Yesterday was my last day in Wales. I woke to a rather fine morning. It wasn't raining! So our plan to see a castle or two could move forward. I got ready, finished packing, and hauled all my stuff downstairs. After breakfast, I watched a little T.V. Around the time that Alys expected to be back, I decided to move my things out to the conservatory, so they would be easy to get to the car. Disaster. Upon opening the door to the conservatory, I heard it... The sound of rain hammering on the glass roof. Not a bit of rain, floods of rain. My heart sank, then I had a little conversation with God... Well, Alys got stuck in traffic. When she finally made it home, the rain stopped! Thank you God!
We wedged my giant suitcase into the cute little car and headed out. As the traffic jam had eaten up and hour of our time, we decided to go to just one castle, the bigger and older of the two. So we made our way to Caerphilly Castle...
It was breathtaking. Building on it began in 1268, and boy did they build. It was huge. It had a big moat filled with geese and the occasional swan, and parts of it were ruinous. To see pictures of the castle, as well as pictures from the rest of my Wales trip, click HERE.
Unfortunately, several of the pictures I wanted to include in the album, wouldn't upload :(
We hiked all over. There were tight spiraling, very steep staircases everywhere. We climbed every one. We walked out on the walls and ramparts, visited the hall where Alys's friend Myra gt married (married in the castle!) and walked around the ruined bits. It was fantastic. We got one or two little sprinkles of rain, but stayed dry on the whole. We had a blast! My favorite part of the castle was the tipped tower. It had been undermined, meaning enemy forces had dug underneath it to destabilize it and gain access. So it leans at 10 degree angle and has jagged edges where it pulled away from the rest of the castle. Seeing something so large, so heavy tipping toward you, is amazing. It has been sitting at that precarious angle for hundreds of years... I got a bit f a kick out of what look, at first glance, like big boulders strewn about, but are really big hunks of the castle that fell, probably while it was under siege, and got left there.
Originally near this spot was a Roman fort. Built first around AD 40. There isn't much left and you can't see it. The man who had the castle built also had the extensive moat dug out and added an extra wall for protection. These castles really are amazing. The engineering and design that went into them is astounding. And like visiting Roman ruins, you can't help but think of all the slaves who hauled all the rocks from all around, and built it up, piece by piece... Well, I can't help but think of it anyway. :)
After we'd seen every corner of the castle we headed back to the car. Alys almost got attacked by a goose, and we nearly lost it on some extremely slippery mud. But we got back eventually. Then we headed to Abergavenny, where I was catching the train, to get some lunch. We hadn't traveled two streets when suddenly, the clouds exploded with rain. It was like all the rain had been being held back behind a door and the door had suddenly opened. Thank you God! Great timing!
We had lunch in a very nice pub, then went to the station to wait for my train. After good byes I jumped aboard and headed out. It was a pretty uneventful trip, except for the gorgeous rainbow that was visible for a while... We got into Manchester/Piccadilly a little ahead of schedule. I followed the signs out and waited for mt ride... Christine and her friend, Mary picked me up. We had a bit of fun nearly getting lost, but eventually made it home. I am now temporarily established in the Wilkinson home :)
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