A red medieval castle above one of Britain's great baroque gardens, on a ridge outside Welshpool
Open to visitorsa National Trust place — check opening times and admission before you go
The garden is the thing that stops people in their tracks. Laid out in the late 1600s in the Italian and French baroque manner, it drops off the ridge below the castle in four great terraces, hung with lead statues and huge domes of clipped yew that have been shaped for the best part of three centuries. On a warm afternoon the sheltered terraces bake, and the borders are worth the visit on their own.
The castle above it is medieval, built in red stone by Welsh princes and never left to fall into a ruin, lived in the whole time, which is rarer than it sounds. Inside is the Clive Museum, a large collection of Indian and Far Eastern pieces brought back by the family of Robert Clive, whose son married into the Herberts of Powis. All of it is the paid, set-hours part of a visit, cared for by the National Trust since 1952.
It sits just outside Welshpool, so you can make a proper day of it. The Severn Way and the Montgomery Canal both pass close below, giving you a flat, easy towpath and riverbank walk, and if you want to earn a view there is a stiffer pull up Y Golfa to the west. Bring layers whatever the forecast, as the terraces catch the sun but the ridge catches the wind, and give yourself time, since it is a fair drop down through the garden and a proper climb back up to the gate.
