Wales’ rugged coastline and hilly landscape is dotted with many medieval castles and fortresses. Quite a few are open to visitors making this a great destination for those interested in seeing castles. During our Southern England road trip, we made a point of taking a slight detour through South Wales to visit two impressive castles: Cardiff and Caerphilly.
It was fun to see the signage in Welsh as we crossed the bridge into Wales, it seemed like a mouthful to pronounce!
Cardiff Castle
The Cardiff Castle is unique! Steeped in 2,000 years of history, it was initially a Roman fort dating back to 50AD from which some remnants remain. Then, the Normans built a wooden keep and the mound upon which the current stone keep stands. Additional fortifications were added in the 1300s and 1400s.
In 1766, it passed by marriage to the Bute family, Catholic aristocrats from Scotland and the Marquess of Bute. They became rich through the discovery of large coal deposits and the development of Cardiff as a coal port and supplier. At the time, most of the world’s coal came from Cardiff.
William Burgess the architect responsible for many of the surrounding castles worked with Bute to create a Victorian dream castle.
Cardiff Castle is truly unique and like a fantasy brought to life. The Nursery had pictures of common fairy tales like Aladdin, Jack and the Bean-Stock, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and more. All painted and carved in elaborate Victorian style.
The Marquess of Bute’s bedroom was lavishly decorated and had a mirror ceiling.
The Small Dining Room had a carving of a monkey with a grape in its mouth, which is actually a button to call the servants.
To make the huge Banquet Hall, they knocked out a whole second floor to make a single hall with a high ceiling. The castle actually had electricity in 1880 and was the third house in the UK to get it installed.
Be sure to take the Castle Clock Tower tour to see these rooms as they are not open to the public with general admission tickets.
The Keep
Other attractions at the Cardiff Castle are the Norman Keep built upon the raised mound made by the Normans in 1089. You can climb the tower for some spectacular views.
Roman Walls
Make sure you don’t miss the Roman Walls located down the corridor from the war museum and bathrooms. This is a long 100-foot plus carved wall depicting Roman life. The mural leads to an intricate carving of a chariot scene in the corner room at the end. It took 2 years to make and was completed in 1989. It is impressive and not to be missed.
Animal Wall
We also loved the statues of animals that were decorating the castle wall in front of Cardiff Castle. Each statue brought smiles to our faces.
Caerphilly Castle and Town of Caerphilly
Caerphilly is another charming town in Wales and the imposing Caerphilly Castle encircled by a moat is spectacular.
Primarily a castle ruin with a heavily leaning tower, the original was built by a Norman lord in 1268 but destroyed by a Welch prince in 1270. It was then rebuilt in 1271 by King Edward to be even bigger and stronger. The tower started to lean in the 1700s and it’s unclear if this was due to shifting foundations or from an explosion. Regardless, it makes for some cool pictures today.
The castle was restored by the 3rd Marquess of Bute, the very same Marquess of Bute that owns Cardiff Castle. He worked with his architect William Burgess to finance the restoration using his coal profits between 1875 and 1891.
The town of Caerphilly looked charming, and we would have loved to see a bit more of it. But it was getting late, and we had to make it in time for our diner reservation at our next castle hotel in Southern England.
Conclusion
These two magnificent castles were well-worth visiting and we are glad we took time to sample a bit of what Wales has to offer. One thing is for sure there is plenty to see in Wales and we would love to explore more of it.