Cardiff Castle

Aside from a short weekend canal boat trip, we had not yet visited Wales. Last Spring Bill and I decided to remedy that by spending a long weekend in Cardiff. 

On top of the old castle keep, Cardiff castle

Our first stop - Cardiff Castle! While many of the castles throughout England were demolished during wars (War of the Roses, English Civil War, etc.), many Welsh castles have stood standing. While bits of the original castle stands in Cardiff, a renovated Victorian-era castle also stands. 

Medieval walls encircle Cardiff castle

Cardiff is the capitol of Wales. Wales itself was 'founded' by William the Conqueror, who began works on Cardiff castle in 1081. The first castle keep made out of wood was erected by Lord Fitzhamon in 1093. It was replaced with the stone keep (seen in the photo below) by his son-in-law, Robert the Consul, around the time of a Welsh uprising, probably 1135.

Cardiff's castle keep. 

We were in Cardiff on Easter weekend and they had a lot of things for kids to do, like holding onto big, old swords. I figured I still act like a kid, so I might as well have a go! 

Grrrrr!!!!

The now-Victorian castle is more like a large manor house. We were impressed by the many large, ornate rooms. 

Victorian clock tower

When inside old, beautiful houses, Bill and I always remember to look up. Their ceilings are always gorgeous! 

Painted ceiling inside the Victorian castle

The photo above is the ceiling inside the Arab room. It is painted wood and covered with pure gold leaf. The ceiling below is that of the banqueting hall, which is the largest and the oldest room of the Victorian-era castle. 

Wooden ceiling inside the Victorian castle in Cardiff

The murals along the sides of the banqueting hall tell the story of the medieval Cardiff castle and its designer took inspiration from medieval illuminated manuscripts. 

Details of the wooden ceiling

Almost every proper castle has their own chapel, Cardiff castle is no exception. The Bute family had owned the castle for many generations when the 3rd Marquess of Bute converted—amid some scandal—to Roman catholicism. It was this Bute who later converted the old medieval castle into the Victorian-era one that visitors see today. 

Inside the catholic chapel at Cardiff castle 

The 3rd Marquess of Bute was a catholic, a Scotsman, and was sympathetic to the Welsh language and culture. He was also opposed to blood sport and supported women's rights to an education. I think I would have liked this guy! He was also a supporter of science and his re-vamped library was beautiful. 

A wee monkey I spotted in the library's stonework

Old books by Charles Darwin

Lots and lots of books in the library

The views of the castle and surrounding Cardiff from the old castle keep would have been better without the construction going on, but Cardiff is a big city, after all! 

Cardiff Castle

View of surrounding Cardiff

We thought we had seen everything as we walked around the wall-enclosed garden. But then we saw the entrance to another exhibit through one of the wall gates. So, in we went!

Medieval wall gate

Apparently when the workers were updating the castle to Victorian-era standards, workers stumbled upon the remains of an old Roman fortress! Yes - Romans set up shop here, too. Man, those guys were everywhere! Anyway, the archeologists back then were able to dig out several old corridors and hallways that they shored-up and reinforced as necessary. 

Reinforced Roman hallway

These old, half-underground reinforced hallways came in very handy during World War II. Many of the locals would hunker down inside the hallways during German air raids. They had bunk beds that stretched the length of the hallways and families would live for hours or days at a time down here. 

Bunk beds inside the reinforced Roman hallways

The hallways have been turned into a historical exhibit, explaining both the Roman and WWII history in one fell swoop. 

WWII PSA

After our morning and early afternoon exploring the castle, we made our way to lunch. And then off to one of many independent breweries where we tried a few brews. We started our very own wee beer snake. 

Welsh beer snake!!

All in all, a great start to our Welsh holiday!