50 Castles

[wilbjr21]

Wow - this is really a very interesting trip. Great photos of great castles.

Living where I do I've seen a few in Northumberland.

We needed protection from the Jockanese

 

[DC]

what a super trip out. love it

 

[GrinningGSer]

Hay Castle is a medieval fortification and 17th-century mansion house in the small town of Hay-on-Wye in Powys, Wales. Originally constructed as part of the Norman invasion of Wales, the castle was designed as a ringwork overlooking the town in either the late 11th or the early 12th centuries.

Hay Castle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This 13th Century gateway is the oldest working defensive doors still in situ . This gentleman pointed out how the strengthening woodwork was diagonal in order to withstand battering rams . He asking said that some woodwork , to the right of the gate has been carbon dated to yr 900ish
This is one of William de Braose’s castles ; (remember he was the Marcher Lord who murdered his unarmed dinner guests at Abergavenny castle )

 

[GrinningGSer]

Day 2

Day 2

Castle 8 Dol-Forwwyn Castle

This castle is but a ruin at the top of a very steep private road ; I started walking then the 28.5 degrees of heat said no … too much for my Sidi Adventure boots .

Built by Welsh lord Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (Llywelyn the Last) in 1273 on hill above the Severn Valley, Dolforwyn Castle was a flashpoint in Anglo-Welsh relations from the
very beginning. When word reached King Edward I about the castle, he wrote to Llewelyn forbidding him to continue with the construction. Llewelyn responded that he did not need the king’s permission to build on his own land and carried on regardless.

Unfortunately, Llywelyn’s defiance was to be short-lived.
Marcher lord Roger Mortimer took Dolforwyn in 1277
after a two-week siege. The castle was abandoned in the
14th century, falling into disrepair until comparatively
recent excavations uncovered its crumbling remains.

Dolforwyn Castle | Cadw

Ruined symbol of Welsh defiance Built by Welsh lord Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (Llywelyn the Last) in 1273 on hill above the Severn Valley, Dolforwyn Castle was a flashpoint in Anglo-Welsh relations from the very beginning. When word reached King Edward I about the castle, he wrote to Llewelyn...

cadw.gov.wales

 

[GrinningGSer]

The road from Hay to Newtown must rank as one of my favourites ; empty fast roads , fabulous hairpins ;
Not as fab as Zig Zag Hill ( ( Compton Abbas) or Devil’s staircase ( Abergwesyn) , but hey wonderful .

 

[GrinningGSer]

Castle 9 Montgomery Castle

Montgomery is one of those castles that, even in ruin, retain a powerful atmosphere and presence that transcend its state of preservation. Perhaps it’s something to do with
its location, on a steep crag above a pretty Georgian town with all-seeing views across the Welsh border.
Commenced around 1223 on the orders of Henry III in response to the growing power of Welsh native prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great), Montgomery’s
stone castle replaced a nearby wooden fort known as Hen Domen. Perched on its rocky ridge, this new fortress was significantly sturdier and more sophisticated, with a stone
inner ward, well, deep defensive ditches crossed by drawbridges and walled town.
The castle remained in use for centuries, surviving attacks by Llywelyn in 1228 and 1231 and Llywelyn’s son Dafydd in 1245. The castle’s ultimate end came during the Civil
War, when it fell to the Parliamentarians and was demolished in 1649, leaving just the crumbling towers and low walls that stand today.

https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/montgomery-

castle
Hugely impressive with deep ditches and the view made the long motorcycle hill climb worthwhile .
How did they build these structures ?

 

[GrinningGSer]

Castle 10 Powys Castle
I’m a Cadw … so no entry unless National Trust .
But the cafe and courtyard was most welcome .

Powis Castle was built in the mid-13th century by a Welsh prince - Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn - wanting to establish his independence from his traditional enemies, the aggressive princes of Gwynedd (North Wales).
This is in contrast to the other castles of North Wales (such as Caernarfon, Harlech and Conwy) which built by the English to consolidate Edward I’s conquest of Wales.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/powis-castle-

and-garden/history-of-powis-castle

A huge estate with manicured, beautiful gardens : but so got that nobody was out there

 

[GrinningGSer]

Tired , hot , frustrated that Google maps wasn’t taking me to my campsite : in a lay-by Vrnwy , careless and it had to happen ….

I had a soft landing because my airbag activated .
Impossible to pick up ( too much weight in the downhill box ) without a helpful passer by . No injury and bike only has a couple of crash bar scuffs …so continued to the campsite.

 

[GrinningGSer]

Day 3

Heavy dew at 6am this morning when I packed up , replaced my airbag canister , and headed off .

Castle 11 Chirk Castle

In 1282 when the English King Edward I defeated the Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (also known as Llywelyn the Last, and grandson of Llywelyn the Great), he established the new Marcher Lordship of Chirklands.
The Chirklands were granted to Roger Mortimer in
recognition of his service in King Edward's wars against the Welsh and Scottish and he built Chirk Castle in the late 13th century.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/chirk-

castle/history-of-chirk-castle

This is a HUGE manicured National Trust Estate !

First I had to depart the stunningly beautiful Vrnwy area : very remote .(You could remember Kate Humble and Springwatch ?)

Diversions forced me up grass centred , 1st gear , nasty lanes ( if wet ) .

 

[GrinningGSer]

Castle 12 Dinas Bran

I descended a superb 13% hill into Langollen , fuelled up and water also of course , but with no intention to climb up to the castle .

Castell Dinas Brân, located on the hill ( see pic high above my GSA) above Llangollen, is a ruined castle that was built around the 13th century by the Princes of Powys Fadog (northern Powys).
The castle was grand and luxurious, but it was burned down by its own garrison in 1277 during a period of unrest to prevent it from being used by English forces. Although partially repaired by King Edward I, it was abandoned in 1282 in favour of Holt Castle which was built nearby.
The castle consisted of a rectangular courtyard surrounded
by a stone wall, with towers, a gatehouse, and a hall. It wasn’t the first fortification on this site as it was built on top of an Iron Age hillfort.
https://walesguidebook.com/castles/north-wales/castell-dinas-bran/13 Flint Castle

 

[Tinytim]

Ab fab thread GGSer.

Re the fortifications against battering rams, it's a good job curtain poles weren't available in those days.

Can't remember Springwatch but can remember Kate Humble

 

[Wapping]

A thread that gets better and bette.r.

 

[ChazzyB]

Will you be buying a new airbed in preparation?

Of course.

 

[GrinningGSer]

Wow Llangollen is a lovely place surrounded by shockingly steep hills on all sides ; the road in was 13% and the road I took out , past the last castle, was truly arse clenching at times and not for wet weather . At the end of it , I found myself at the Ponderosa Cafe and I have memories of much easier ways of getting there .

 

[GrinningGSer]

Castle 13 Flint Castle

The first sight of the sea.. we’ll nearly , but it’s out!

The earliest and most unusual of Wales’ English-built castles.
The first castle to be founded as part Edward I’s campaign against Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (Llywelyn the Last) in north Wales, it boasts a unique and unusually sophisticated design.
Started in 1277 and largely completed by 1284, the castle is dominated by the great tower (or donjon) at its south-east corner. Surrounded by its own moat and accessed via a drawbridge, it’s essentially a castle within a castle. Built
with exceptionally thick walls and equipped with all the facilities required to withstand a siege, it was presumably intended to be a final refuge in the event of an attack.

Flint Castle | Cadw

The earliest and most unusual of Wales’ English-built castles Fans of military architecture make a bee-line for Flint. The first castle to be founded as part Edward I’s campaign against Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (Llywelyn the Last) in north Wales, it boasts a unique and unusually sophisticated design.

cadw.gov.wales

 

[GrinningGSer]

Castle 14 Rhuddlan Castle

King Edward I liked his castles to be on the coast. It was safer that way. If his ruthless campaign to subdue the Welsh ran into trouble, supplies could still get through by sea.
At Rhuddlan, several miles inland, the plan was to use a river instead. Just one problem – the meandering Clwyd wasn’t quite in the right place. So Edward conscripted hundreds of ditch-diggers to deepen and divert its course.
More than seven centuries later Rhuddlan still looks like a castle that was worth moving a river for. Begun in 1277 it was the first of the revolutionary concentric, or ‘walls within walls’, castles designed by master architect James of
St George. Most impressive was the inner diamond-shaped stronghold with its twin-towered gatehouses. This sat inside a ring of
lower turreted walls. Further beyond was a deep dry moat linked to the River Clwyd

Rhuddlan Castle | Cadw

Awesome feat of engineering still towers above the River Clwyd King Edward I liked his castles to be on the coast. It was safer that way. If his ruthless campaign to subdue the Welsh ran into trouble, supplies could still get through by sea. At Rhuddlan, several miles inland, the plan was to use...

cadw.gov.wales

This castle , although ruined , is still reasonably intact

 

[GrinningGSer]

Castle 15 Gwrch Castle

This is a huge estate , famous by some, for the setting I’m a Celebrity ….’
However a man at the car park waslooking menacing , so I snapped a photo and ride away ;

Colwyn bay was looking lovely in the sunshine , nice Sandy beach .A huge number of wind turbines in the horizon.
Just enjoying a cool orange squash and enjoying the view of The Orme , in anticipation of tomorrow ;

 

[GrinningGSer]

20 mph signs are plentiful in S Wales now , in readiness for 17th September , when all Welsh towns will be 20mph . I’m getting used to it .

 

[SBD]

Great thread!

there’s more than one reason for building your castle on the beach. No escape for your own forces, should they begin to have second thoughts…

Chirk castle is right by the canal aqueduct. Worth seeing.

and next time the king says “don’t”, the correct answer is “as my lord wishes”. Then finish the job anyway, rather than make someone else rich.

 

[GrinningGSer]

Castle 16 Conwy Castle

Fantastic location , helped by Telford’s bridge .
The town also appears thriving and popular with tourists

In the distance rise the craggy mountains of Eryri
(Snowdonia) and spread out below you are the harbour and narrow streets of Conwy – still protected by an unbroken 1,400-yard (1.3km) ring of town walls.
It’s enough to take the breath away. Especially when you consider that King Edward I and his architect Master James of St George built both castle and walls in a barely believable four years between 1283 and 1287.

Conwy Castle | Cadw

Magnificent medieval fortress still towers over town after 700 years Thanks to restored spiral staircases in its great towers you can walk a complete circuit around the battlements of Conwy Castle. We highly recommend it. This is one of the most magnificent medieval fortresses in Europe. In the...

cadw.gov.wales

Lots of bikers at this tremendous seafront Conwy pub

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