Castles of the Red Dragon - Pembrokeshire

In a country with relatively few great churches and abbeys, and even fewer unfortified manor houses, the Castles of Wales form the most imposing group of monuments left from the Middle Ages. In terms of grandeur they are second only to the dramatic landscape.

On our second day of our castle adventure we were located in a hostel in southwest wales in a region/national park called Pembrokeshire. This area was made up of a number of nature and coastal trails and a TON of castles! From now on, when I describe a castle, I will provide a link to a castle site that describes its history, and then list one personal unique feature, so that I can keep them apart in my mind, and so that you know that every castle had its own character.
The first castle we saw on Saturday was Manorbier (aka manner-beer) castle. It was a ruined medieval castle that wasn't restored, but what made it unique was its arched entry from the road through an overgrown gate. It felt like we were entering a secret garden as the walls were stone, but covered in ivy. The castle itself wasn't much to look at, but as it was a first of many, it was special in its own right.
We then went to the coastal town of Tenby, where we parked along the promenade, that was set upon a cliff above a beautiful beach. We watched as children and dogs danced along the sand leaving footprints and laughter lingering behind them. The castle in this city was less of a castle and more of a wall around the retail district. Once you went in through the 'walls' you were in a normal seaside town with surf shops and tourist shops.
We didn't linger here long but appreciated the town and its ambience and thought it would be a beautiful place to come in the summer. Strangely enough, the day after we were there, a main hotel on the promenade caught fire and now is reduced to rubble. They are still investigating the source of the fire, but suspect arson. What a real shame. We then drove to Carew castle (only a 15 minute drive away), which was home to some of the tudor family in the 16th century. It is situated on a strategically excellent site at the crossing point of a river. There was a 15ft Celtic Cross in front of this castle that made it very unique, as it dated back to the 11th century. We also were quite intrigued to see a sign here that the castle ruins are home to many species of bats and we were instructed to take care not to disturb their habitat.
The castle itself was a hybrid of three different time periods, with one wall being completely resurfaced with Tudorian style windows that were dissimilar to any other castle.After seeing 3 castles in the morning alone, we took a VERY WINDY hike along the coastal cliffs. It was really beautiful looking out over the sea, but due to the cold biting winds and our nagging hungers we didn't stay too long. We thought it best to take a rest at a local pub on the river in the region's capital town of Pembroke. It was called the 'Watermans' and we enjoyed a tranquil welsh lunch - mine being stew in a yorkshire bread bowl- while looking out at the massive castle there and people feeding the swans on the river.
Pembroke Castle was quite something. It was set with a river moat all around it, and was a mixture of restoration and ruin. We did a tour of this castle as it was rich in history. Syd liked this one the best because all of the towers could be climbed and explored - he just loves to explore! I liked it because it had exhibits that really helped give a history of the castle.
Henry VII was born here, and put Wales on the map under the sign of the red dragon and brought peace with England by conquering Richard III. The keep in this castle was very unique as it was still complete, and immensely high, with an arched ceiling. A dungeon contained here was also neat, though creepy.

By this point I was feeling pretty castled out, yes me! But Syd saw one more on the map near our next hostel that he wanted to check out. It was called Llawhawden. It was random, and the once-home of a bishop, but worth a look to see the ruins. What was unique about this castle was the deep well in the centre of the courtyard. I couldn't see the bottom, and it creeped me out because it reminded me of the well in the movie 'The Ring'.

That night we stayed at a really fun hostel run by a man and his wife. He has travelled everywhere in his lifetime and it is evident by the decor, and even the menu in his hotel - mexican, japanese, chinese, Peruvian and European accents throughout. We met a few people there that we played cards and pool with down at the bar and thought that if all hostels are like this, we could definitely get used to it!