Another day trip to Wales. This time a bit further up into Wales. Only around 1.5 hours on the train from Bristol. Bristol to Cardiff with a change into Caerphilly.
First impressions of Caerphilly were a quaint village town with great public toilets near the station. At 10p it was the best money I’ve paid so far for the “public conveniences” as they so nicely put it. So it may be strange that I am talking toilets but seriously, a nice smelling loo stands out after many nasty ones!
Walking down through Caerphilly village it is quite well stocked with shops and then you come to the bottom of the street and there it is. Caerphilly Castle. Literally in the middle of town about 4 minutes walk from the train station.
Built in the 13th century it is the largest and (at the time) best strategically crafted castle using man made moats as its key defence mechanism. With a huge moat and then two sets of walls to breach before getting into the inner sactum it is truly interesting to walk through and understand how hard it would be to breach it. However, it apparently didn’t see a lot of action.
Comparing this to Cardiff Castle is quite easy. Cardiff was more about how the Bute Family lived in there during their time with the luxurious room designs and colourful decoration. Caerphilly Castle is cheaper to get into and more hands on. It is not as glamourous as Cardiff but far more fun for a family. You can climb/walk/run all over the castle, investigate all the hidey holes, laze on the grass or on a park bench eating lunch in the sun. It was a great day out with plenty of photos today. Highly recommended at only 3.50 each (plus train fair of 11 pound each).