Windsor Great Britain The official country residence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Windsor and the royal family's family castle. Windsor Castle is the Queen's favorite residence. Her Majesty stays here twice a year: in April and June.

Caerphilly of the 13th century still makes an indelible impression with its scale and power. It is superbly preserved and embodies an entire era. Over the course of a long history, the castle has been attacked, rebuilt and restored. Today it is one of the most visited attractions in Wales.

Where is

Caerphilly Castle is located in the county of the same name in south Wales. The city is located on the border between the counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. Belongs to the administrative unit - Glamorgan district, Wales district. The city of Caerphilly has the status of a county and is one of the most visited tourist sites. The region is located in a mountainous area, and the fortress is built on a hilltop, it rises menacingly above the city spread below, surrounded on all sides by artificial lakes and moats. This location of the fortress was strategically advantageous and made it the object of many attacks.

Construction history

In the second half of the 13th century in Wales, the famous aristocrat Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, began to build a fortress to protect the disputed territories. At this time, the rise of the Welsh principality under the control of the independent ruler of Wales, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. As a result of hostilities, he was able to conclude an agreement with Henry III and establish the independence of Wales from the English crown. Caerphilly Castle (Wales) was in the 13th century a city-forming object for the settlement of the same name. In 1282, Gilbert de Clare made a new attempt to reconquer Wales, which was successful, and the region finally became part of England. To strengthen the defense capability of his territories, Gilbert ordered the construction of fortresses in all the cities of his possessions. Construction began in 1268 and continued intermittently until 1290. Despite a long protracted struggle for territory, Gilbert managed to build a huge castle, which allowed not only to defend, but also to live comfortably. After the conclusion of the contract in Montgomery, the defensive function of the fortress ceased to be relevant for de Claire, and he began to equip the castle as a residential residence. In 1295, Gilbert died, but by this time Caerphilly Castle was already almost completely rebuilt and ready for a busy life.

Castle in the 14th-17th centuries

From 1313, Caerphilly Castle again fell into the epicenter of a territorial struggle. Llywelyn Bren and the royal forces continued to struggle for control of the region. In the battle of 1316, the city of Caerphilly was almost completely destroyed, but the fortress survived. In 1317, Hugh le Despenser the Younger moved into the castle and married Gilbert de Clare's sister Eleanor. Caerphilly Fortress became her dowry. Hugh was on good terms with Edward the First and was fairly wealthy. He decided to expand the castle by making a large hall for receptions. To carry out the work, he invited William Hart and Thomas de la Bataille. They created beautiful chambers, richly decorated with carvings. When the coup took place and King Edward was overthrown, Hugh and his wife took refuge in the castle from possible reprisals. Isabella's troops were brought up to the fortress. The castle did not last long. Hugh surrendered and the lands were given to Isabelle de Despenser, who, along with her second husband, invested heavily in the renovation and rebuilding of the castle. In 1486, the fortress passes into the hands of the Earl of Pembroke, but he did not want to live here. And the castle gradually falls into decay. The water gates around the castle become unusable, several times the territory of the fortress is flooded. For some time, prisoners are kept in the castle. In 1583 Thomas Lewis rented it. He disassembles part of the stone walls in order to build residential and service premises. Military operations during the Civil War of the late 17th century almost did not affect the castle, but led to damage to the southeastern tower, which became known as the Leaning Tower. In 1648, Cromwell ordered the castle to be blown up in order to leave the territory without a reliable defense. But the sappers of that time could not do it, only part of the walls and several towers succumbed to the explosives.

Castle life in the 18th and 20th centuries

In 1776, Caerphilly Castle, whose history has only become sadder, acquires a new owner. Tom Stewart is the first to attempt to restore and preserve the castle. In 1860, his great-grandson carried out a complete revision of the state of the fortress and began to vacate the premises from tenants who did not give a damn about the maintenance of the castle. The 4th Marquess John Crichton-Stuart was a fan of restoration and building. He invested a lot of money in the expansion of possessions and in the repair of the buildings of the fortress. Until 1950, he was engaged in the restoration and restructuring of buildings, restoring the historical appearance. He put the dams in order and refilled the ditches and lakes adjacent to the castle with water. By the middle of the 20th century, he brought the estate into a decent form, which recreated the appearance of the 15th-16th centuries. In 1950, the Marquis handed over the castle and all surrounding areas to the state.

Castle today

In the 21st century, Caerphilly Castle is managed by the Cadw Company, which is dedicated to the preservation and operation of historic sites. Today, the fortress is the most visited attraction in Wales, more than 100 thousand people come here every year. Excursions, holidays and festivals are organized for tourists. A visit to Caerphilly Castle turns into an interesting adventure with a journey into the past due to the fact that the life of the Middle Ages is recreated here.

Architecture

Caerphilly Castle, a description of which can be found in all encyclopedias of medieval architecture, is an excellent example of fortification architecture. Brutality and reliability - these are the two main epithets that come to mind at the sight of this powerful structure. The architecture of the castle is concise and convincing, there is nothing superfluous here, everything is subordinated to one goal - to defend against enemies. The fortress, square in plan, is surrounded on all sides by a powerful sandstone stone wall, with four watchtowers and narrow loopholes. The fortress has two defensive perimeters. The first ring is the stone walls, the second - the fortifications themselves. There is another high defensive wall in front of the main entrance to the fortress. Living quarters are located inside the fortress: a beautiful Grand Hall for receptions, striking with exquisite decoration, rather modest bedrooms and private quarters.

What to see

Caerphilly Castle, whose photos look impressive at any time of the year, today is a real museum. The territory of 120 hectares allows you to make long walks and hold mass events here. What not to miss when visiting the castle? It is worth going around the perimeter around the fortress to see all the entrances to it and the impressive moats and lakes. You can take a walk along the partially restored parapet of the fortress wall, climb the tower to look at the city lying at the foot. In the museum exposition of the fortress you can see the uniforms and weapons of a medieval warrior. Siege weapons are installed in the center of the fortress. Be sure to see the drawbridges, walk around the islands on artificial lakes. In one of the towers you can watch a film about the history of the castle. To visit Caerphilly Castle, you should plan at least half a day, and preferably a whole day, in order to fully familiarize yourself with its features. The castle is very photogenic, and tourists take pictures of it from all four sides, getting beautiful shots.

How to get there

Have you decided to see Caerphilly Castle? How to get to this interesting place? From Cardiff railway station to the castle can be reached by train. Caerphilly town center is 1.5 km from the castle and is easily covered on foot.

"WALES, WALES, WALES, WALES!!!"
chorus of the most popular song of the travel days, composed by the daughter

Instead of an introduction

Five days in Wales - one and a half thousand kilometers, the Irish Sea, the Straits of St. George and Bristol, 16 cities, of which 2 are English, one capital, 7 castles, the Cathedral of the patron saint of Wales and a hermit's well, two lighthouses and one pier, the smallest house in Britain, and the town with the longest name...

These are mountains and valleys, islands and coasts, rivers and rivers, bridges and tunnels, marinas, embankments and piers, yachts and boats...

And also various monuments and monuments, among them the sculpture of the White Rabbit...

And a few more pubs and lots and lots of beer, cider and ale, as well as 10 bells, 6 magnets, postcards, a bag and a jacket as a gift ...

And also memories, comparisons with what they once saw, wandering and arguing about which road to choose, as well as long summer evenings, sea air, the cries of seagulls and fragmentary reports from Russia from the World Cup.

The names of the Welsh cities and towns that they visited or passed by were not pronounced immediately, they got used to them for a long time, they repeated, made mistakes and laughed, savored their melodiousness ... Aberystwyth, Aberport, St. Davids, Pembroke, Swansea, Port Talbot, Margam, Cardiff, and also the English Chester, from where they entered Wales, and an hour in Bath, which ended everything.

Castles are the glory of Wales. They are quite impressive and several of them - Conwy, Beaumaris, Carnarvon and Harlech - are under the auspices of UNESCO. We really liked Conwy, perhaps the most romantic. Caernarvon after Windsor is one of the largest castles in Britain. It is here that the ceremony of conferring the title (investiture) of the Prince of Wales takes place. We also visited the castles of Pembroke and Cardiff, saw the ruins of castles in Aberystwyth and Swansea.

There are six stories about this journey. The first two are about all the places we've been. About the four castles where we managed to get bells, a separate conversation.

On the bell from Caernarvon Castle is a map of North Wales, where we were for the first two days.

Llandudno - Welsh Brighton and the city of the White Rabbit

During multi-day trips, it happens that interesting cities remain in the shadows. This happened with Llandudno, where we spent two nights and spent the days in other places. Only a few evening photos remained in memory.

Llandudno (Llandudno) - called the "Welsh Brighton" or "the king of the Welsh resorts." Yes, it's a resort town. Mostly pensioners rest here, who are brought on excursion buses to breathe the sea air from the English hinterland. Our hotel accommodated a large group. When late in the evening we returned tired after a busy day, we were greeted by music. Smartly dressed grandparents sipped wine and beer in the hotel bar and listened to the singer. It was evident that these were the songs of their youth - the people sang and danced along. I imagined how I would now listen to Eduard Khil, Vadim Mulerman, Valery Obodzinsky, Oleg Anufriev or Maya Kristalinskaya.

In the evening, in the rays of the setting sun, Llandudno looks elegant. Hotels stretched along the embankment, the walls of which are painted in delicate pastel colors, turrets and spiers, flags, flowerbeds... And wave after wave crashing onto the shore.

Llandudno grew up on the site of a fishing village and a copper mining town. In the second half of the 19th century, through the efforts of entrepreneur Owen Williams, he acquired a clear layout, wide green streets and pretty Victorian mansions. A luxurious promenade was laid along the sea and a pier was built. As we learned, this is the longest pier in Britain - it protrudes into the sea for 700 meters.

During the day it is fun - all kinds of rides and game rooms.

We spent two evenings walking along the embankment. Contrasts - some in jackets, and some in t-shirts and shorts.

We admired the city panorama from the pier. The color of the sea was either silver gray or dark blue.

The seagulls quieted down, worked hard during the day and lay down in warm pebbles. And only the sound of the waves, running one after another, broke the peace and quiet.

Early in the morning of the third day we left Llandudno. We took a last look at the local Ayu-Dags, which we never climbed on a fun tram, and promised ourselves to return.

And I couldn't leave Llandudno without saying goodbye to the White Rabbit. Remember his first appearance in Alice in Wonderland: “Oh, my God, my God! How late I am! (English "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!")

Once on the waterfront was the summer home of the Carroll family, and a nearby hotel belonged to the Liddell family. It was Alice Liddell who became the prototype of the fabulous Alice.

Goodbye, Llandudno!

I so want to come back here. To peace and quiet. But advertising booklets lure with a three-day May Victorian carnival, when all the townspeople are in historical costumes, and vintage cars proudly march along the main street in a solemn march.

Conwy - castle, the smallest British house and a monument to the Grand Prince Llewellyn...

And now, about where we were for two days when we left Llandudno.

The bell with a map of North Wales marks the wonderful places we have visited! And how many places where have not been! Snowdonia and the highest peak of these places - Mount Snowdon. Alas! Next time.

The main purpose of our trip - castles. Welsh land is a land of castles. There are several thousand of them here. Large and small, well preserved and ruins. It's impossible to see everything. We only visited four in North Wales! But what! Most famous!

First of all, our path lay in the castle of Conwy. There will be a separate story about this castle, because, to my pleasure, I managed to find a bell with its image.

It turned out that in the town of Conwy, very pretty, there was another striking attraction - the smallest house in all of Britain (Smallest House in Great Britain), also known as Quay House.

In the early morning, when there were almost no tourists, we captured this “little miracle” without any problems. It was not possible to look inside - there is now a museum, which opened later. They did not dare to return here, they hurried on. The dimensions of the residential building are only 3.05 by 1.8 meters. It is curious that the first owner of the house was a fisherman Robert Jones with a very impressive size. He was over 2 meters tall!

On the Internet, I saw a bell with the image of this house. Alas, combing through all the souvenir shops, I did not find one. If someone sends a photo for illustration, we will be glad. Or maybe I'll get lucky and someday I'll find it.

The town of Conwy keeps the memory of the brave Welsh prince Llewelyn, who for 40 years of his reign won the gratitude of the people and was honored to go down in history with the name GREAT.

The life of this brave man ended very sadly. His severed head “decorated” London for several months. Here is how Henry Wollam Morton, a well-known British journalist and writer, the founder of the travel genre, writes about this:

“Llewelyn went south to negotiate with supporters. He entered the forest near Built, and his guard of eighteen men, all from Caernarvonshire, kept watch at the bridge. An English knight named Adam de Frankton, who accidentally met Llewelyn and realized that he was facing a Welshman, pierced him with a spear and rode on. The prince fell to the ground. He only had the strength to call the priest. The white monk performed the last ritual.

Later that day, Frankton returned to the woods to undress the man he had killed. Llewelyn was still breathing. Frankton learned that he had struck the Prince of Wales himself, and was very glad about it. He waited for the last breath of the hero and, drawing his sword, cut off Llewelyn's head.

Edward received the head of his enemy when he was either in Conwy or in Rudlan. He lined up an army and ordered the head, impaled on a pike, to be carried past all the soldiers. And then someone remembered Merlin's old prophecy: when English coins become round, the Prince of Wales will put on a crown in London. The English coins of 1278 were round. A few days later, the Prince of Wales was crowned in London: the head of Llewelyn, put on a stake and adorned with ivy, was carried by a horseman through London. He was met and escorted by loud trumpets. Then a stake with the head of the Prince of Wales - the prince of the oldest ruling European house - was installed on the highest tower in London. It rotted for many days in the wind in the rain.

Isle of Anglesey - Beaumaris Castle and Llanfyre-Pullguingill Township

From Conwy the way lay on the island of Anglesey. Prince William and his young wife Kate lived on this island for several years while serving in the Navy. The inhabitants of the island were glad that, thanks to the residence of the royal couple, there were much more tourists. At the same time, the locals sincerely wished well to the newlyweds: “The fact that the prince moved to our island was a gift for us, and we want to repay him in the same way, respecting his privacy.” "I know where he lives, but I won't tell you," one local resident told the press.

Our plans were to visit 2 places here - Beaumaris Castle and the town with the longest name, which was entered into the Guinness Book of Records.

It so happened that the "navigator" brought us first to this town. I started when I saw a house with a sign that I saw on the Internet.

So this is Llan... After uttering the first syllable, I stumbled. Although at home it was possible to pronounce this 58 letter name.

First of all, we ran to the railway station. Here the name of the town is written in two languages. By the way, in Welsh it was divided into syllables. And, really, it’s more convenient to “sing” this way. For this name can only be sung!

Try it. It will turn out.

Llanfairpuylgwingillgorechvirnodrobuillandisiliogogoh!

This name is translated from Welsh as follows: "The Church of St. Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the stormy whirlpool and the church of St. Tisilio near the red cave." Such a long name was invented, of course, on purpose, in the 60s of the XIX century, to attract tourists. Since then, the church of St. Mary seems to be standing, but they cannot find the whirlpool, the red cave. Yes, and hazel - cut down, probably.

Unfortunately, in a large shopping center, where discount labels literally “shouted”: “Buy me!”, There was everything, including various souvenirs. But, alas, I did not find the bell. It's a pity. It would be my favorite, well, almost the most ... In short, I would be happy! But the husband came out with a new thing - with a beautiful jacket, which he liked.

Finally, the town of Beaumaris. And a castle. Alas, there was no bell here either!

The castle is located on the coast of Anglesey and blocks the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait. The moat around the castle, previously connected to the sea, allowed large ships to come close and unload at the gates of the castle.

The name of the castle is somewhat unusual for the English language, it comes from the French “le beau marais” and means “beautiful swamp” in translation.

Long before the conquest of these lands by the British, a Viking settlement known as "Porth y Wygyr" ("Viking Port") stood on the site of the city. As a result of the Welsh wars of the late 13th century, the lands of Wales became part of England, and to strengthen his influence in these possessions, Edward I decided to build a number of castles there, the so-called “iron ring”, one of which was Beaumaris.

The second ring of walls and towers, higher and more powerful, provided good protection for this fortress.

Construction began in 1295 and lasted 35 years, but was never completed due to a military campaign in Scotland, which greatly depleted the king's financial resources. Supervised the work of Jacques de Saint-Georges from Savoy. It is very remarkable that in the castle they not only remember the name of the builder, but years later they erected a monument to him!

The castle of Beaumaris was built taking into account the maximum defense capability for that time: a 5-meter ditch, fortified gates of the outer wall, powerful doors, numerous deadly devices, jagged towers, shooting loopholes, grating traps and "killer slots". It is believed that the castle had the most difficult and formidable defense of all British fortresses of the 13th century, although the construction of the castle was never completed.

Along the outer fortress wall, 16 small towers were placed, and on the thicker inner wall, 6 more powerful towers were placed, in addition to the towers guarding the entrances. Each of them could serve as a separate center of defense during the assault. The buildings located in the courtyard may have included the Great Hall, with living rooms, kitchens, stables, warehouses and servants' quarters. In the Chapel Tower, a small chapel with a vaulted ceiling was equipped, as was done in many castles of Edward I.

In one of the towers we watched a film about the history of this castle. They did not regret it, and their legs rested. What else to add? We looked into all the places open to visitors, walked along the fortress wall, went up and down the narrow spiral staircases. I love castles. After visiting them, no diet is needed.

The saint's well, an old lighthouse overlooking the bird's island, and more...

On the pier we saw a map of the island of Anglesey. It turned out that to the island of Puffin (or the island of Dead Ends, puffins are seabirds) it is necessary to depart from the pier of Beaumaris. We missed the last boat by only ten minutes! We dreamed of seeing puffins back in Canada, traveling through Nova Scotia and Quebec. Then it didn't work.

And it also became clear that you need to come to the island of Anglesey on purpose. This edge is amazing. There is a place for both rest and history.

While we were sitting by the shore, admiring the panorama of the mountains of Snowdonia, a boat with tourists returned. We decided to go to Puffin Island anyway, to see it at least from a distance. The ride was close. We did not expect that on the way we would meet just an amazing place.

It was Penmon, a place well known to the faithful who go to worship at the well of Saint Seyriol. The Monk Seyriol of Wales (lived in the 6th century, Memorial Day February 1) is a great saint, whose name is the island of Inis-Seyriol, or Puffin, to which we were heading.

Saint Seyriol was born here and was a hermit for a long time. Perhaps the saint was a friend of another famous ascetic, Saint Kibi. They both loved to go around the island in constant prayer. The saint's disciples built a monastery and made him the first rector, but at the end of his life, Saint Seiriol retired to the even more secluded island of Puffin, on which now only birds live.

Church of St. Seyriol in Penmon and what remains of the monastery.