Set in the picturesque countryside of the Severn Valley, the stunning Powis Castle perches on the hillside above the village of Welshpool. “Originally a 13^th century fort, it is the only Welsh castle to have remained a residence from the medieval to the modern period. The castle is entered through one of few surviving medieval features: a gateway built in 1283 by Owain de la Pole. 

“The castle’s golden age was in Elizabethan times, when it was acquired by the Herbert family and altered extensively. Its lavish interiors feature a Dining Room decorated with fine 17^th century paneling and family portraits, which was originally designed as the castle’s Greall Hall. The Great Staircase, added in the late 17^th century and elaborately decorated with carved fruit and flowers, leads to the main apartments: an early 19^th century library, the paneled Oak Drawing Room and the Elizabethan Long Gallery, where ornate plasterwork on the fireplace and ceiling date from the 1590s. In the Blue Drawing Room there are three 18^th century Brussels tapestries.” 

The Herbert family was proud of their Royalist connections, as evident by the paneling in the State Bedroom, which bears the royal monogram. Powis Castle was defended for Charles I in the Civil War, but fell to the Parliamentarians in 1644. The 3^rd Baron Powis, a supporter of James II, had to flee the country when William and Mary took the throne in 1688. In 1784, Henrietta Herbert married Edward Clive, the son of Clive of India. Clive’s collection in the museum, housed in the great hall of the castle, is probably the greatest display of Indian Moghal art outside the subcontinent.

The “red castle,” or Castell Coch as it is known in Welsh, sits in a delightful Baroque 17^th century Italianate terraced garden dotted with sculptures and manicured hedges. “Created between 1688 and 1722, these are the only formal gardens of this period in Britain that are still kept in their original form.”

We enjoyed our visit to Powis Castle immensely, though some of the staff were less than friendly. The art, furniture, and architectural features of the rooms easily made it one of the most beautiful and best-preserved interiors we had the fortune to visit. In order to preserve these items and details, we were not allowed to take pictures inside, even without a flash. 

As we left Welshpool, we drove north through the valley to Llangollen, and through the stunning, but precarious Horseshoe Pass with its winding road and steep drop-offs. Jumping on the motorway, we zoomed up the western side of England to Kendal, the southern gateway to the Lake District. The sun was setting over this famous national park as we approached our hotel, and we were awed by the magnificent scenery and the purity of the colors – emerald green hills touched by steely blue skies and low hanging silver clouds. No camera could have captured the majesty of the sight before us. My fingers itched for a paintbrush, my heart almost breaking at the realization that I did not have the skill to capture such a sight. It was no wonder that artists, poets, and writers had flocked to the Lake District for centuries to find their muse.