The first ever place I visited in South Wales was Cardiff, the capital city of Wales and my first stop here was Cardiff Castle. This fort has a very long history. The initial fort was built in 1st C CE by Romans, later taken over and expanded in 11th C CE by Normans and then extended extensively in 19th C by the Marquees of Bute!
The first thing to see is the clock in the outer fortification of the castle! This was built in 1868 by Willaim Burgis under 3rd Marquee of Bute. Its about 40m tall. There are 7 larger than life sized sculptures of various mythical and allegorical figures which all relate to time sculpted by Thomas Nicholas with lots of real gold & gold leaf detailing!
The main section along the outer wall is the Castle Apartment. Well, I've just started watching The Tudors series and now I know a bit about Henry VIII and his wives! The first room of the Castle Apartment has stained glass paintings of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, his 3rd wife who gave him a son! There are some exhibits in here incl a wooden canon which is about 600 years old. On all direction from here are several little rooms incl a study, a small dining room, an exquisitely detailed little room called Arab room etc. The dining room has a 4 seater dining table. The dome shaped ceiling was covered with tons of gilded detailing and at the centre was a stunning chandelier.
The Arab room blew my mind away. It was very Persian in its styling. The roof was geometric with arches filled with foliage detailing all over in gold like Muquarnas! A couple of stained glass images filled the windows. A portion of one wall has mosaic detailing of 2 lions and an emblem reminding me of Byzantine art that I studied in my university days! With all light & shade effect and 3 dimensional detail, this was an impeccable piece of art. The wooden cupboards are decorated with inlay work! This room was designed by William Burges and was one of his last works in 1881.
The biggest room here is the Banqueting hall, as well as being the oldest as well from 1873. This was designed by William Burges as well. This was originally 7 bedrooms which are joined together for 1 huge room. The flooring was the traditional handmade ones reminding me of India's Athangudi tiles. Probably this was brought in from India, may be!!! However a very similar art form is also prevalent in Morocco, which is closer. All windows were filled with stained glass images.
The tiles on the walls were filled with foliage as well as animals & birds, more like tree of life! One factor that amused me was the excessive use of monkeys! On the walls, around the doors, everywhere, dancing, playing musical instruments, guarding, eating, playing, reading etc again reminding me much of Tirunelveli! May be this place was a green place once filled with monkeys throughout when the artisans were working and that may have inspired them. The fire place was heavy with its sculptural detailing and looks like a mini castle. The high roof has painting of battlefield of King's daughter Matilda in 12th C.
Further ahead is another important room - the library. The most important factor here was the fire place which has 5 humans atop who represent the 5 early languages incl Hieroglyphics. This doesn't include Tamil or Sanskrit though.
Out of the Apartments, at the centre of the entire space is 'The Shell Keep' which is surrounded by a moat which is today filled gorgeously with daffodils. Today only a circular wall remains. One of section of this wall where some rooms are intact. 2 flights of stairs takes us to the top of the castle which is the View to the North which would have given the soldiers back then a perfect view of all around the castle and prevent any intruders.
The North Wall is another section (almost opposite to the entrance) of the outer wall, from where a tunnel from within goes till the main entrance! During the 2 world wars this place was used as a hideout.
Till date the place is maintained with the world war memorabilia, incl cots, radio, hurricane lamps, cycles, jackets, utensils, posters explaining how to protect when there's an air raid etc.
P.S.1: Check out here my outfit on this trip.
P.S.2: Don't miss Gina's Cafe just opposite to the castle. I had the best tasting Masala Dosa with Sambar & Tomato Chutney in the last 6 months, here in this cafe in South Wales! Its a fusion cafe of all Eastern cuisines incl Turkish, Moroccan, Indian, Persian and more except Oriental. Food is great!!! No, this part is not sponsored.
To Get There:
Walkable distance from Cardiff Busstand and Railway Station.
Timings: 9:30AM to 4:00/5:00 PM
Admission fee: £12
Dedicated to Venkat
A castle! I want to visit a European castle. I've only been to Asian palaces and they're beautiful, too. It's just that I grew up with all those children's books about princesses in castles and I want to see a real one someday.
ReplyDeleteI am loving all your posts on Wales because I want to visit one day myself. There is such a big history in Wales and that castle is one I'd love to see for myself.
ReplyDeleteThe inside of the dome loooks soooo amazing! The details just made me awestruck. I wish you had more close up photos!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very informative post. Now, I want to visit a castle too! Everything looks majestic and beautiful. I would certainly feel royal if I were there! :O
ReplyDeleteI would love to see each intricate details of the castle. It looks really elegant and majestic. You get to appreciate the heritage of the place.
ReplyDeleteThese castles look so Games of Thrones! That big hall looked just like the setting where they held the bloody Red Wedding. I would like to visit this castle first hand when given the chance.
ReplyDeleteThe design of each room look absolutely breathtaking. So much detail and color and it's really very lovely to look at. Aside from that I would like to see the memorabilia, the World War really intrigues me.
ReplyDeleteStunning place! The architecture is worth-watching. That long corridor looks creepy though or it's my mind :( BTW, just now followed you on IG.
ReplyDeleteWales is another place I would love to visit in this lifetime. I will definitely visit this place with my boys when we go there. I had a Welsh trainer in my previous job and he is from Cardiff.
ReplyDeletei would never thought of the castle to look like that inside. its pretty
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to visit Europe and explore castles. I might even play dress up just because.
ReplyDeleteCardiff Castle is a place we have always wanted to check out. Scotland is high on the list of places to travel to and this would be a must do.
ReplyDeleteThe castle looks impressive. I understand the reference to Tamilnadu. Actually both the floor tiles and impressions on the walls remind me of Chettinadu.
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