Powys

**Powys** (; Welsh: ) is a local-govrenment coonty an preserved coonty in Wales. The name is thocht tae derive frae the Latin "pagus" meanin the kintra-side, an' a' a cognate o 'pagan'.

## Geography
:*See the [[leet o places in Powys]] for aw touns an veelages in Powys.*
Powys covers the historic coonties o Montgomeryshire an Radnorshire, maist o Brecknockshire (Breconshire), an a sma pairt o Denbighshire &mdash; an aurie o 5,179&nbsp;km², makin it the lairgest coonty in Wales bi land aurie.

It is bundit tae the north bi Gwynedd, Denbighshire an Wrexham; tae the wast bi Ceredigion an Carmarthenshire; tae the east bi Shropshire an Herefordshire; an tae the sooth bi Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent, Monmouthshire an Neath Port Talbot.

Maist o Powys is muntainous, wi north-sooth transportation bi caur being difficult.

The majority o the Powys population is made up o sma veelages an touns. The lairgest touns are Newtown, Ystradgynlais, Brecon, an Welshpool wi populations o 12,783, 9,004, 7,901 and 6,269 respectively (2001).

Juist under a third o the residents hae Welsh linguistic skills an Welsh speakers are concentrated mainly in the rural auries baith in an aroond Machynlleth, Llanfyllin an Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant (whaur William Morgan first translatit the whole Bible intae Welsh in 1588) in Montgomeryshire (), an the industrial aurie o Ystradgynlais in the extreme sooth-wast o Brecknockshire (). Radnorshire () wis amaist completely Anglicised bi the end o the 18t century.

For a map o the current distribution o Welsh speakers see the wabsteid o bwrdd-yr-iaith/The Welsh Language Board 

## History
This aurie is named efter the aulder Welsh Kinrick o Powys, which occupee'd the northren twa thirds o the aurie as well as lands nou in Ingland, an came tae an end when it wis occupee'd bi Llywelyn ap Gruffydd o Gwynedd durin the 1260s.

In December 2007 Powys wis awardit Fairtrade Coonty status bi the Fairtrade Foundation.

## Heraldry
The gowd in the coonty coat o airms (see richt) seembolises the walth o the aurie. Black for baith minin an the Black Muntains. The foontain is a medieval heraldic chairge, aaways shown as a *roondel barry wavy Argent an Azure*. It represents water an, therefore, baith refers tae the water catchment aurie an the rivers an lakes. The airms, therefore, contain references tae the hills an muntains, rivers an lakes, water supply an industry.

The crest continues the colourin o the airms. A touer haes been uised in preference tae a mural crown, which alludes tae the coonty's military history an remains. Frae the touer rises a red kite, a bird amaist extinct elsewhaur in Breetain, but thrivin here. The bird is *semy o black lozenges* for the umwhile coal minin industry, while the gowden fleece it carries is a reference tae the importance o sheep rearing in Powys).

The coonty motto is, *Powys - the paradise o Wales* ().

## Govrenment

Powys wis oreeginally creatit on 1 Aprile 1974 unner the Local Govrenment Act 1972, an oreeginally haed Montgomery an Radnor an Brecknock as destricts unner it, which wur based directly on the umwhile admeenistrative coonties.

On 1 Aprile 1996, the destricts wur abolished, an Powys wis reconstitutit as a unitary authority, wi a minor border adjustment in the north-east (specifically the addition o the communities o Llansilin an Llangedwyn frae Glyndwr destrict in Clwyd, alang wi the muivement o the border so that aw o, an no as previously hauf o, Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant wis in Powys, aw historically pairt o Denbighshire).

The first Laird Lieutenant o Powys wis previously the Laird Lieutenant o Montgomeryshire.  The Laird Lieutenant o Brecknockshire an Laird Lieutenant o Radnorshire wur appointit as Lieutenants.

The present Laird Lieutenant is The Hon. Mrs Elizabeth Shân Legge-Bourke LVO o Crickhowell.

## Quality o life
Recent research suggests that Powys is the happiest place in the UK, housomeivver, even the researchers said the numbers wur no statistically significant.

## Places o interest
### Cave seestems
*Ogof Agen Allwedd
*Ogof Craig a Ffynnon
*Ogof Ffynnon Ddu
*Ogof y Daren Cilau

### Lakes, reservoirs an waterfaws
*The Elan Valley Reservoirs:
*Lake Vyrnwy
*Llangorse Lake
*Llyn Clywedog
*Pistyll y Llyn - ane o the heichest waterfaws in Wales
*Pistyll Rhaeadr
*Water-breaks it-neck - waterfaw in Radnorshire

### Museums an exhibitions
*Brecknock Museum, Brecon,
*Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth
*The Museum of Fiction, Llanerfyl
*Llandrindod Wells Museum
*Llanidloes Museum
*Newtown Textile Museum
*Powysland Museum, Welshpool
*The Judges Lodgings, Presteigne
*The Old Bell Museum, Montgomery
*The Robert Owen Museum, Newtown
*The Rhayader Museum & Gallery, Rhayader, Powys

### Castles
*Dolforwyn Castle
*Montgomery Castle
*Powis Castle
*Tretower Castle
*Aberedw Castle
*Castell Du

### Walks
*The Wye Valley Walk frae Chepstow tae Rhayader
*Offa's Dyke Path
*Glyndŵr's Way
*Severn Way
*Taff Trail
*The Sarn Sabrina circular walk frae Llanidloes via the source o the River Severn () in Hafren Forest, Plynlimon.

### Ithers
*The Black Muntains
*Brecon Beacons
*Radnor Forest
*Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway
*Welsh National Cycle Route
*Y Gaer, Brecon Roman fort
*Battle o Bryn Glas steid

## See an aw
* Leet o Laird Lieutenants o Powys
* Leet o Heich Sheriffs o Powys

## References

## External links
*
*Powys Coonty Cooncil *offeecial steid*
*Powys Heritage
*Tourism in Powys 
*Coleg Powys 
*Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust
*Reducin the aurie's carbon fuitprint  - Recyclin an Compostin in Powys