Best Places to Visit in Powys (Mid Wales)
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit in Powys (Mid Wales) are Claerwen Dam Viewpoint, Craig Goch Dam, Ffrwd Fawr, Penddol Rocks, Dolforwyn Castle, Garreg Ddu Dam, Rhaeadr Blaenhafren and Montgomery Castle.
Powys is big, empty mid-Wales country of high moors, dammed valleys and hilltop castles. The great works are the Victorian dams of the Elan Valley: the stone-faced Claerwen holding back the largest reservoir, the curved and arcaded Craig Goch at the top, and the unusual Garreg-ddu, hidden below the waterline under its viaduct.
Water falls elsewhere too, in the tall drop of Ffrwd Fawr near Dylife and the young Severn's Rhaeadr Blaenhafren in the Hafren Forest, while the Wye threads its rapids and pools at Penddol Rocks near Builth. Two ruined castles crown their ridges: Dolforwyn above the Severn near Newtown, raised by the last native Prince of Wales, and royal Montgomery above its little town.
This is thinly peopled country of long views and dark skies, a place to drive quiet lanes and walk out to the water. Some are grand engineering, others quiet ruins and falls.
Here are eight places to visit across Powys.
Claerwen Dam Viewpoint
Photo: Christine Matthews via Geograph.org.uk
The Claerwen Dam holds back the largest of the reservoirs in the Elan Valley, high in the remote uplands of mid-Wales. The dam is built of concrete but faced in dressed stone to match the older Victorian dams downstream, rising fifty-six metres and stretching over three hundred and fifty metres across the valley.
From the road along its foot the water spreads back into bare, rolling hill country. It was opened by the Queen in 1952 and sits within a national nature reserve.
Craig Goch Dam
Photo: Nigel Brown via Geograph.org.uk
Craig Goch is the highest of the Elan Valley dams, high in the uplands of mid-Wales, and often the most admired. The curved masonry dam carries a road along its top on a line of arches, with a domed valve tower and ornamental waterspouts.
It was built as part of the Victorian works that sent water to Birmingham, and finished around 1904. The reservoir behind spreads back into bare, rolling hill country.
Ffrwd Fawr
Photo: nick macneill via Geograph.org.uk
Ffrwd Fawr is a tall waterfall where the Afon Twymyn drops around forty metres over a rock face at the head of a gorge near Dylife, in the open moorland of mid-Wales. There is a small parking spot by the road, but no made path to the foot of the fall, which is viewed from a footpath above or reached by an informal scramble.
It runs at its best after heavy rain. It is an overlooked fall in bare, high country between Machynlleth and Llanidloes.
Penddol Rocks
Photo: Jim Osley via Geograph.org.uk
Penddol Rocks is a rocky stretch of the River Wye just upstream of Builth Wells, at Llanelwedd in Powys, where the river narrows and threads between rock formations. Rapids run over the ledges between deep pools and small pebble beaches, making it a well-known spot for white-water kayaking and for wild swimming, though the currents suit strong, experienced swimmers only.
It is a wild river spot rather than a laid-out attraction, with the rock, the fast water and the pools the whole of it.
Dolforwyn Castle
Photo: Jeremy Bolwell via Geograph.org.uk
Dolforwyn Castle is a ruined Welsh-built castle on a hilltop above the Severn valley, near Newtown in Powys. It was raised in the 1270s by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales, and taken by an English siege soon after.
The remains of a rectangular keep and a round tower stand consolidated on the ridge, reached by a steep track from a small car park. Cadw keeps the site, which is open and free.
Garreg Ddu Dam
Photo: Phillip Perry via Geograph.org.uk
The Garreg-ddu dam in the Elan Valley of mid-Wales is an unusual one, hidden below the waterline of the reservoir. A row of stone arches carries the road across the water on the Garreg-ddu viaduct, and beneath the surface a submerged dam holds the level up so that water can feed by gravity into the aqueduct to Birmingham from the nearby Foel Tower.
The dam wall only shows when the reservoir drops in a dry spell. The road over the viaduct gives an easy view across the water.
Rhaeadr Blaenhafren
Photo: John Lucas via Geograph.org.uk
Rhaeadr Blaenhafren, or Blaenhafren Falls, is a waterfall on the infant River Severn high in the Hafren Forest near Llanidloes in Powys, not far below the river's source on the slopes of Plynlimon. Well-made forest paths and boardwalks follow the young river up through the conifers from a car park, and the falls lie on the way toward the source itself, which many walkers go on to reach.
The water drops through mossy rock in a quiet, remote stretch of forest. It is free to visit, on a walk of a few miles.
Montgomery Castle
Photo: Colin Park via Geograph.org.uk
Montgomery Castle is the ruin of a thirteenth-century royal castle set on a narrow rocky ridge directly above the small town of Montgomery in Powys, with wide views over the Severn valley and the Welsh border. Visitors walk up from the town to a free site, where the footings and standing fragments of the gatehouse, D-shaped towers, curtain walls and deep rock-cut ditches remain, crossed now by timber footbridges.
It was begun in 1223 on the orders of the young King Henry III, on a stronger site than the earlier earthwork castle nearby. Parliament pulled it down in 1649 after the Civil War.
It is in the care of Cadw.
FAQs
Which of the Elan Valley dams in Powys is worth seeing?
Craig Goch, the highest of the Elan Valley dams in Powys, is the one often most admired, carrying a road along its curved arched top. The stone-faced Claerwen holds back the largest reservoir, and the unusual Garreg-ddu is hidden below the waterline, its submerged dam only showing when the reservoir drops in a dry spell.
Where can you walk to a waterfall in Powys?
Two Powys waterfalls reward a walk: Ffrwd Fawr near Dylife and Rhaeadr Blaenhafren in the Hafren Forest. Ffrwd Fawr drops around forty metres at the head of its gorge, viewed from a footpath above with no made path to the foot. Rhaeadr Blaenhafren, on the infant Severn near Llanidloes, is reached on well-made forest paths and boardwalks toward the river's source.
What can you see at Dolforwyn and Montgomery castles?
Both are free Cadw ruins crowning their ridges in Powys. Dolforwyn, above the Severn near Newtown, was raised by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales, and royal Montgomery, above its little town, was begun in 1223 for Henry III, with wide views over the Severn valley and the border.
Conclusion
Powys keeps its best places in high moors, dammed valleys and hilltop ruins. The Victorian dams of the Elan Valley are the great works, the stone-faced Claerwen, the arcaded Craig Goch and the hidden Garreg-ddu under its viaduct.
Water falls elsewhere at the tall Ffrwd Fawr near Dylife and the young Severn's Rhaeadr Blaenhafren in the Hafren Forest, while the Wye threads its rapids at Penddol Rocks near Builth. Two ruined castles crown their ridges: Dolforwyn above the Severn near Newtown and royal Montgomery above its little town.
From grand dam to hilltop castle, these are the places to seek out across Powys.
