Castell Y Bere

Deep in the mountainous heart of mid Wales, nestling at the foot of Cader Idris in the Snowdonian National Park, lie the ruins of Castell y Bere and at just 6 miles away from us it was the perfect destination for an October Saturday afternoon walk in the autumn sun.  Castell y Bere is an atmospheric site steeped in history and is an outstanding example of a stronghold of the native Welsh Princes.

We parked at the small gravel car park on the edge of the country lane and made our way to the castle up the hill through the woods.

The walk up to the ruins was more of a climb than I remember but having said that, the last time I came here I was younger than The Boy and Girl so I could be forgiven for not remembering as it was some 30 odd years ago.

Once there, we took advantage of the wonderful sunny autumn day and took one or two photos.  

Top of The Barbican:

Making their way up the side of The Middle Tower:

Ruins of the round tower:

Sitting on the ruins of the Middle Tower:

Sitting on the walls of the South Tower:

The rocky hill on the left of this picture is Bird's Rock or to give the hill it's Welsh name, Craig yr Aderyn.   It was named Bird's Rock as it is the only place in the UK where the Great Cormorant nests inland.  The rock was originally on the shore but over the centuries the sea has receded and the coast is now some 6 miles away.  It really is an outstanding sight in this beautiful Welsh valley.

Just as we were finishing taking photos the sky clouded over and we made a speedy decent to the car.

North Tower ruins:

The boy helping his little Sister on the uneven path.  Like me she struggles on uneven ground, another joy of RA/JIA.

Stopping for a rest half way down while I caught them up.

Some little whatnots just couldn't use the kissing gate to leave the Castle grounds and had climb over the other gate instead!

On our journey home those clouds well and truly opened and the rain fell and fell.  So much fell that evening that a road flooded in town and the water had to be pumped away the next day.

A little history about Castell y Bere:

A - South Tower, B - Ditch Yard, C - Middle Tower

D - Barbican, E - Round Tower, F - Courtyard,

G - North Tower

Today the ruins still stand on a rocky outcrop with protective ditches cut in to the stone on the south and east sides of the castle.

The entrance lies to the west where the Barbican was believed to have been built by Edward I.

Unusually for an early Welsh castle, there is evidence of decorative sculpture, including statues of soldiers, having been built into the castle, along with decorative floor tiles.  Castell y Bere is the only castle, other than Criccieth, to display such features.

After a 5 week break from my blog due to illness (Some scheduled posts did publish during this time) I am linking up with Country kids over at  Coombe Mill and #PoCoLo.