Royal Wedding: Giant screen helps mid Wales celebration

Visitors to Powis Castle will be able to watch the wedding on a giant screen

Royal wedding celebrations have been staged across mid Wales.

Street parties, fun fairs and other events were held to congratulate Prince William and the new Duchess of Cambridge.

At Powis Castle in Welshpool, people watched the ceremony and the build up to it on what it called Europe's biggest outdoor TV screen.

In Ceredigion, people joined a beach party at Aberporth, near Cardigan.

At Powis Castle, a 100sqm screen was the centrepiece of a garden party which started at 0930 BST, with a marching band leading a procession through the Park Lane gates.

Party-goers were encouraged to dress up, and visitors invited to bring their own picnics.

Elsewhere in Powys, Broad Street in Newtown town centre closed from 1600 BST until 2300 BST, to make way for a street party and various events including a free-runners' display and a laser show.

The celebrations will continue on Sunday, with a "history day" in the town.

Street parties were also held in Great Oak Street, Llanidloes, Broad Street in Montgomery and the road outside Llandinam Primary School, Llandinam.

There were street parties in Crickhowell, Presteigne, Llandrindod Wells and Knucklas, near Knighton.

'Escape the Wedding'

Not everybody in the region was celebrating, however. The cultural group Balchder Cymru (Pride of Wales) is holding an "Escape the Wedding" camp near Machynlleth.

Organiser Adam Phillips, from Mold, said: "This is the only way to escape the mass media and the over-hype of a foreign wedding."

The group will be visiting historical sites in the area associated with Owain Glyndwr, such as the village of Pennal, where Glyndwr wrote letters to the king of France during his rebellion against the English crown more than 600 years ago.

Up to 50 people are expected over the weekend at the camp but there were only about 15 people on Friday as the wedding took place in Westminster Abbey.

Beach party

The Machynlleth Comedy Festival also kicks off on Friday, and runs until Sunday.

There are no street parties in Ceredigion, but the coast has inspired the residents of Aberporth to stage a children's beach party.

It is organised by Lynne Box, Gilly Llewelyn and Rhiannon Fagan.

Mrs Box's son Giles, who helped on the day, said beforehand: "We're expecting 113 children, but with adults we could have about 200 there. It's all weather dependent, but the organisers wanted to lay something on for the children for the wedding day," he said.

The party took place on Dolwen beach, where a barbecue, a children's disco, face painting and a bouncy castle were among the attractions.