Luggy Motte

Luggy Motte, also known as Tomen Aberriw, is a medieval motte-and-bailey castle in Berriew, near Welshpool in Powys. It stands on a grassy mound surrounded by the remains of an old defensive bank and ditch. The site dates from between 1000 and 1153, built during the early centuries of Norman influence in Wales. This historic earthwork is one of the best-preserved examples of its kind in Britain. It is protected by Cadw, the Welsh historic environment service, and listed as SAM MG043. The borderlands of Shropshire, Cheshire, Herefordshire, Powys and Flintshire contain the largest concentration of such mottes anywhere in the country. Visitors find a quiet grassy hill rising gently above the River Severn floodplain. The mound is topped by a flat platform where the wooden keep once stood. From the top there are wide views across the Severn valley and towards the distant hills of mid-Wales. The surrounding fields and lanes still carry the quiet atmosphere of a place that has watched centuries pass.