ARCHIVE PICTURES.
Wednesday 14th August 2002.
Carreg Cennen Castle.
Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind
permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland
Carreg Cennen Castle is located 4 miles southeast of Llandeilo, near Trapp in the Western part of the Brecon Beacons known as the Black Mountain. The castle, built on the top of a precipitous limestone crag, dominates the surrounding landscape.
To reach the castle one must enter Castell Farm, where a car park is provided, and then go through the farmyard and follow the path up a steep bank to reach the castle entrance. The building on the right houses a very nice cafe where refreshments are available and lots of items of interest to visitors. Admission tickets to the castle are sold in the cafe so I went in to collect a ticket and I also hired a torch to explore the cave under the castle. Then, after a coffee and a cake, I set off for the castle.
Better not misbehave or you could find yourself in the stocks.
Although the Welsh Princes of Deheubarth built the first castle at Carreg Cennen, what remains today dates to King Edward I's period of castle-building following his conquest of Wales.
It was a stiff climb up to the castle and so before going in I'll just have a little rest and enjoy the wonderful views over the countryside. The stonework in the foreground is all that remains of the outer gate of the castle.
I have plenty of time to explore the castle so I'll sit here awhile on this grassy hillside and survey the patchwork of green fields below, and look beyond to the distant mountains.
It is mainly the outer walls of the castle which survive today, much of the interior was destroyed in 1462 after the Wars of the Roses when having been taken by the Yorkists was partially dismantled by them employing 500 men with crowbars and picks.
There is still enough of it left to give us a good idea what it would have looked like.
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| Window detail. | Passageway to the cave under the castle. |
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| Steps to a tower. | Doorway detail. |
Baking oven.
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| Musket loop, later addition. | Arrow loop. |
Having completed my tour of the inside including an exploration of the cave, I'm now ready to take a closer look at the outside. This is a view of the east side.
On the south side the castle sits on the edge of a sheer drop of 300 feet down to the River Cennen below. The slits in the wall are windows to light the passageway to the cave. At the end of the passageway you come to a very narrow damp limestone cave. Its purpose is unclear but it may have provided the castle with a water supply.
Looking west along the south side of the castle.
Closer view of the N.E. Tower (right) and the Chapel Tower.
The south western corner.
Attack from this side would have been impossible.
I've enjoyed my visit to the castle and now I'm feeling hungry so it's time to return to the farmyard cafe. On the way down I stopped to take another photo of the countryside, this time in a more northerly direction.
There were quite a few customers waiting at the cafe so instead of joining them I decided to follow the farm peacock around in the hope it would spread its train.
Now that is a very obliging bird.
The farmyard is quite interesting, as well as chickens and geese wandering about, there is a wonderful collection of old farm implements.....
...... and also many rare breeds of cattle. Now I'm off to the cafe....'bye
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