POPULAR S4C programme “Cynefin” (Habitat) will be coming from the Banwy Valley on Sunday night.

The programme will also feature Powis Castle and also discuss the Battle of Buttington, when a war band of Vikings found themselves stranded having sailed up the Severn.

Although the valley lies just a few miles from England, its unique dialect and culture are the source of many an interesting tale

The National Trust site at Powis Castle is a well known location having been built originally in the 13th century by the Powys princes to protect the area from the Princes of Gwynedd, and Wales.

It later became home to the Herbert family for close to four centuries, and presenter Heledd Cynwal had the opportunity to uncover some of the Castle’s hidden secrets.

“One of the castle’s most striking features is a marble table produced in Italy 450 years ago, and according to Herbert family legend, who were zealous Catholics, the table was a rather special gift from the Pope.

“As proof of this there is an image of a small upside down pear on the sides of the table, and in the Italian language ‘pereti’ is the word for a small pear, and Peretti was also the family name of the 16th century pope, Pope Sixtus the 5th.”

The valley’s geographical location means its history is littered with the battle sites and Siôn Tomos Owen recalls the story of one of the most notorious battles in Welsh history, dating back to 893, in the village of Talybont (Buttington).

“The weather had been exceptionally wet and the river Severn had burst its banks and that is the reason why a band of Vikings found themselves here – a long, long way from the sea. When the water level fell, they had no means of escape and had no choice but to demolish the ship and transform it into a defensive fortification. At the time the fighting between the Welsh and the Saxons was at its most fierce, but for whatever reason they joined forces to defeat the new enemy.

“Today, there is no sign of the fierce battle, except for a proud yew tree standing in the grounds of Talybont church that has been proved to date from exactly the same year – 893.”

The programme will be on S4C at 8pm on Sunday, February 11.