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February 17, 2003 3:57 PM

The Castles of Wales A very extensive site documenting castles, abbeys and the like in Wales. If you're fond of castles, be prepared to lose at least an hour.
posted by Mayor Curley (14 comments total)

This is amazing.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 4:12 PM on February 17, 2003

Wow, hey.. small world. I stumbled across this site a couple weeks ago while researching Llanthony Priory.
posted by Hildago at 4:13 PM on February 17, 2003

I remember on our annual camping trip to Wales, 2 years ago, a visit we took, on a typically wet, wild and windy Welsh day, to Manorbier Castle (more a fortified manor than a castle - but it still looks impressive). The grown-ups, as ever, headed for the gift shops, and the teenagers managed a splash in the sea...they'll remember it as a Golden Era, won't they? (",)

Great link, Mayor!
posted by dash_slot- at 4:36 PM on February 17, 2003

Very nice. So many great photos. Thanks.
posted by LouReedsSon at 4:37 PM on February 17, 2003

Wow - reminds me of my final geological mapping project which I did around Dolwyddelan back in the late eighties.
I'd often have my lunch, sheltering from the rain, in the castle.
Great link - thank you!
posted by thatwhichfalls at 6:23 PM on February 17, 2003

I did a book report on Wales back in the 5th grade, and when I mentioned this to a friend, he said - "Isn't it true that they used to live on land, but went back to the sea?".

"Hey - watch your mouth. Those are my relatives" (I said).

Great link, Mayor Curley
posted by troutfishing at 7:24 PM on February 17, 2003

[this is glorious]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
posted by Slithy_Tove at 2:27 AM on February 18, 2003

As with military architecture in general, I find castles to be rather dreary, unless thoroughly dilapidated, or designed to decorate rather than subjugate. Even so, this site is a very good resource: thanks for posting it.
posted by misteraitch at 4:35 AM on February 18, 2003

Wonderful and evocative link: hiraeth ensues ...'
posted by carter at 6:39 AM on February 18, 2003

Good stuff! I went to school in the shadow of Castell Dinas Brân, one of the finest native Welsh castles (as opposed to the Norman/Edwardian castles, built to keep the uppity stock botherers in their place).

There are more lovely pictures on the Gathering the Jewels site - unfortunately it's difficult to link to individual pages there, but it's worth poking around a bit.

This link may not work, but it's the hill fort I can see out of the kitchen window.
posted by ceiriog at 6:54 AM on February 18, 2003

That was a great link, cheers Mayor Curley. I visited Manorbier Castle last year and was very impressed. There's a lovely beach and an equally lovely pub nearby as well. Groups of ten can rent the castle for a night, a week whatever. We thought about doing that this year for our annual Brit holiday, but decided to go cheese-rolling in Gloucestershire instead. Should be, errrr, fun.
posted by squealy at 7:15 AM on February 18, 2003

The "Gathering of the Jewels" site is fantastic! I need it, because I must have seen every page on Castle Wales twice.

I'm really happy that the posters in this thread appreciate Castle Wales as much as I do. I should drop the webmaster a note and let him know how much of my employers' time he's helped me waste over the last four years or so.
posted by Mayor Curley at 9:23 AM on February 18, 2003

They're not castles and they're not in Wales, but Yorkshire's Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Gardens and Rievaulx Abbey are worth a trip if you're ever in northern England. English Heritage (like the U.S.'s National Park Service) has all kinds of great information on British sites.
posted by Frank Grimes at 9:53 AM on February 18, 2003

Childhood summer holidays were spent staying with my grandmother in Milford Haven, so I saw a lot of these when I was a child (very familiar with Manorbier, Pembroke and Carew). There was something about them that I found fascinating (in the same way small children find dinosaurs fascinating, I suppose).

On the other side of the country, you can stay in St Briavels castle, which is a youth hostel. Ghosts and everything.
posted by Grangousier at 10:26 AM on February 18, 2003