Caerphilly

About a 20 minute train ride from Cardiff is the town of Caerphilly. Set amongst the beautiful rolling hills is the magnificent Caerphilly Castle! Caerphilly Castle is one of the truly great strongholds of medieval Europe. It was built between 1268-1271 by "Red Gilbert" de Clare, earl of Gloucester and Hertford, and Marcher lord of Glamorgan. To find out more about Caerphilly visit - www.caerphilly.gov.uk

This photo from the tour book gives a better perspective of the size of the castle.

Situated next to this cozy little town is the massive Caerphilly Castle

Here is the castle from the outer gatehouse.

This is the massive entrance to the inner castle. The inner courtyard, living quarters and large dinning hall all lie within!

The large dining hall is available for weddings and other functions. The young man in the photo was helping to set up for a party that night! So when planning your next big event, remember "Caerphilly is more fun when you sleep over!"

Castles were built as strongholds to protect Kings and Nobles from attack. Caerphilly castle had a replica of a fighting platform that was built over the north inner curtain wall.

Archers would fire through the triangular openings in the wall.

To the left is a siege engine that would be used to either attack a castle or repel attackers. Above is a crossbow engine used for the same purpose. War was hell even back then!

The Welsh Flag proudly flying over Caerphilly Castle!

Here is the beautiful rolling hills as seen from the castle.

Finally, no trip to the countryside would be complete without a stop at a lovely local pub where I had lunch and watched a little football!

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