Powis Castle and Llangollen
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
Welshie Big Adventure in Wales
If you have not had a chance to visit Powis Castle and Llangollen, I encourage you to put them on your list. While we chose to let the dogs take a day off from touring, most National Trust properties generally allow leashed dogs to roam most of the grounds of their properties.
Powis Castle
Sitting high up on a hill, Powis Castle is quite the sight to see when driving by. It is a fine red stone structure that looks more inviting than imposing. As we navigated up the drive to the castle, we passed through a deer park where we could see deer grazing casually among the old hardwood trees.
Powis is currently undergoing an electrical renovation and several of the rooms were closed. There was however, plenty of signage outside informing us of this, so it didn’t catch us by surprise.
In each of the rooms the Trust had cleverly placed hard hats and wiring for children to search for. In addition to the human size hard hats, the Trust had also placed adorable little felted mice working with miniature hard hats and wiring in each of the rooms as well. You don’t need to be a child to enjoy a bit of whimsy. Photos were not allowed inside so I cannot show you how cute they were.
If you do bring your dog to Powis, there are plenty of places to explore and sniff. The gardens stretch out down the hill and move from formal to woodsy. There were also several Ring-Necked pheasants strolling on the lawn and the wisteria were almost ready to bloom.
The most memorable landscape pieces I found were the ancient Yews. A sign explained that they started out trimmed into a conical shape and were then left to grow naturally for decades.
At some time, the grounds staff decided to shape them again and what resulted is a free form design. I was even able to walk through the hedge and appreciate the sheer size of the Yew trunks.
Llangollen and Pontcysylite Aqueduct
On another day we loaded the dogs into the car for the two plus hour drive to Llangollen and the Pontcysylite Aqueduct. I had read about a boat you can take across the aqueduct over the River Dee.
The aqueduct was designed by Thomas Telford and is still the world's highest aqueduct stretching 1000 feet long, and 127 feet above the Dee. It is an amazing site to see.
The Problem with the Boat Ride
Maisie and Winston can be quite charming when they want to be, and sometimes they are even charming when we need them to be. This was useful when we went to buy our tickets for the boat ride. The two staff members were struck by the cuteness of our dogs. But,
“They don’t allow dogs on the boats,” said the young man.
Winston assumed his usual charm offensive, slowly wagging his tail and looking into their eyes adoringly, while Maisie allowed herself to be petted and cooed over.
After debating what to do for a few minutes, the man said we could bring them on the boat since they were well behaved.
“They look like service animals to me.” He said with a smile.
I have never lied about the dogs role in my life. While it would be great to have them as service animals, traveling everywhere with us, they are just my special pets. So yes, I felt a little guilty getting on the boat with them.
Maisie acted like she was a service dog for the entire boat ride. She sat politely on my lap, and gave me kisses on the cheek, chin, neck, and nose ‘reassuring’ me that it was going to be okay. She is a good actress.
When we left the boat, we walked back across the aqueduct and were hit by gusts of wind that necessitated Brian and me to hold on to the fence as we moved along.
At this point, Winston was hugging the fence too since the wind appeared to be pushing him towards the water. Maisie fearlessly marched ahead without a worry.
Unless you suffer from a fear of heights, the views of the river Dee below swirling and rushing under us is stunning to look down and see.
If you come here for a visit, look for the Boaty Toasties boat moored just after the aqueduct. The gentleman lives on the boat and makes toasty sandwiches and coffee drinks for tourists walking along the path.
Be sure to get a toasty and a latte like we did. As we sat at a little metal table, the wind whipped around us, and we chatted with a couple sitting near us who had a Border terrier of their own.
The town of Llangollen is just about four miles from Pontcysylite. Llangollen is chock full of old buildings, views of the Dee, and fun shops and pubs. The town was crowded with school children getting out of classes, older people carrying shopping bags and a small handful of tourists.
We strolled along the streets looking at architecture and occasionally peeking into shops. One shop we passed by caused the dogs to stop cold and stare in. It was a small mercantile selling jams and teas and I couldn’t tell what the draw was for the pups.
It wasn’t until I looked down and saw the lovely dog snoozing by the owner that I figured out their interest. Winston turned and walked out but Maisie wanted to come in to say hello. What followed was a happy meet and greet.
Taking a slow travel trip allows us to take our time and enjoy each moment. This allowed us to take ten minutes to chat with two older people on the street who wanted to tell us about their dogs. It also allowed Maisie to have a happy few moments with a new shop dog.
As we as strolled along a side street, we spied several couples sitting at tables overlooking the Dee and having a pint. Brian and I looked at each other and thought that it looked like a great idea. We sat back and exchanged photos from the boat, sipped our drinks, and appreciated the beauty of our surrounding area.
Aaah you re making me homesick 😱