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Powis Castle, Welshpool added to National Trust in Wales by D0c.Col on 29/06/2023

Powis Castle
The present Powis Castle was built in the mid-13th century by a Welsh prince - Gruffudd Ap Gwenwynwyn who wanted to establish his independence from the aggressive princes of Gwynedd in North Wales. This was an act of defiance and in contrast to those built by the English at Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech in order to suppress the Welsh and consolidate Edward I’s conquest of Wales.
By the late 13th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd of Gwynedd had established himself as Prince of Wales, and in 1274 he destroyed Powis Castle, forcing Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn into exile.
However, within three years Llywelyn’s principality had crumbled leaving Gruffudd of Powys able to regain his lordship and rebuild the castle. Gruffudd, his son and grandson had all died by 1309, and with no male heir, the castle and lordship passed to an heiress, Hawise who married Sir John Charlton from Shropshire.
In 1312, Hawise’s uncle attacked the castle in an attempt to claim the lordship but failed. Charlton repaired the damage and built two great drum towers that can be seen today, either side of the castle’s west entrance.
Descendants of the Charltons continued as Lords of Powis for over 100 years but in 1421, the lack of a male heir resulted in the castle and estate being divided between two daughters, Joyce and Joan, who had married Sir John Grey and Sir John Tiptoft respectively.
Under the Tiptofts and their successor, Lord Dudley, the Outer Ward of the castle was neglected and needed considerable restoration. Luckily, in the 1530s Edward Grey, Lord Powis, took possession of the whole castle and began a major re-building programme.

In 1587, Edward Herbert purchased the castle and estate and it remained in the hands of the Herbert family until 1952 when George, 4th Earl of Powis, bequeathed the castle and gardens to the National Trust.
In 1902 George began its modernisation by introducing electric lighting and a state of the art hot-water central heating system, and at the same time he worked with his architect to re-establish the 17th Century décor in many of the state rooms, a style he thought more befitting of a medieval castle.
The estate was at its height during the Edwardian Period with notable guests arriving every weekend throughout the winter season, including the Prince and Princess of Wales in November 1909. However, this golden era was not to last as George was to suffer a number of family tragedies. The countess died following a car accident in 1929, both his sons, died whilst on active service, Percy from wounds received at the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and Mervyn in a plane crash in 1943. With no direct heir to the castle, on his death bed in 1952, George bequeathed Powis to the nation, in the care of the National Trust.
In the garden four of the 150m long original terraces remain, the last two having reverted to banks of earth covered with shrubs. The top Terrace is planted with a range of yew trees, a distinctive feature at Powis.

William Emes, apart from the destruction of the water garden, did make improvements to the estate. A road that cut through the park just below the castle was diverted, and much planting was undertaken on the Wilderness Ridge, the line of hills opposite the castle, on the other side of the Great Lawn. The last major transformation of the gardens was undertaken in the early 20th century by Violet, wife of the fourth earl.

The Herbert family continue to live in part of the castle, under an arrangement with the National Trust. The Trust has undertaken a number of major works of restoration during its ownership, including the Marquess Gate,[ the Grand Staircase, and the sculpture of Fame in the Outer Courtyard. Powis Castle is a Grade I listed building, while its gardens have their own Grade I listing and together they form an irresistible attraction that receives over 200,000 visitors a Year.

The flight was inside a FRZ but had authorisation from the relevant ATC and the local council does not have a bylaw to prevent TOAL. I was easily able to launch the DJI mini 3 Pro close from a public path just outside NT property and maintained VLOS with the assistance of a spotter (my wife).

https://www.youtube.com/@DocColVideo/

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Co-ordinates: 52.65246, -3.15728 • what3words: ///strongman.snapper.just
The originator declared that this location was inside a flight restriction zone at the time of being flown. Permission to fly was obtained from Welshpool ATC. It remains the responsibility of any pilot to check for any changes before flying at the same location. Landowner permission may be required before taking off.

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St Lawrence’s Church, Mereworth, Tonbridge and Malling (By Venners07)

St Lawrence’s Church was built for the 7th Earl of Westmorland in 1744-46, probably to a design by Roger Morris, previously an assistant to Colen Campbell who had designed the neo-Palladian Mereworth Castle for Lord Westmorland twenty years before. It replaced a church, mediaeval with a low tower, next to the castle.

St Lawrence’s is unique among country parish churches, with one of the most remarkable neo-classical interiors in Europe, designed like a Roman basilica. All its surfaces are painted with trompe l’oeil classical designs, and organ pipes are depicted on the west wall above the gallery. The ornate tower and spire have close similarities with several significant town churches, notably James Gibbs’s baroque St Martin-in-the-Fields, London. The display of heraldic glass, contemporary with the church, is unique, and there are also some fine late 19th stained glass windows.

Mediaeval monuments from the earlier church were transferred here in 1744 and can be seen in the NW and SW corners of St Lawrence’s. There is a peal of six bells, rung every Sunday and at all other services.

Major repairs were made to the tower and spire and the interior paintwork was repaired and conserved in 2007-9. This work cost almost £1 million.

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Co-ordinates: 51.25872, 0.377923 • what3words: ///heap.skirting.packet
Hadlow Castle, Tonbridge and Malling (By Venners07)

Hadlow Castle, located in Kent, England, was an 18th-century Gothic-style country house largely demolished in the 20th century. Its most famous surviving feature is the Grade I Listed Hadlow Tower (or "May's Folly"), a 52-meter (170ft) tower restored in 2013. As of 2026, the tower, known as the tallest residential folly in the UK, has been listed for sale.

Built around 1838 by Walter Barton May, the tower was designed by George Ledwell Taylor with an octagonal design, often cited as a "Rapunzel-style" structure.

The main house was demolished in the mid-20th century. Following damage in the 1987 storm, the tower was later rescued, restored by the Vivat Trust in 2012–2013, and subsequently used as luxury accommodation.

The Tower was sold in 2020 for £1.23 million and by late 2025 was listed for sale again at a higher price, with its status as a public visitor site potentially changing. It offers stunning 360-degree views of the Kent countryside from the top, features a lift for access, and includes ornate Gothic architecture.

NOTE - this is a private residence so I advise keeping flying to a sensible distance from Tower.

TOAL is possible from a public footpath at the back of the castle. Very open with fields to the back, also good for a flight and some pretty pictures.

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Co-ordinates: 51.22261, 0.339004 • what3words: ///wiped.reason.workloads
Gouthwaite Reservoir, Harrogate (By Osdog)

Tranquil area, good car park from which to launch and land. Be careful though as the Reservoir itself is an SSSI - so don't overfly it. Keep away from the water.

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Co-ordinates: 54.13145, -1.816921 • what3words: ///served.warblers.sharper
St Andrews Steyning, Horsham (By grandad1950)

Dating from 1080 St Andrews parish church in Steyning West Sussex is a grade 1 listed building. Enlarged over the centuries it is in the historic part of Steyning.

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Co-ordinates: 50.89009, -0.324893 • what3words: ///education.composed.outsize
St Peter and St Paul's Church, Rushcliffe (By Fuzzyjack)

St Peter and St Paul's Church, Shelford is a parish church in the Church of England in Shelford, Nottinghamshire.

The church is of medieval style and era but was heavily restored between 1876 and 1878 by Ewan Christian. The tower of the church was used by then Royalists during the siege of Shelford Manor during the English Civil War, but they were eventually defeated by Parliamentarian forces.

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Co-ordinates: 52.97459, -1.015999 • what3words: ///influence.enchanted.keyboards
North Stoke Hill Fort, Bath and North East Somerset (By gasbag43)

Perched on a prominent spur of the Cotswold Edge, North Stoke Hill Fort (also known as Little Stowey) represents a classic example of a "promontory fort." Unlike the more complex multi-ditch forts, North Stoke utilizes the natural drop-offs of the hillside to provide defence on three sides, requiring man-made earthworks only across the "neck" of the spur to secure the interior.

This site dates primarily to the Iron Age, a period where tribal tensions necessitated these high-altitude enclosures for both livestock protection and territorial signalling. From this vantage point, occupants could monitor movement across the entire Severn Valley. Historically, the area is deeply linked to the Roman occupation of nearby Aquae Sulis (Bath); the proximity suggests that such forts were either decommissioned or repurposed as the Roman administrative machine took hold in the 1st century AD.

On the Northern Ramparts, you can clearly see the curving line of trees and scrub that follows the original bank and ditch. While the interior has been heavily levelled by centuries of agriculture—now visible as the rich, ploughed brown earth—the perimeter remains defined by these tenacious boundary markers.

The panoramic views showcase the "command and control" perpsective toward the Bristol Channel and the Welsh hills.

Lansdown Roman Camp is located about 400 metres west of North Stoke, featuring a rectangular stony bank and buried ditch, just visible at the bottom of one of the shots (although much is now hidden by the golf course that now sits over most of it)

You can also see Fair Field Barrows, two prehistoric round barrows located in the nearby "Fair Field" area just over the wall of the Lansdown Golf Club.

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Co-ordinates: 51.41836, -2.419481 • what3words: ///plays.insect.live
Newton Cap Viaduct, County Durham (By Keltoi)

Newton Cap Viaduct was built in 1857 to carry the Bishop Auckland to Durham City railway across the River Wear and Newton Cap Bank, which leads down to the river.

The viaduct is constructed in stone and brick, it is 828ft long with 11 arches, with an elevation of 100ft above the river. The railway line was formally opened on the 1st April 1857 by a special train drawn by one of George Stephenson’s patent engines (No.55).

The viaduct fell into disuse when the railway closed in 1968. In 1972 Durham County Council converted the viaduct for use as a footpath. However, to relieve road traffic congestion on the single lane medieval Newton Cap Bridge at Bishop Auckland, work began to strengthen the viaduct and convert it for road use; this was completed in July 1995 and the busy A689 road was rerouted over the viaduct.

The viaduct is Grade 2 Listed.

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Co-ordinates: 54.66667, -1.681505 • what3words: ///script.empty.imprinted
St John the Baptist Church, Bromsgrove (By stubbyd)

This is the church of St John the Baptist but frequently just called St John's.

If you zoom in, then you can see the different coloured tip of the spire which has just been restored with the project finishing October 2025.

I parked outside the church itself but there are plenty of free parking slots nearby. For take off and landing I went to one corner of the graveyards and permission was asked of and granted by my mate, the current vicar.

if you were to fly there today, then you would note that all the roads (and paths) around the church have been renewed and will be the same deeper black as visible at the back of the church.

Also of interest, and can just be seen at the bottom left side are two gravestones which railway enthusiasts would likely know about.

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Co-ordinates: 52.33418, -2.064613 • what3words: ///manliness.wished.mental
Tardebigge Reservoir, Bromsgrove (By stubbyd)

Tardebigge Reservoir
and Tardebigge Locks (some of).

The reservoir itself is just within a flight restriction zone, but this is for a farm-based airfield called Stoney Lane, that I can't find any contact details for.

That said, my take-off/landing are and flight were all outside of any restriction zone.

I had intended to try and capture just the locks, well some of them anyway as this is the longest flight of locks in the UK, so getting all of them in a single shot is nigh on impossible! But when I stuck my drone up, I realised the reservoir (also sometimes called Tardebigge lake) became my main point of interest.

Anyway, whether you fly or walk the locks, it was a lovely peaceful spot just on the outskirts of Bromsgrove. I've marked up where I parked but my mate, a local vicar, suggested the car park in Tardebigge village itself. This is also the location of the top lock in the flight.

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Co-ordinates: 52.31339, -2.023759 • what3words: ///jumpy.whistling.notched
St Peters and St Pauls, Chichester (By grandad1950)

The parish church of St Peters is a grade 1 listed building in West Wittering dating from the 11th century. There is a footpath from the church to the beach.

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Co-ordinates: 50.77996, -0.899334 • what3words: ///bronzed.frightens.stags

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