Powys
POWYS is the green, wide-open heart of Wales – three historic counties (Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire and Brecknockshire) stitched together into a landscape of big skies, heather ridges and winding rivers. It’s Wales’s largest county by area, yet one of its least crowded; the pace is gentler here, the roads emptier, and the horizons wonderfully long.
Market towns like Brecon, Welshpool, Newtown, Llandrindod Wells, Builth Wells and Hay-on-Wye act as friendly hubs, each with its own character: Georgian crescents and spa history, handsome high streets, indie bookshops and farmer’s markets overflowing with local lamb, cheeses and cider.
Outdoor lovers are spoiled. The Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park rolls across the south of Powys, where Pen y Fan rises to 886m – an achievable summit with knockout views.
To the west, the Elan Valley near Rhayader is a spectacular chain of reservoirs and Victorian dams wrapped in a designated International Dark Sky Park; bring binoculars for red kites by day and a thermos for dazzling star fields by night.
The Wye and Severn both thread through Powys, inviting gentle canoe trips, riverside picnics and salmon or grayling fishing in season. Llangorse Lake is a favourite for paddleboarding and birdwatching, while Lake Vyrnwy combines a storybook stone dam with miles of forest trails and an RSPB reserve rich in woodland species.
History is never far away. Powis Castle above Welshpool is a must-see: a red-stone medieval fortress softened by terraced Italianate gardens and a remarkable collection of artefacts.
On the English border, the Offa’s Dyke Path traces an ancient earthwork and gifts walkers day after day of hill-edge panoramas; Knighton’s Offa’s Dyke Centre is the natural starting point.
Brecon’s quiet cathedral, the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal’s towpaths, and a scattering of hilltop churches and standing stones fill in the layers between prehistory and the Victorians.
Culture here celebrates words, music and good company. Hay-on-Wye is the self-proclaimed “Town of Books”, with two dozen or so bookshops and the world-famous spring literature festival.
The Royal Welsh Show at Llanelwedd (near Builth Wells) is one of Britain’s great agricultural gatherings, mixing prize cattle with craft, food and rural sport. Throughout the year you’ll find town-hall concerts, makers’ markets and community eisteddfodau that showcase Welsh language and living tradition.
Cyclists and hikers get near-endless choice, from family-friendly waymarked trails to long, lonely bridleways across the Cambrian fringes. Mountain bikers make for the Dyfi forests; road riders test themselves on moorland passes before drifting into a café for bara brith. When weather rolls in – as it often does – duck into a pub with a log fire for local ale and a bowl of cawl, or tour a micro-brewery, distillery or cheesemaker.
Why visit? Powys balances big-nature adventure with small-town warmth. It’s a place to summit a mountain after breakfast and browse a second-hand bookshop by lunch; to watch red kites spiral over a valley, then sit under some of the darkest night skies in Europe. Come for the space, the stories and the welcome – and leave with boots a little muddier, and your shoulders an inch lower.
