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Published: August 28th 2007
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From childhood, Jay and I have always wanted to see a real castle - not the sort where Queen Elizabeth lives - where you pay a lot of money to see silk and velvet draperies, numerous portraits of royal ancestors and a fortune in antique furniture and crystal. No! We wanted to see a stone fortress where you could really imagine the Normans raining arrows through narrow stone slits and pouring boiling oil down on the invading armies - a place where you could envision chain mail clad invaders catapulting boulders over the crenelated towers and trying to scale the rough walls with hastily constructed ladders.
The Welsh claims they have more castles per square mile than any other country and I think that is probably true. We could see on the map that there are many along the Northern and Southern coasts. We visited the south today because it's only a 2-3 hour drive from Basingstoke. The first castle we visited was Caldicot Castle in Gwent (Monmouthshire). It dates from Saxon times. The keep was built by Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, in 1220 and the forbidding looking gatehouse (see photo) by Thomas of Woodstock in the 1380s.
Caldicot Castle
Imposing gatehouse designed to make an invader think twice. There is no water in the moat anymore. The earth is covered with pale green foliage and flowers The castle was inherited or bestowed as a favor on a number of royal families through the centuries. In the 19th century the castle began to deteriorate when it was leased to tenants. A Victorian gentleman, J.R. Cobb, bought it in 1855 and did much to restore the castle. He was a former naval officer who was passionately interested in castles.
The castle is big enough to be impressive and small enough that you could imagine a wealthy English family living in it. Unlike most of the castles in Wales, it is still privately owned.
We were just as impressed with the beautiful countryside around the castle as with the building. (see photos)The Welsh are very proud of their history and the natural beauty of their country. We could see why. Southern Wales has rolling hills of every kind of green and beautiful tall trees that look so old that I think they stood when the Normans drove out the Saxons. There were flowers everywhere and beautiful shallow Wye river where fish love to spawn. The roads are covered with a canopies of trees.
At Caldicot Castle we found information on the largest castle in Wales, Caerphilly (just
Caldicot Castle
the rose garden inside the castle gates north of the capital city, Cardiff) and decided to drive there. On the way we saw Tintern Abbey. The abbey is a hollow ruin of some architectural interest. It was the town around it and countryside that really impressed us. There were huge bluffs to our left, a winding road (perfect for sports cars) the abbey, and the river on the right (see photo).
The landscape at Caerphilly castle was even more beautiful and greener. The castle is impressively large and surrounded by a moat plus a chain of lakes that made it impregnable during the Middle Ages. It was built by the Anglo-Norman lord, Gilbert de Clare in the late 13th century. There are working catapults and other siege engines inside the walls. Part of the castle was blocked off because a Dracula movie was being filmed. When I looked at the dark clouds over the huge towers, I could easily image a Frankenstein or Dracula movie set here.
Inside the castle walls were a group a motley crew in colorful Medieval costume yelling and slashing at one another. They also demonstrated the longbow (tall as a man and requiring a great deal of upper body strength). Along
Caldicot Castle
view from the keep with the broad sword, it was the most effective individual weapon of the time.
We have seen some amazing photos of mountains, waterfalls and seacoasts in Wales that rival any other part of the United Kingdom for beauty. Forget Scotland and Ireland! They are too expensive and crowded. We are returning here.
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Tracey
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Castles
Ahhhhhhhhh what a way to start my work day! And I now also have great photos downloaded that I can use as backgrounds. I tend to take several mini-mind vacations when I have a beautiful picture to look at. It's a great way to reduce stress. The map attached is awsome! I loved seeing the route taken in ralation to the area. And it's always nice to have a geography refresher. Luv ya :)