The Baroque terraces
Four 150-metre terraces cut into the rock between the 1670s and 1705, with lead statues and an orangery, and the first reason to come.
Alexander Forst-Rakoczy — CC BY-SA 2.0 at · Jeff Buck — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hefin Owen from Wales — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Rosser1954 — CC BY-SA 4.0
The yews at Powis Castle have been clipped year after year for some three hundred years, and they have swollen into dark green masses some nine metres high that hang off the top terrace like clouds tethered to the rock. Below them four Baroque terraces, each about 150 metres long, step down a cliff that was cut and shaped between the 1670s and 1705 in the Italian manner, with lead statues, an orangery and deep flower borders, and above the whole composition the castle glows in a red-tinged stone that catches the late-afternoon light. The garden is the real event here; it is reckoned the finest surviving seventeenth-century terraced garden in Britain, not just in Wales. The castle began as a Welsh prince's stronghold in the thirteenth century and passed in 1587 to the Herbert family, who still live in one wing even though the National Trust has owned the place since 1952. Inside is the Clive Museum: more than three hundred objects from India and the Far East that came home with Robert Clive and his son in the East India Company era, the largest private collection of its kind in the UK, among them Tipu Sultan's painted tent, the gold tiger heads from his throne, swords, textiles and ivory. For an Arab visitor these pieces are moving and uncomfortable in equal measure; they are plainly the spoils of empire, and the Trust now points to that origin in its own labelling. One important warning for 2026: the castle rooms are temporarily closed for essential conservation work, so what is open is the garden, the museum and the cafe at a reduced off-peak price of 13 pounds for adults instead of 18. Check the National Trust page before you drive out. From Chester this is a full day out: around 65 kilometres south on the A483 through Wrexham and Oswestry, roughly an hour and twenty minutes, with free parking at the castle (do not trust the postcode in your sat nav, search for the castle by name or follow the brown signs). By train you need about two hours with a change at Shrewsbury to Welshpool station, then a 1.5 km uphill walk or a taxi. The site is steep: it is an uphill path from the car park to the castle, between the terraces there are many flights of steps and unfenced drops, and there is no step-free way into the castle or the Clive Museum, so pushchairs only work on the marked step-free route around the lower garden and small children need a firm hand. When the castle is open, the last ticket for the rooms is sold at 14:50. The lead peacock beside the Orangery Terrace came originally from Claremont, Robert Clive's own house in Surrey, and children pick it out long before they read a single label. The best months are May to October, when the borders are at full colour; in winter the Welsh rain and a sunset before four o'clock make for a short grey visit, though the garden stays open on reduced hours. Welshpool is a small town, so do not count on halal food there; bring your own or fall back on the vegetarian choices in the courtyard cafe. Honestly, Powis fits more naturally into a mid-Wales or Shrewsbury itinerary than into a Chester stay, but anyone who loves gardens will find the two and a half hours on the road a fair price.
Four 150-metre terraces cut into the rock between the 1670s and 1705, with lead statues and an orangery, and the first reason to come.
Fourteen three-hundred-year-old yew tumps, about nine metres tall, clipped once a year from cherry pickers and spilling over the top terrace.
More than three hundred objects from India and the Far East, the largest private collection of its kind in the UK, including Tipu Sultan's painted tent and the gold tiger heads from his throne.
Welshpool, Powys SY21 8RF
If gardens are your thing, yes: the terraces and yews are the heart of the place, the Clive Museum stays open and the reduced 13-pound price is fair. If you want furnished historic rooms, do not drive 65 km; Chirk Castle and Erddig near Wrexham are about forty minutes from Chester and both National Trust, but check their opening before you set off.
Children enjoy the space to run and hunting down the lead statues along the terraces, but the site is steep, full of steps and the terrace edges are unfenced, so a pushchair only works on the marked step-free route around the lower garden, and there is no step-free entry to the castle or museum; bring a carrier for a baby.