Castell Coch, near Cardiff, Wales

This is one of my favourite places on the planet. It is a magical fairy castle, built in the late 1800s on top of, and using the foundations of, earlier castles on the site. William Burgess took the original floor plans of earlier buildings and constructed this magnificent edifice on top. He researched medieval castles and built his own version, but with fantastically decorated interiors. Even visiting on a bleak, very rainy day with gale force winds battering em didn't diminish my enthusiasm! The castle sits in woodland on a hillside overlooking Cardiff, and can be seen from the nearby motorway, looking ethereally beautiful.

A closer view of the two towers.

The front of the castle - can you imagine trying to get into this place uninvited? The ramp up to the castle is part ramp, but the top part is a drawbridge. There is no moat, but there is a big ditch!

The red wooden structure high above the door is called a hourd - it is a place where people defending the castle could drop/throw heavy objects, boiling oil, flaiming arrows etc onto unwary attackers.

The doorbell!!!!

An arrow slit on the upper floor - these long thin slits allowed archers to fire arrows at attackers whilst keeping themselves relatively safe.

The portcullis, hanging above the doorway. If castles were attacked, they dropped the portcullis so the attackers couldn't get to the main doors with axes or fire.

In the ceiling, either side of the portcullis, are 'murder holes'. These are holes from which the castle defenders can drop nasty things - boiling oil, burning rags, big stones - onto their attackers, while the attackers are trying to get past the portcullis.

The winch for winding the portcullis up and down.

The chains holding the portcullis up.
This castle has absolutely marvellous interiors, as shown in the next few photographs.

The drawing room ceiling. I could lie on the floor of this room and spend hours gazing at the beautifully painted birds & butterflies, and then just move my eyes down a degree or two to admire the fresco between the ceiling and picture rail. This room is absolutely overwhelming. I think you would have to spend days in it to see everything, but maybe that would be too much for the senses!

Details of the zodiac tiles within the fireplace. This room is so over the top and full of decorative detail!

Above the panelling, there is a mural which depicts Aesop's Fables. The custodians tell me they have identified 12 separate fables, although the guidebook only mentions 3. The artwork is fabulous.

The panelling in the drawing room is luxurious and elegant. Each set of 3 panels depicts a plant from the roots up to the top. Each set is different, and they are all hand painted.

The banqueting hall is superbly decorated, and has a splendid fireplace featuring St Lucius. There are murals of saints & martyrs at each end of the room, and a wonderful painted vaulted wooden ceiling. This photo gives an idea of the painted walls, and some of the stained glass.

The traditional Welsh Dresser, where the crockery was stored, and you can see the serving hatches to the left, these lead directly into the passage between the kitchen and the banqueting hall.

The kitchen table and cooking range.
Even the cupboards have been designed to look medieval.

Lady Bute's bedroom, showing some of the furniture. The ceiling of this room is a huge dome, with plenty of gold leafed woodwork, surrounding a huge pomegranate tree full of monkeys!

I could lie on the bed and stare at the ceiling for weeks on end... the artwork is just fantastic!

Lady Bute's dressing/washing table.

A close up of the bowl set into the dresser.

What a bed! Love the crystal balls on each post...

Lady Margaret's bedroom.

Lady Margaret's bath & dresser with jug & bowl.

Lord Bute's bedroom wall decorations.

Lord Bute's toilet - pre flushing, had to be emptied regularly.

The dungeon - who knows whether it was ever used?

Above is the model showing the back of the castle.

Below is the model showing the front of the castle.

Anyway, having had a taste of what this special castle is like, take the 360 degree tour - just don't make yourself travel sick by moving your cursor too quickly!!! And don't forget to look at the ceilings - they are spectacular!!!

http://www.castellcoch.info/index.html

St Fagans - Wales National History Museum

I was lucky enough to attend a training course at St Fagans recently.

If you want to know more about St Fagans, have a look at their website:

http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/stfagans

St Fagans is a fascinating place - buildings of all kinds have been brought from all over Wales - carefully dismantled and re-assembled on this site. The buildings range from a school, to a chapel, a pottery, a bakery, a blackmiths, a terrace of miner's cottages, a 1950s pre-fabricated home, a working men's institute, various farmhouses, a cockpit, a post office, a church, a water-powered mill, a pig sty, a grand house, and more... and rare and old Welsh breeds of animals graze in the fields around and between the buildings.

I took these photographs early in the morning, on my way to the training course, before the museum was open. Most of the buildings were still closed, so there are almost no interiors here. When the museum is open, people can go inside the buildings, and ask the guides questions.

I have perhaps photographed the exterior of a quarter of the buildings on site.



This farm house is known as the 'Red House'.
It doesn't always appear to be quite as bright as this,
but the early sun was very bright, and lit it up!


The Victorian school house - and when modern children visit
St Fagans on class trips,
they are often taught a 'Victorian lesson' here,
using slates and chalk...
I wonder if they like their modern teachers more
after experiencing the strict Victorian regime?



A row of 6 terraced workers cottages, dating from around 1840.
These cottages have been 'dressed' to show how they
would have been in different eras, ranging from 1840 to 1970.
Their gardens have also been designed to show
how the usage changed over time.
The 1940s (or 1950s) one has a pigeon loft,
as pigeon racing was a very popular pastime
amongst men in the south Wales valleys at that time.

The 1970 and the 1940s/50s one bring back
all kinds of childhood memories for me!

The cottages are absolutely tiny.
2 small rooms downstairs,
and 2 more small rooms upstairs,
and the staircase is very small, too.
I can't imagine bringing up a family here.



A toll house, which would originally have been
located at a fork in the road - hence
the 'payment' windows at either side of the building.


The working men's institute - a place to meet your friends,
read a book, improve yourself, and escape from your womenfolk!



The blacksmith's Forge.
Sometimes there is a blacksmith demonstrating his skills.
Many other buildings on this site have craftspeople
demonstrating their craft - there is a pottery, a saddlery,
a tannery, and mill. The bakery bakes bread & cake daily,
and sells them to visitors.


The interior of a Chapel.
The exterior of the building is whitewashed stone,
and the windows were plain glass.
It is very small and cosy, and has no fancy decoration.



The Gwalia Stores. The shop has all the original counters,
and replicas of the kinds of things which would have been
sold in a hardware & food store. You can still buy things here today.

The small yellow building to the right is the photographer's studio.



A very old farmhouse form north Wales.



A metal mile post,
relocated about 10 miles or so from it's original site.



The museum isn't all old buildings.
Wales has sustainability built into
all government plans & policies.
The museum decided to build
a 'House of the Future' using sustainable materials,
and built to use very little energy.
The sun's energy is captured through
the south facing glass wall at the back of the house,
and the house conserves energy by being
incredibly well insulated.
It has a turf or sedum roof, and solar panels.



The back of the House of the Future

An experiment in the garden....

Cardiff, Wales

The Cardiff Menagerie.....

Each bird & animal is carved from stone,
and perches on the walls of the castle grounds.

Hundreds of people walk past them each and every day,
and don't seem to notice them.

I find them fascinating.

I don't know how many there are,
but you have seen a selection - probably fewer than half.

The main entrance to Cardiff Castle.
There are Roman walls below street level,
but most of the castle as it stands was built relatively recently,
within the last 200 years.

The red dragon (draig goch) is the national symbol of Wales.

The decorative clock tower of the castle.
The castle was a collaboration between Lord Bute,
who paid for it, and William Burgess, who designed it.

It is highly decorated, inside and out,
and well worth the entry fees.
The use of ornamentation within the castle is fantastic!

See here for more information, and pictures:

http://www.cardiffcastle.com/castle.htm

A 'wall of water' sculpture outside the
Wales Millenium Arts Centre in Cardiff Bay

The Millenium Arts Centre, in Cardiff Bay.
The building uses slate, wood, copper, and other materials traditionally used in Wales in its construction, and is designed to reflect the nation.
I think people either love it or hate it.
I love it.

A closer view of the 'wall of words'

The atrium in the Millenium Arts Centre - a free concert was happening here during my visit

The booking & ticket sales hall of the Millenium Arts Centre

This is the Senedd building in Cardiff Bay, where Welsh Ministers & Assembly Members debate issues relating to Wales. The building design reflects the idea of 'transparency' - and the commitment to transparent government in Wales. The building is also a good example of sustainable building design.

This is the top of the 'funnel' inside the building.
The 'funnel' lets light into the debating chamber, which is below street level.

This is how the 'funnel' looks in the main atrium area of the building. The building uses a lot of steel, slate, glass and wood. My son, who works as a stonemason, worked on some of the stone and/or slate used in the construction of the building, while it was being built.

The Pierhead Building, Cardiff Bay - this used
to be the communication centre for the port.
It is a true Victorian confection of a building,
with lots of interesting details.

One of many panels set into the walls of the Pierhead building.

A mosaic panel in the riverside walk area near the Millenium Stadium,
in the centre of Cardiff

An interesting building in Cardiff Bay area.