Wales - full of castles

[littlebabyjesus]

I love Carreg Cerren too. It's just great fun to run around (or fall over around...it was very rainy the last time we went to the 'dungeons' eta. pic of our last visit in perfect summer holiday weather. Still looks awesome though, eh?View attachment 242579

All these photos of deep blue skies. Here is the truth. This is what it will actually look like when you go there.

 

[JuanTwoThree]

Nevern has many beautiful and interesting things to see: a Celtic cross , Ogham and Latin gravestones, weeping yew trees, the Trewern Arms.

Hidden in the atmospheric woods is Nevern Castle. Or rather 'nearly isn't'





Though they found a bit:



A typical scene; two people actually working, one gaffer and as many onlookers.

To be fair it is interesting working out where the walls and ramparts might have once been

 

[editor]

More history

 

[blossie33]

The castles I remember from holidays are Carew Castle


and Manorbier

 

[editor]

I see your pathetic Morgraig, and raise you one Cwm Camlais...
View attachment 242585

Yep, that's it, folks!

I see your pitiful Cwm Camlais and raise you one Twmpath Castle (aka a grassy mound).



I grew up quite close to this and camped on it a couple of times expecting ghosts'n'shizzle, but nothing stirred.

There were at one time two motte and bailey castles in northern Cardiff. One located in Whitchurch - and levelled earlier this century - and the other which still stands today called the Twmpath, on the Northern edge of Rhiwbina (near Wenallt Road in Rhiwbina). It still stands a good 30 feet high, although it has a fair amount of vegetation covering it. It is associated with two local legends, one which refers to it being a burial mound erected about 1089 for Iestyn ap Gwrgan, Lord of Glamorgan, although you don`t usually see burial mounds with deep ditches around them! The second legend refers to a story where the Devil piles up some earth in the form of a mound.

Twmpath Castle

 

[editor]

More Twmpath info!

Situated near the bottom of the Wenallt lies what is probably the biggest historical monument in Rhiwbina today.

The Twmpath is a late 11th century Norman motte and is shrouded in legend and lore. Historically, the Twmpath’s enduring story centres around Iestyn ap Gwrgant then King of Glamorgan, and his downfall.

Towards the latter part of the 11th century, a group of Normans, led by Robert fitz Hamo, Earl of Gloucester, were sent by William I to suppress the Welsh in the South Wales lowlands. Legend has it that fitz Hamo sought the help of a Norman knight by the name of Eynion. His job was to forge a false alliance with Iestyn ap Gwrgant. The apparent aim of this alliance was to drive the Normans back towards Bristol and the West Country.

At Rhiwbina, Iestyn’s and Eynion’s armies entered into battle with the Norman army in a field not far from the present day Butcher’s Arms pub. However, no sooner had battle commenced than Eynion withdrew his men and marched to Swansea.

Iestyn’s army were left to defend for themselves but were hopelessly outnumbered. The dead were piled in one great mound and covered with mud. One version of the story tells that Iestyn was placed on his horse and buried upright in the mound that is known as the Twmpath. The battle was so fierce that the local stream ran red with blood. To this day, it’s known as Nant y Weadlydd or Bloody Brook.

The Twmpath would have commanded good views of the area in its day. It can be found off Wenallt Road, a hundred yards or so south of the bridge crossing the M4, and a hundred yards or so West of Wenallt Road. You can still see the ditch around the Twmpath, but there are no visible signs of any other buildings.

The bailey of the Twmpath still stands an impressive 30 feet high, although it is somewhat overgrown these days.

Twmpath offers a glimpse of a bygone time

Twmpath offers a glimpse of a bygone time

livingmags.co.uk

 

[JuanTwoThree]

Twmpath is Welsh for a ceilidh. We had them in our barn.

 

[RichardWin]

Raglan is pretty good

Rubbishest one has to be Monmouth. Hidden away and very easy to miss. More of a large room than a castle.

Builth Wells castle has to be the worst. Walk up a hill and there's nothing left but a couple of grassy mounds if I remember correctly

 

[planetgeli]

The castles I remember from holidays are Carew Castle
View attachment 244478

and Manorbier
View attachment 244479

Manorbier is an excellent place full stop. Anyone even vaguely in the area when people are allowed to travel again, I highly recommend going there. It's a pretty village, it has that castle (with an entrance fee) and a beautiful and clean beach. Go east from the beach up the cliff and it's a lovely relatively short circular walk with magnificent sea views that brings you eventually back to the village. This walk has a dolmen called the King's Quoit and some spectacular cliff features that begin with z which I can't for the life of me remember at the moment (if someone knows, I'll be eternally grateful)*. Go west from the beach and you have an even longer, spectacular sea-view walk.

And sorry but that's a rubbish picture. Here's a better one.



*Zawns - steep-sided inlet in cliffs. That was driving me mental.

 

[fucthest8]

Im fond of Castell y Bere, but it's not that impressive, an absolutely completely ruined pile:

View attachment 242576

But the setting/location are great and picturing it in an undestroyed state when visiting (it's never busy) is always a pleasure.

Yeah lovely spot



I also like Harlech, the way it's just on the edge of town, looking out over the dunes.

 

[editor]

Twmpath is Welsh for a ceilidh. We had them in our barn.

Well, sort of!

Twmpath is a Welsh word literally meaning a hump or tump, once applied to the mound or village green upon which the musicians sat and played for the community to dance.

 

[fucthest8]

One side of Harlech

 

[nogojones]

Before medievial building regulations came into force, we had hill forts.

Caer Caradoc

 

[Dandred]

Im fond of Castell y Bere, but it's not that impressive, an absolutely completely ruined pile:

View attachment 242576

But the setting/location are great and picturing it in an undestroyed state when visiting (it's never busy) is always a pleasure.

That is just next to where I grew up.

 

[Chilli.s]

Yeah lovely spot

View attachment 244491

You can almost see my tent in that shot

 

[Chilli.s]

That is just next to where I grew up.

You must know Mrs Williams

 

[ginger_syn]

My local castle growing up in Merthyr Tydfil.

 

[MathFabMathonwy]

Interesting fact! What's your favourite Welsh castle?

Carreg Cennen, closely followed by Dinefwr. I'm a Llandeilo fan at heart and also love the story of Carreg Cennen being accidentally sold!

 

[Gerry1time]

Given they're in the vicinity of my mum, and I've visited them many times, I've a lot of fascination for the North Welsh castles. Conwy for example, for looking exactly like the sort of medieval castle a young boy is brought up to be excited about, built by Edward I.

It was apparently comprehensively whitewashed when built, and would thus have shone brightly across the estuary, at the former site of Deganwy Castle, which was destroyed by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, who in turn was destroyed by Edward I, along with his family, in the local area. To my mind, Conwy Castle was thus built as a giant and deliberate 'fuck you' from Edward I to the people of the local area, which is as appaling as it is ballsy. How they got something of that size built in the face of what must have been extreme local opposition is in itself fascinating. I suspect the waterfront and estuary location had a lot to do with it, with material and workmen being brought in directly by sea, whilst the land around them resisted in the extreme. The amount of stories, skirmishes and small acts of resistance that must have happened there over those years, yet went unrecorded, must be phenomenal.

Similarly Beumaris, built in the same campaign, is horribly awesome as a pinnacle of medieval killing architecture, designed to slaughter those who tried to attack in a decreasing series of symmetric concentricities. You can read about it here, but it's humbling to go there and walk around it, trying to imagine how you might attack it. No matter where you look, you think "Oh, they could have shot me from there, or there, or there..." . A building designed primarily for killing.

Caernarfon was built in the same castle building campaign too, but I struggle with that one as it's where an English royal family member now goes to be invested as Prince of Wales, which seems like something the English should have got over and done away with by now. It's historically fascinating to imagine the history of Edward I and his invasions of Wales, but I don't think it's appropriate to be trying to relive them still to this day. If you really must be Prince of Wales, catch the early train from Paddington to Newport direct, get it done, then fuck off home on the next train back. IMHO anyway.

 

[JuanTwoThree]

Nevern has many beautiful and interesting things to see: a Celtic cross , Ogham and Latin gravestones, weeping yew trees, the Trewern Arms.

Hidden in the atmospheric woods is Nevern Castle. Or rather 'nearly isn't'

View attachment 242614

View attachment 242615

Though they found a bit:

View attachment 242616

A typical scene; two people actually working, one gaffer and as many onlookers.

To be fair it is interesting working out where the walls and ramparts might have once been


View attachment 242619

Stuff about Nevern

Nevern Castle – A dramatic piece of Pembrokeshire history

neverncastle.wales

 

[Elpenor]

The ones I remember visiting as a kid (spending every Easter and summer on the North Wales coast seeing my grandparents) are Conwy, then Beaumaris and Caernarfon once (a bit far to go in a day I think). Rhuddlan castle was closed for about 10 years as it was being done up; we went there once I think.

 

[Dandred]

CLose to my home town. Castle y Bere

 

[StoneRoad]

Next time I'm in Tywyn, I'm going there - ran out of time on the last visit !

 

[Dandred]

Next time I'm in Tywyn, I'm going there - ran out of time on the last visit !

Have you been to Dolgoch falls near Abergynolwyn?

Lovely place.

 

[StoneRoad]

Have you been to Dolgoch falls near Abergynolwyn?

Lovely place.

Yes, stayed at the cottages and walked the falls a couple of times, as well as riding on the "tin tram" ...

I've got a few images on my Ipernity (in an album) [not all titled etc yet, so not yet visible, I hope to change that during next week]

here : *New* DoL - Dolgoch

 

[QueenOfGoths]

I know it's already been mentioned here but we went to Harlech Castle a couple of weeks ago and it was fantastic!

 

[belboid]

Chirk Castle. Not the most impressive, tbh. Even tho it’s one of Henry I’s, eighteenth century restorations made a lot of the insides into neo-classical tosh. A decent dungeon and great gardens tho.

 

[JimW]

Grew up for a while not far over the border in Cheshire and one of my mate's dad's, who was a terrible driver but a nice bloke, used to take a gang of us castle visiting on Sundays in his battered old Rover. Loved it, recall Dolgellau was nice

Also trying to remember the name of one of the rarer "native" ones which had just had some of the woodwork replaced not long before we visited as it was used for a film. Presume it would have been associated with Glyndwr.

 

[cybershot]

I know it's already been mentioned here but we went to Harlech Castle a couple of weeks ago and it was fantastic!View attachment 288038View attachment 288039

Was there August bank holiday weekend myself. Had to double check I wasn't in the pictures!

Will post mine once got them off the SD card.

 

[editor]

Castle facts!

Wales is believed to have more castles per square mile than any other country in the world.
Caerphilly Castle is the largest castle in Wales and the second largest in Europe.
Chepstow Castle is Britain's oldest surviving medieval stone castle made of stone. Its construction began in 1067.
Beaumaris Castle on Anglesey is generally considered the finest example of a concentric castle in Europe. It has been a World Heritage site since 1986.
The ruined Flint Castle is the only British castle with two donjons. It is famous for having the thickest walls (7 m / 23 ft) of any castle anywhere.
Powis Castle possesses Britain's oldest, and one of the last, true formal baroque gardens and is the most visited National Trust property in Wales.
Conwy Castle is considered to be one of the finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military architecture in Europe,



From: The History of Wales