59. Cardiff and Surrounds - Part 2 - UK

Relying on public transport from Splott can be like entering a lottery except with less of a chance of a win. You'd think with school holidays, they'd have a reliable timetable in place. 

Having said that, we have found the rail staff in Cardiff to be the best we have encountered in our travels in the last 12 months. They always have a smile, are ready to assist, and are very courteous.

Today, we venture out to Castell Coch (Red Castle). We walked into Cardiff Central and asked which bus we could jump on to take us there. We had a feeling bus 132 would get us close, but the bus driver couldn't be sure. I asked if he was heading in a northwest direction to at least get us in the vicinity but again he couldn't be sure. 😧

We got on anyway and a very kind passenger assured us we were on the right bus and would let us know where to get off. Another passenger who got off at our stop helped us with directions to the castle. "Left at the pub and keep going"

A 2km trip up a sometimes steep road got us there. We have been used to doing a lot of walking so we didn't have much trouble. In fact, we've been averaging 7km a day.

The castle rises up from the ancient beech woods of Fforest Fawr.

Rebuilt from the ruins of a previous 13th-century castle, Castell Coch has been a plaything of the rich and powerful.. Having lavished huge sums on it, its owners never spent much time here.

Castle around mid-1800's

Castle now

 

The castle had its own vineyard and after a few years, they got the grapes and fermentation right. It was said that it took 4 men to drink the first bottle of wine made here... Two to hold a man down while the other one poured it down his throat!

Servants were only brought in from Cardiff when the castle was being used which wasn't as often as one would think after spending so much to fix it up.

Garments of the day

Main bedroom

The basin in the bedroom had hot and cold water provided by a boiler in the basement. It even had pipes throughout providing central heating! The craftsmanship was amazing for the time.

The main recreation room was a challenge to photograph. You have to imagine the central point is the centre of a dome. The owner designed the room to capture all aspects of nature. The level on the ground level shows insects and butterflies. The next level shows land animals. The next level shows birds, followed by the stars and the sun in the centre.

The castle still had to be able to be defended hence the thin window slits designed for use by archers.

In regard to the defence of castles, spiral staircases were designed to wind upwards in a clockwise direction. Why? Most people are right-handed so if you were defending your castle with swords, it would difficult for right-hand swordsmen to use their swords as they make their way up a clockwise spiral staircase. Having said that, defending from the top of the staircase suits a right-hander.

The dining area

And on the way home, we saw this. I wasn't going to tell him...

The most beautiful 2 tier merry-go-round ever in Cardiff Central

Off to Basingstoke England for 2 nights before we head to our next sit in the Surrey area.