A stroll in the Welsh sunshine

Welshpool to Berriew via Powis Castle

Welshpool to Berriew via Powis Castle

Powis Castle, near Welshpool, 3rd August 2022 (Author’s Collection).

Part two of this sunshine greeting to the month of August saw a familiar theme as well as a different canal, an uninspiring start, a beautiful middle and a quite unexpected hidden gem to finish. Following my quixotic travails along both the Shropshire Union Canal and Llangollen Canal, I veered west to crisscross the border between England and Wales and a third canal ripe for future investigation, the Montgomery Canal. Although over 33 miles in length, the canal is landlocked in places, restored on some stretches, some not, and somewhat of an “island” as well as a perfectly twisted metaphor for the English and Welsh waterways. It stands alone and is distantly cut off from the Llangollen Canal to the north and another “island” canal system, the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, deep in the heart of South Wales.

Being the contrarian that I am, the following images are slightly mis ordered as I visited Powis Castle before exploring the canal and so strictly speaking I had a beautiful start to a day that became rather underwhelming in Welshpool before completely and utterly surprising me with an equally beautiful finish. So we begin just across the border in Wales in it’s quaint market town of Welshpool before delving deeper into the country at a medieval 13th Century Castle before ending with a sunshine visit to Berriew, a small Welsh village at the end of the Montgomery Canal and sitting atop the Rhiw River that in turn feeds the much larger River Severn that snakes its way across the border and throughout central England and beyond.

Welshpool disappointed me.

Powis Castle was everything I hoped it would be.

Berriew was a beautiful surprise and a perfect ending to a day in the sunshine.

Only colour commentary from hereon in to accompany the images that I sincerely hope you will enjoy as a virtual pictorial stroll in the Welsh sunshine.

*All images captured by me on Wednesday 3rd August 2022*

St Mary’s Church, Welshpool.

The commemoration plaque at the foot of St Mary’s Church in Welshpool.

“Silver Lady” (and swan) navigating Bridge 118 or “Clerk’s Bridge” in central Welshpool.

“Heulwen II” navigating through central Welshpool along with two swans and a whole host of hungry ducks!

(1) Welshpool Town Lock.

(2) Welshpool Town Lock.

(3) Welshpool Town Lock.

View from Welshpool Lock heading south west and in 4–5 winding canal miles, Berriew, and ostensibly the end of the Montgomery Canal.

Another swan and her many cygnets.

Welshpool Town Hall, 12.50pm on Wednesday 3rd August 2022.

I made a rather beautiful friend in the gardens of Powis Castle!

Entrance to Powis Castle, on the outskirts of Welshpool.

“Statue of Fame”, a centrepiece of the courtyard entrance at Powis Castle.

Powis Castle with the weather pleasantly breaking in the skies above.

View across the castle gardens and the rolling hillsides of Wales.

View across the courtyard entrance to Powis Castle.

A final and very pleasing representation of the juxtaposition of images that greet you immediately as you enter the courtyard of Powis Castle.

A final wider view of the castle.

Welcome to Berriew!

Berriew Aqueduct — “Water Power”.

View from the aqueduct at Berriew and the trickling of the River Rhiw that feeds the much larger and longer River Severn throughout neighbouring England.

The small, quaint and nationally protected aqueduct at Berriew.

Berriew Aqueduct — “Horse Power”.

5 miles to Welshpool and a functioning if unspectacular canal or 5 miles to Abermule and a stretch of unused/unrestored canal.

View from atop the road bridge that runs through this tiny Welsh village.

(1) The River Rhiw flowing through beautiful Berriew.

(2) The River Rhiw flowing through beautiful Berriew.

(3) The River Rhiw flowing through beautiful Berriew.

Memorial to the “Great War” at the entrance to the grounds of St Beuno’s Church in Berriew.

A favourite image of a day ending in a surprisingly beautiful fashion.

(1) St Beuno’s Church, Berriew.

(2) St Beuno’s Church, Berriew.

(3) St Beuno’s Church, Berriew.

A favourite image from St Beuno’s Church in beautiful Berriew with which to finish.

Your humble narrator, the day after the day before, at the World Heritage Site in Ironbridge, Shropshire, 4th August 2022.

Thanks for reading. There are numerous pictorial articles such as these within my archives or please see the links below to my three most recently published travel articles to date:

Chirk to St Martin’s
via Charles Darwin and Shrewsbury Castlemedium.com

A lost Englishman in Wales
And hitchhiking via a canal boat!medium.com

A canal side stroll into Birmingham
or Peaky Blinders. With added graffiti!medium.com