This is the last commissioned piece I wrote for a national newspaper. I completed it before breakfast on March 24th, 2020, the day the first lockdown started. 

It was never used. 

Wales has more castles per square mile than anywhere in the world, still magnificent and solid, from the centre of Cardiff  to placid West Wales estuaries.

We are familiar with the mightiest, big box office castles, in the care of Cadw – Wales’ historic buildings. Call to mind Caerphilly, Beaumaris, Conwy, Caernarfon. But what of the quieter, less well-known but equally proud and powerful in their day. So take yourself to Castell y Bere, to the castles of Llawhaden, Wiston and Dolforwyn.

This is a round up of some of the best of the rest of the Welsh castles.

1. Ogmore

What it is. 

A line of of 52 ancient stepping stones leads across the Ewenny river south of Bridgend to mighty 800 year old castle walls. (it’s strictly one at a time, so no risk of meeting somebody coming the other way.) There is said to be a hard-working local ghost Y Ladi Wen (“the White Lady”). Her job is to guard the castle’s hidden treasure. (She is celebrated in a nearby White Lady’s Meadow and White Lady’s Lane.)

When was it built.

Early 13th century, one of a trio of fortresses (the other two, nearby Coity and Newcastle are well worth a visit) to guard Glamorgan against attack. (Look for Newcastle’s perfectly preserved Norman doorway.)

What is left

Castle walls and original defensive banks and ditches, designed to fill with sea water at high tide.

Where is it.

Near Bridgend, CF32 0QP, off M4 junction 35.

2. Flint Castle 

What it is.

The first of Edward I’s “Iron Ring” of fortresses, built across North Wales to subdue the Welsh. Its has a starring role in Shakespeare (Richard II, Scene III – “Wales. Before Flint castle. 

“Enter, with drum and colours, Duke of York, Henry Bolingbroke, Northumberland, Attendants, and forces.”

It’s the fateful meeting in 1399 between Richard, the last of the Plantagenet kings, and his rival to the crown, his cousin and childhood playmate Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV). 

When it was built?

1277 – 1284.

What’s left?.

Much of this powerful survivor, built with exceptionally thick walls and dominated by a great  solitary round tower (Donjon) surrounded by its own moat and accessed via a drawbridge. A castle within a castle.

Where is it.

Where is it. On the NE coast of Wales. Near Flint

3. White Castle

What is it?

Dominating, on a hill near Abergavenny, Monmouthshire; a “masterpiece of military engineering”, impressively preserved.

When was it built?

The original 11th century Norman structure was beefed up in the 13th century by the future King Edward I. His first go at the castle building he perfected in his mighty North Wales fortresses. The outer walls walls were power-rendered in white. 

What ’s left?

Imposing remains behind an outer ward (the area of castle ground) as big as a football pitch, with deep, steep-sided, water-filled moat. 

One of the ‘‘Three Castles of Gwent’’.

The Three Castles Walk (19.4 miles) links it to the other two,

Grosmont and Skenfrith.

Where is it?

Near  the village of Llantilio Crossenny, NP7 8UD

4. Castell y Bere

What is it?

A remote marvel, a sprawling stronghold on one of the most commanding locations in North Wales, strung along a jagged rocky outcrop in the Dysynni Valley. One of the original Welsh castles, built by Welsh ruler Llywelyn the Great  to protect his homeland of Gwynedd.  And to guard his cattle range.

When it was built.

In 1221.  It was extremely advanced for its time; its two gatehouses have drawbridges. Edward I captured it in1283. 

What is left of it.

Plenty of surviving stonework to show how stand-out it was for the early 1220s, and how intimidating.

Where is it?

Near Llanfihangel-y-Pennant, off the B4405 6 miles  NE of Tywyn LL36 9TP

5. Dolforwyn Castle

What it is.

Romantic, ruined symbol of Welsh defiance, in a tranquil spot on a wooded hill overlooking the valley of the stripling river Severn.

When was it built?

Between 1273-77 by Llywelyn the Last, to guard his SE frontier. When Edward I heard that Llewelyn was building a castle on the edge of his kingdom, overlooking English territory, he wrote telling him to stop. Llewelyn’s answer was he did’nt need the king’s permission to build on his own land, thank you, and carried on regardless. 

What is left of it.

Llewelyn’s defiance was short-lived.  Marcher lord Roger Mortimer took Dolforwyn in 1277 after a siege. It was in ruins by 1398.

The woods reclaimed it for long centuries, but recent excavations uncovered its atmospheric remains, including stone balls possibly fired from English siege engines.

Where is it?

4m NE of Newtown, off the A483

6. Dinefwr Castle.

What it is?

Perched on a commanding hilltop site on a high wooded ridge, which is also a nature reserve, above Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire. There’s a steep drop of one hundred feet to the valley of the meandering river Towy. Some of the best views in Wales fro a castle, deep into the to Brecon beacons

When was it built?

In the later twelfth century, probably by Rhys ap Gruffudd. It was the seat of the ancient South Wales kingdom of Deheubarth. Rhys’s reign saw a rare period of peace and stability, which led to a flowering of Welsh culture.

 What’s left?

Remains date from the 13th and 14th centuries. 

The great round tower, 30 feet across, is now a two storey stump crowned by the remains of a seventeenth century summerhouse. The adjoining Castle Woods is an ancient semi-natural woodland bursting with bluebell, primrose and wood anemone, and a rich spring and summer bird life.

Where is it?

1.5m from Llandeilo , off the A483, A476, or B4300

7. Wiston 

What is it?

One of the best examples of the motte and bailey castle  (a motte is a fortified hill, surrounded by an open area – bailey -inside an outer wall) in the village of Wiston in Pembrokeshire. 75 steps lead up to it. It had a short but eventful life in the 12th and 13th centuries, probably built by an early Flemish settler named Wizo to control his lands.

Where is it 

Off the A40, five m east of Haverfordwest.

When was it built?

First mentioned in documents in 1147 when it was attacked by the Welsh. The Welsh hit it again in 1193, before Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great finished the job and destroyed it in 1220.

What’s left?

The hill, the steps and 13ft high remains of stone wall on the motte. It is only missing a section possibly destroyed in Llywelyn’s attack.

Where is it 

Off the A40, five miles east of Haverfordwest.

8. Llawhaden castle

What is it

Easily missed, and often driven-past gem amongst wood and rich, rolling farmland, in Pembrokeshire,  a short detour off the busy A40 holiday route. It’s an unusual mixture of military and decorative, more a fortified mansion than a conventional castle. It was originally designed as a residence for wealthy bishops of nearby St Davids. They liked the good life.

When was it built?

An earlier fortress was rebuilt along its present lines in the 14th century by another St Davids bishop. There were private apartments, a courtyard, lodgings for guests and quarters for a permanent garrison.

What’s left

Most impressive is the front of the gatehouse, a14th century feature still standing to its full height.

Where is it? 

Off A40, 3m NW of Narberth.

https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit