Castles in Wales

By C. LaRene Hall

We continued our tour of castle in Wales and our first stop was the Chepstow, which is a Norman Castle ruin sitting high above the banks of the river Wye. It has a twin tower gatehouse. We were interested in their displays of printed placards explaining the castle’s history along with wax figures of the Marshal Family.


Then we drove to a 12th century Norman Keep, the Cardiff Castle. I was surprised to find this castle in the middle of a busy city. On the tour, we learned that they decorated all the rooms around a theme. The most common themes were astrological and Biblical. I loved the beautiful clock tower, and the room that represented the seasons of the year and the days of the week. It was no surprise to find the nursery decorated with fairy tales and nursery rhymes.