Monday, June 8, 2026

Powys Castle And Garden, 2026, 1

Powys has been among our favorite house and garden combinations, especially the garden and parklands, ever since we first saw them in 2009. We have returned on a couple previous occasions, and our 2026 visit did nothing to diminish our regard and affection for this amazing place. Previous posts include:

https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2009/10/powys.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2016/06/powys-2016.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2016/06/powys-gardens.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2022/05/powis-castle-and-garden-2022.html.

In case you've forgotten, Powys began as a Medieval stronghold of the Welsh princes, and after the English/Welsh enmity was over, it eventually came to the Herbert family and was converted into a fortified residence/palace, with garden and parklands that have not changed much in layout for several centuries. The fabulous sculptured yew trees have mostly been in place since the 17th century. Powys [also spelled Powis, and interchangeably by me] came to the National Trust in 1952. Almost unique among Trust properties, no photography is permitted of the interiors, which are owned still by the family; but there are excellent pix all over the Trust's Powys site. There are, as usual, some clandestine shots in our posts, too, especially 2016. Our two 2026 posts on Powys will focus mainly on the terraced gardens and then the parklands. 

Entrance

There are three terraced gardens, each running the length
of the castle

This is the Banana Belt of Wales; the orientation of the gardens, the
heat-retaining brick walls, the climate generally...we think probably
anything could thrive here (although we've not seen citrus nor cactus...
but haven't really looked)

Looking out to the parklands and the rolling hills beyond






A few of the mountains and clouds of going-on-4-centuries-old yew














Sunday, June 7, 2026

Berrington Hall, 2026, 2

 Continuing our visit to Berrington Hall...

Among the numerous clothing displays

Looking out upon Capability's parkland

In the dress-up room; see 2016...

Everything you ever wanted to know about 18th century make-up


Steps to undressing...

A banyan...18th century male loungewear...I want one!

Not everyone was amused

21st century answer to it all

Incredibly beautiful fan

Servants' stairs

Butler's room

Housekeeper's

Christmas guest list

One of Capability's trees

Now in the garden areas

Workspace

Spare parts, showing a bit of the 12 foot garden wall

Auricula Theater...



Larger view of the garden...great house and garden!


Berrington Hall, 2026, 1

It was another long drive--65+ miles through the hedgerows and hollow ways*--from Kilpeck to Welsh Pool and Powys, our next base camp--and so we decided to stop off at Berrington Hall, another National Trust site, for a look at the house and garden. Of course, being pretty well traveled in this part of England and Wales, we had been to Berrington before, in June of 2016. Berrington is one of the best-preserved of the the Trust's many "great" houses...associated with a Mayor of London, with one of the Royal Navy's great leaders, and its landscape was the last done by the legendary Capability Brown. The pix below are fairly self-explanatory and hopefully won't duplicate very many of those from the previous visit. The are:

https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2016/06/berrington-hall.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2016/06/berrington-parkland-culpabilitys-last.html.

The main house

Election hankie...click to enlarge

Among Berrington's major themes was dress in Georgian times; so there
are examples in nearly every room

We were pretty taken with the ceiling treatments throughout the house;
mostly by the Italian painter Biagio Rebecca, among the finest surviving






The floor treatments were pretty nice too






Admiral Rodney battle scene, no doubt

Really nice stairwells for the great and the good























"Trains and feathers..." required



Re-creation of the gown and train...see photo


Which is saying something...


Much more on the jumbo dresses in the 2016 posts










































*remember, you're going 20mph, tops, on a single-lane track, very limited visibility, stopping often at the intermittent turn-outs for opposing traffic or to let impatient drivers behind you pass...oh yes, driving on the "proper" side of the road, too...