper Magnus Maximus withdrew tr ...
.
Geography
Powys covers the historic counties of
Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...
and
Radnorshire
, HQ = Presteigne
, Government = Radnorshire County Council (1889–1974) Radnorshire District Council (1974–1996)
, Origin =
, Status = historic county, administrative county
, Start ...
, most of
Brecknockshire
, image_flag=
, HQ= Brecon
, Government= Brecknockshire County Council (1889-1974)
, Origin= Brycheiniog
, Status=
, Start= 1535
, End= ...
, and part of
historic Denbighshire. With an area of about , it is now the largest administrative area in Wales by land and area (
Dyfed was until 1996 before several
former counties created by the
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
were abolished). It is bounded to the north by
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
,
Denbighshire
Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...
and
Wrexham County Borough
Wrexham County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Wrecsam) is a county borough, with city status, in the north-east of Wales. It borders England to the east and south-east, Powys to the south-west, Denbighshire to the west and Flintshire to the nort ...
; to the west by
Ceredigion and
Carmarthenshire; to the east by
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
and
Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...
; and to the south by
Rhondda Cynon Taf,
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough,
Caerphilly County Borough
Caerphilly County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Caerffili) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It is governed by Caerphilly County Borough Council.
Its main and largest town is Caerphilly. Other towns in the county borough are Bed ...
,
Blaenau Gwent
Blaenau Gwent (; ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders the unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery, Brynmawr, Ebbw ...
,
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
and
Neath Port Talbot.
The largest towns are
Newtown,
Ystradgynlais,
Brecon
Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...
,
Welshpool,
Llandrindod Wells and
Knighton. Powys has the lowest
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
of all the principal areas of Wales. Most of Powys is mountainous, and most roads and railways are relatively slow.
Just under a third of the residents have Welsh linguistic skills: Welsh speakers are concentrated mainly in the rural areas both in and around
Machynlleth,
Llanfyllin and
Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant (where
William Morgan first translated the whole Bible into Welsh in 1588) in Montgomeryshire, and the industrial area of Ystradgynlais in the southwest of Brecknockshire. Radnorshire was almost completely
anglicised
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
by the end of the 18th century. The
2001 census records show 21% of the population of Powys were able to speak Welsh at that time, the same as for the whole of Wales.
History
The county is named after the ancient Welsh
Kingdom of Powys, which in the sixth century AD included the northern two-thirds of the area as well as most of Shropshire and adjacent areas now in England, and came to an end when it was occupied by
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd of
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
during the 1260s.
The uplands retain evidence of occupation from long before the Kingdom of Powys, and before the Romans, who built roads and forts across the area. There are 1130 identified
burial mounds within the county, of varying styles and ages, dating from 4000 BC to 1000 BC, most of them belonging to the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
. Of these, 339 are
scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
s.
Standing stones
A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be foun ...
, most again dating to the Bronze Age, also occur in large numbers, 276 being found across the county, of which 92 are scheduled. From the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
, the county has 90 scheduled
hillforts
A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
and a further 54 enclosures and settlement sites.
Powys is served by the
Cambrian Line
The Cambrian Line ( cy, Llinell y Cambrian), also known as the Cambrian Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell y Cambrian) and Cambrian Coast Line ( cy, Llinell Arfordir y Cambrian), is a railway line that runs from Shrewsbury, England, westwards to Aber ...
and
Heart of Wales line which offer connections to major towns and cities such as
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe).
The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
,
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
,
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
,
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...
,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
,
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
,
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and
Telford. The county used to be served by key railways such as the
Mid-Wales Railway,
Oswestry and Newtown Railway
The Oswestry and Newtown Railway was a British railway company that built a line between Oswestry in Shropshire and Newtown Montgomeryshire, now Powys. The line opened in stages in 1860 and 1861. It was conceived to open up the area to rail tran ...
,
Tanat Valley Light Railway,
Llanfyllin Branch,
Leominster and Kington Railway
Leominster and Kington Railway was one of four branches which served the Welsh Marches border town of Kington, Herefordshire.
Opened in August 1857, its peak was during World War II, when it served two US Army hospitals. Declining after the wa ...
,
Swansea Vale Railway
The Swansea Vale Railway (SVR) was a railway line connecting the port of Swansea in South Wales to industries and coalfields along the River Tawe on the northern margin of Swansea, by taking over a tramroad in 1846. It was extended to Brynamman i ...
and the
Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway
The Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway (HH&BR) was a railway company that built a line between Hereford in England and a junction with the Mid-Wales Railway at Three Cocks Junction. It opened its line in stages from 1862 to 1864. It never had enoug ...
, all of which offered connections to
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
,
Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
,
Oswestry
Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads.
The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...
,
North Wales
, area_land_km2 = 6,172
, postal_code_type = Postcode
, postal_code = LL, CH, SY
, image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg
, map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
and
West Wales
West Wales ( cy, Gorllewin Cymru) is not clearly defined as a particular region of Wales. Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of ''Deheuba ...
but have all since closed.
Heraldry
![WalesPowys1974](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/WalesPowys1974.png)
The gold in the county coat of arms symbolises the wealth of the area. Black is for both mining and the
Black Mountains. The
fountain is a
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
heraldic
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...
charge displayed as a
roundel
A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...
barry wavy
In heraldry, variations of the field are any of a number of ways that a field (heraldry), field (or a charge (heraldry), charge) may be covered with a pattern, rather than a flat tincture (heraldry), tincture or a simple divisions of the field, di ...
argent and azure. It represents water and refers to both the
water catchment
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the ...
area and the rivers and lakes. Thus, the arms contain references to the hills and mountains, rivers and lakes, water supply and industry.
The crest continues the colouring of the arms. A tower has been used in preference to a
mural crown, which alludes to the county's military history and remains. From the tower rises a
red kite, a bird almost extinct elsewhere in Britain but thriving in Powys. The bird is a "''
semé
In heraldry, variations of the field are any of a number of ways that a field (or a charge) may be covered with a pattern, rather than a flat tincture or a simple division of the field.
Blazoning of French adjectives
Variations of the field pre ...
'' of black
lozenges" for the former coal mining industry, while the golden fleece it carries is a reference to the importance of sheep rearing in the county.
The county motto is: ''Powys – the paradise of Wales'' ( cy, Powys Paradwys Cymru).
Government
On 1 April 1974, Powys was created under the Local Government Act 1972. At first, the former administrative counties of
Montgomery,
Radnor, and
Brecknock
Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the count ...
were districts within it. On 1 April 1996, the districts were abolished, and Powys was reconstituted as a
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
. There was a minor border adjustment in the northeastspecifically, the addition of the communities of
Llansilin and
Llangedwyn
Llangedwyn is a village in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 402. The community includes the hamlet of Pen-y-bont Llanerch Emrys.
It lies in the Tanat Valley near to the Wales/England border. ...
from
Glyndŵr district in
Clwyd
Clwyd () is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire to th ...
and with moving the border, so that rather than half of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, all is included.
The first
Lord Lieutenant of Powys
This is an incomplete list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant for Powys. Prior to 1974, the Monarch was represented in the area by the Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire, the Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire and the Lord Lieutenant of Breck ...
was previously the
Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire. The
Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire. After 1723, all Lord Lieutenants were also Custos Rotulorum of Brecknockshire. The office was abolished on 31 March 1974 and replaced with the Lord Lieutenant of Powys, with ...
and
Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire were appointed as lieutenants. The present
lord lieutenant
A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...
is
Shân Legge-Bourke
Dame Elizabeth Shân Josephine Legge-Bourke (née Bailey; born 10 September 1943) is a Welsh landowner who served as the second Lord Lieutenant of Powys.
The only child of Wilfred Bailey, 3rd Baron Glanusk, Legge-Bourke inherited the Glanusk Pa ...
of
Crickhowell.
Attractions
*
Black Mountains
*
Brecon Beacons
The Brecon Beacons ( cy, Bannau Brycheiniog, ) are a mountain range in South Wales. In a narrow sense, the name refers to the range of Old Red Sandstone peaks which lie to the south of Brecon. Sometimes referred to as "the central Beacons" t ...
– a mountain range
*
Radnor Forest
Radnor Forest ( cy, Fforest Clud) in the county of Radnorshire, Wales is a rock dome composed of Silurian shales, mudstones and limestone in Mid Wales. It is a forest in the medieval sense of the word (an area of land set aside for hunting). I ...
*
Y Gaer – a
Roman fort
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term.
In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...
*
Battle of Bryn Glas
The Battle of Bryn Glas (also known as the Battle of Pilleth) was a battle between the Welsh and English on 22 June 1402, near the towns of Knighton and Presteigne in Powys, Wales. It was part of the Glyndŵr Rising of 1400-1415. It was an impor ...
Castles
*
Dolforwyn Castle
Dolforwyn Castle ( cy, Castell Dolforwyn) is a Welsh medieval castle above the village of Abermule, Powys. The fortification was established by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Gwynedd in the late 13th century. It is sited on a wooded ridge comm ...
*
Montgomery Castle
Montgomery Castle ( cy, Castell Trefaldwyn) is a stone-built castle looking over the town of Montgomery in Powys, Mid Wales. It is one of many Norman castles on the border between Wales and England.
Its strategic importance in the Welsh March ...
*
Powis Castle
*
Tretower Castle
Tretower Castle ( cy, Castell Tretŵr) is a Grade I-listed ruined castle in the village of Tretower in the county of Powys, Wales. It was built around the beginning of the twelfth century as a motte and bailey castle and this was probably replace ...
*
Aberedw Castle
The remains of Aberedw Castle, also known as 'Castle in Elfael Uwch Mynydd', are located at the small village of Aberedw in the county of Powys, Mid-Wales. It was built in the late twelfth century and probably replaced the motte and bailey castle ...
*
Castell Du
Castell Du (), also known as Sennybridge Castle or Castell Rhyd-y-Briw, is located approximately eight miles west of Brecon in Powys, Wales, and is believed to be the work of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales. Its history is largely obscure, bu ...
*
Bronllys Castle
Bronllys Castle is a motte and bailey fortress standing south of Bronllys, towards Talgarth in Powys, Wales. The original castle, constructed of wood, was founded in or soon after 1100 by Richard Fitz Pons, the owner of the nearby Herefordshire b ...
*
Cefnllys Castle
Lakes, reservoirs and waterfalls
*
Elan Valley Reservoirs
*
Lake Vyrnwy
, image = Lakevyrnwysummer.jpg
, caption = View overlooking Lake Vyrnwy showing the full extent of the lake
, image_bathymetry =
, pushpin_map=Wales Powys
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = Wales
, c ...
*
Llangorse Lake
*
Clywedog Reservoir
*
Pistyll y Llyn
Pistyll y Llyn is one of the tallest waterfalls in Wales and the United Kingdom. It is a horsetail style set of falls which are located in the Cambrian Mountains about from Glaspwll in Powys, Wales.
It is formed where the River Llyfnant falls ...
– one of the highest waterfalls in Wales
*
Pistyll Rhaeadr
Pistyll Rhaeadr (, meaning "spring of the waterfall") is a waterfall from the village of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant in Powys, Wales, and west of Oswestry.
Description
Pistyll Rhaeadr is formed by the Afon Disgynfa falling, in three stages, ove ...
*
Water-breaks-its-neck – waterfall in Radnor Forest
*
Waterfall Country – waterfalls on the upper tributaries of the
River Neath
River Neath ( cy, Afon Nedd) is a river in south Wales running south west from the point at which its headwaters arising in the Brecon Beacons National Park converge to its mouth at Baglan Bay below Briton Ferry on the east side of Swansea Bay. ...
Cathedral
*
Brecon Cathedral
Brecon Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Aberhonddu), in the town of Brecon, Powys, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in the Church in Wales and seat of the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon. Previously the church of Brecon Priory ...
Cave systems
*
Ogof Agen Allwedd
Ogof Agen Allwedd or Agen Allwedd, is, at , one of the longest cave systems in Wales, and the longest cave system on the Llangattock escarpment.
History
The cave was first investigated by Brian Price and party in 1949 and 1950, but it was not un ...
*
Ogof Craig a Ffynnon
Ogof Craig a Ffynnon ( Welsh for "Cave f theRock and Spring") is a cave in Wales. The cave is about 7 km in length and is located at the base of a quarried rockface in the Clydach Gorge. Water flowing out of the cave is a resurgence of wa ...
*
Ogof Ffynnon Ddu
Ogof Ffynnon Ddu ( Welsh for ''cave of the black spring''), also known informally as OFD, is a cave under a hillside in the area surrounding Penwyllt in the Upper Swansea Valley in South Wales. It is the second longest cave in Wales and the d ...
*
Ogof y Daren Cilau
Ogof y Daren Cilau is one of several cave systems in the Llangattock escarpment near Crickhowell in south Powys, Wales. The cave was discovered in 1957 and is one of the longest cave systems in the country.
The cave
It is one of the longest syst ...
Museums and exhibitions
*
Centre for Alternative Technology
The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) ( cy, Canolfan y Dechnoleg Amgen) is an eco-centre in Powys, mid-Wales, dedicated to demonstrating and teaching sustainable development. CAT, despite its name, no longer concentrates its efforts exclu ...
,
Machynlleth
* Llandrindod Wells Museum
*
National Cycle Museum,
Llandrindod Wells
* Llanidloes Museum
* Knighton Museum,
Knighton
* Newtown Textile Museum
*
Powysland Museum
The Powysland Club is a historical society for the county of Montgomeryshire, Wales. It was founded in 1867. Among the society's members was Elias Owen, the antiquarian who served as a committee member and published articles in the club's journal ...
,
Welshpool
*
Judge's Lodging,
Presteigne
*
The Old Bell Museum
The Old Bell Museum is a former 16th-century inn, converted into a museum and run by volunteers from the Montgomery Civic Society of Powys. The half-timbered building contains eleven rooms of various local exhibits, including information on the a ...
,
Montgomery
*
Robert Owen
Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement. He strove to improve factory working conditions, promoted e ...
Museum,
Newtown
* Rhayader Museum & Gallery, Rhayader
* Wyeside Arts Centre, Builth Wells
*
Y Gaer,
Brecon
Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...
* Llanwrtyd Wells Heritage and Arts Centre, Llanwrtyd Wells
Walks
*
Glyndŵr's Way – a extended loop through Powys between Knighton and Welshpool
* Sarn Sabrina Walk – a circular walking route from
Llanidloes
Llanidloes () is a town and community on the A470 and B4518 roads in Powys, within the historic county boundaries of Montgomeryshire ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn), Wales. The population in 2011 was 2,929, of whom 15% could speak Welsh. It is the third ...
to the source of the
River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
*
Severn Way
The Severn Way is a waymarked long-distance footpath in the United Kingdom, which follows the course of the River Severn through Mid Wales and western England.
According to the Long Distance Walkers Association the Severn Way is .
The route
...
– described by the Long Distance Walkers Association as a waymarked
long-distance trail
A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents excep ...
*
Taff Trail – walking and cycle path that runs for 55 miles (89 km) between Cardiff Bay and Brecon
*
Offa's Dyke Path – a long-distace footpath about 177-mile (285 km)
*
Wye Valley Walk
The Wye Valley Walk ( cy, Llwybr Dyffryn Gwy) is a long distance footpath in Wales and England following the course of the River Wye.
History
In 1975 the Wye Valley Walk opened with a stretch between St. Arvans and Monmouth. Further stretches ...
– a long-distance footpath from
Chepstow to
Rhayader
Rhayader (; cy, Rhaeadr Gwy; ) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, within the historic county of Radnorshire. The town is from the source of the River Wye on Plynlimon, the highest point of the Cambrian Mountains, and is locate ...
Railways
*
Brecon Mountain Railway
The Brecon Mountain Railway (Welsh: ''Rheilffordd Mynydd Brycheiniog'') is a narrow gauge tourist railway on the south side of the Brecon Beacons. It climbs northwards from Pant along the full length of the Pontsticill Reservoir (also called ...
(heritage line)
*
Cambrian Line
The Cambrian Line ( cy, Llinell y Cambrian), also known as the Cambrian Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell y Cambrian) and Cambrian Coast Line ( cy, Llinell Arfordir y Cambrian), is a railway line that runs from Shrewsbury, England, westwards to Aber ...
(main line)
*
Heart of Wales line (main line)
*
Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway (heritage line)
Fairtrade
In December 2007, Powys was awarded
Fair Trade County status by
The Fairtrade Foundation
The Fairtrade Foundation is a charity based in the United Kingdom that aims to empower disadvantaged producers in developing countries by tackling injustice in conventional trade, in particular by promoting and licensing the Fairtrade Mark, a gu ...
.
See also
*
List of Lord Lieutenants of Powys
*
List of High Sheriffs of Powys
*
List of schools in Powys
This is a list of schools in Powys in Wales.
Primary schools
* Abermule Community Primary School
* Archdeacon Griffiths Church in Wales School
* Arddleen Community Primary School
* Berriew Community Primary School
* Brynhafren Community Prima ...
*
List of churches in Powys
This is a list of churches in Powys, Wales.
Active churches
Defunct churches
{{reflist, 30em
*
Powys
Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is ...
References
External links
*
*
Powys HeritageTourism in Powys
{{coord, 52, 18, N, 3, 25, W, region:GB_type:adm1st_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title
Counties of Wales
Principal areas of Wales
Preserved counties of Wales
Rally GB