Why Powys should be on your property radar

The word Powys is not filled with onomatopoeic potential and, to the English ear at least, doesn’t conjure up a particular image. And yet the region has a dizzying lineage, one that stretches back to antiquity. In the fifth century, the Romans scarcely off the stage, Powys was ruled one of the last kings of the Britons named Vortigern – that’s according to the Venerable Bede not the comedically venerable Monty Python. Later still Powys was ruled by Brochwel Ysgrithrog (‘the fanged’ or ‘of the tusk’) and did battle with the Saxons before Alfred the Great had even been born – let alone burned his fingers on a cake. It thus qualifies as one of the most ancient place names in Britain – predating the Saxon era.

Bordered to the east by Shropshire and Herefordshire, Powys straddles middle Wales, and is the largest of its counties by far – with mountains, forests and the fertile valleys of the Severn and Wye rivers of arresting beauty.