Cardiff Castle and other historic sites in South Wales, UK

South Wales, UK is a picturesque part of the world situated in the south west of the United Kingdom. With historical sites such as Cardiff Castle, St Fagans, Penarth Pier and many others, it has a rich heritage that is diverse and interesting. Having lived in South Wales for over thirty years I have had the privilege of visiting many amazing places and have so many dear memories because of this.

Now I live in America I truly appreciate the gift of history that South Wales afforded me; the beauty of the countryside was the perfect setting for the amazing castles and other historic places within driving distance of my home, and somehow there was always a mystical quality inherent to these sites. There is a tangible atmosphere of the past in these places, especially in St. Fagans which is truly like a trip into the past.

My life is so much fuller due to the experiences within these amazing places, and I honestly feel that a trip to the South Wales Valleys will be an amazing one for families, as you not only share in a rich heritage but also meet some of the friendliest people in the whole world.

Please excuse my nostalgia as I describe these places to you; I have so many memories that I simply cannot help but share them with you; some are funny, and some strike me as being sad, but all of them are an important piece of my soul that will never leave me.

The places I will take you are all fascinating glimpses into the past, and I guarantee you will come away with a sense of history and perhaps an understanding of the problems and strife throughout the ages; without these struggles, South Wales would be a very different place today.

Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section, or leave me a message about the wonderful memories you may have had in any of these places. Sout Wales is an amazing place to visit, and is relatively cheap; I lived in South Wales for 30 years and never got bored of the wonderful and atmosphric historical areas.

I hope you have the time to visit these amazing places.

I worked in Cardiff for nearly ten years and often overlooked the amazing castle that is situated near the city center. It is one of Wales’ leading historical attractions and with its amazing parklands and fairytale look, it hides a heritage than spans nearly 2000 years.

The original Roman fort that existed on the site of Cardiff Castle dates back to the early 50-100 AD. With close access to the sea it is a very strategic place to build a castle. As the Norman’s invaded, the castle was expanded with the addition of a keep. The site used the original Roman fort and divided the castle into inner and outer wards, and separated them by a large wall.

Over the years the Castle was transformed with additions and fortifications and finally in 1766 it passed into the Bute Family; the Bute family are one of the most influential families in South Wales and transformed Cardiff into the world’s most prestigious coal exporting port.

In 1866 the 3^rd Marquess of Bute employed Williamn Burges to re-design the Castle with a gothic look; much of the opulence and richness that is prevalent in the castle today was down to the genius of William Burges architecture. As you move through some of the rooms within the keep, you will be transformed into different realms as the themes vary.

Eventually the Bute family gave the castle and parklands to the city of Cardiff; the parklands are known as Bute park. What is amazing as you visit the castle is that you can see the different stages the Castle went through; if you take a look at the outer walls you can see various stages ranging back several hundred years to the most recent enhancements made in the early 1900s.

The Castle is an amazing place to visit for the whole family; with the city center being a walking distance away you’ll find plenty of things to do on your visit to Cardiff.

St Fagans is one of my favorite places to visit in South Wales. The historical open air museum portrays a historical journey through Wales going back to the Celtic times and culminating in the present day.

The museum is located in the grounds of the St Fagans Castle – well it’s not a true castle, it’s more of a manor house – the house and lands were donated to Wales by the Earl of Plymouth.

The concept of the museum is unique; over the life of the museum, forty or more historical buildings from different periods have been moved from their original location throughout Wales and re-built brick by brick in the 100-acre lands of St Fagans castle. Within the lands you’ll find houses, farms, school and many other types of building including a tannery.

What I loved most about the visits to St Fagans was the many activities that go on; I loved watching black-smiths working, real livestock being tended and even participated in a primary school lesson! It’s the authenticity to the cultures that make St Fagans a very educational but also fun place to visit.

In addition to the open air museum, there is an exhibition that features historical items such as farming implements and cultural costumes – it really is like stepping back in time.

I have visited St Fagans many times and I can honestly say I never get bored of it; if you get the chance, you must visit this amazing open-air museum!

I was lucky enough to live about 5 miles from Caerphilly. It’s a wonderful little South Wales town that also has one of the best medieval castles of Eurioer. It is one of the largest castles in Britain and is one of the most masterfully built castles of the late 13^th century. The design, including the round towers was considered revolutionary.

The castle was built by the ambitious lord of Glamorgan (Gilber de Clare) – it was designed to prevent Llyweln the Last from invading South Wales with the intent of keeping South Wales for King Henry III.  It was built on my birthday – April 11, 1268 and was constantly under attack from the Welsh leader before its ultimate completion.

The castle has remained mostly un-touched since the early 1300s and is a great example of 13^th century architecture. Unlike many castles, such as Cardiff Castle, it was not built on the site of an older fort or castle.  It was one of the first castles to be built symmetrically and due to the clever design it was very defendable, with separate parts of the castle having the ability of being independent of the others.

The placement of the lakes to the north and south meant that attackers had limited access to attack the castle, and much of this was due to the ingenuity of the engineers.

The castle is one of the strongest (in terms of defensibility) in Britain; it is built for battle and does not have the same touch of opulence as many of the other local castles.

As you visit the castle you’ll be amazed by the sheer size of it; sadly much of it is in disrepair, but you still get a feeling of safety as you walk through the grounds and visit some of the amazing corner towers that are still entact. One of the most famous features of the castle is the leaning tower which is 15m high and leans badly – it really looks like it could fall at any minute.

Out of all of the castles I’ve visited throughout Wales this is probably my favorite. It’s hard to say why because it is derelict in parts, but somehow I can imagine a devout army defending the walls against the Welsh armies. It truly has a historic feel to it.

When I commuted to Cardiff I used to pass the picturesque Castell Coch every day; it’s better known as the Fairy Tale castle as it epitomizes what you would expect from a traditional fairy tale, with its turrets and towers.

The castle was designed for the 3^rd Marquess of Bute by William Burges. It was built on the site of a genuine 13^th century castle but was more of an indulgence with its opulence rather than a real castle.

The history of the real castle is a little vague, but the Castell Coch (or Red Castle) has become a visible landmark famous throughout the valleys of South Wales and has featured in many TV shows and movies.

Architecturally the castle is stunning and really fulfills the fantasy of a fairy tale castle. Inside, the opulence is amazing from the first step through the gates; it really is a glimpse into the wealth that land owners and lords had in the 13^th century.

While not historically important, the castle is a fun place to visit and provides some amazing photographs!

South Wales has an amazing history relating to the coal and iron industry. Throughout the last 100 years, the industry of South Wales has been important in the development of low cost coals and iron ores worldwide. The Bute family made Cardiff into the prevalent coal exporter of the world and this led to the industrialization of much of South Wales.

Blaenavon Ironworks is an industrial museum on the site of a very important iron works. Sidney and Percy Gilchrist used this site to experiment and the culminating steel process revolutionized the world.

The introduction of Blaenavon Ironworks to South Wales made it into one of the largest iron-producing regions in the world; by 1833 the iron works encompassed several forges and furnaces and had 430 houses that house the 1000 worjers.

Alexander Cordell wrote his novel Rape of the Fair Country based in the Ironworks and the surrounding areas. The novel highlighted the industrial revolution and the riches that poured into South Wales duting this time.

The modern day museum gives an amazing insight to the conditions that the workers faced through good times and times of desperation; it’s amazing to see the technologies that were used, and even though they seem primitive they were highly effective and made South Wales one of the boom areas during the industrial revolution in the UK.

Caerleon is a wonderful village close to the River Usk near Newport City. It houses one of the most important archaeological sites of the region; the Roman legionary fortress Isca Augusta was the headquarters of LEgio II Augusta, and close by is an Iron Age hill fort.

Close buy to these important sites is the National Roman Legion Museum and the Roman Baths Museum. Both of these museums are fantastic; they give a great insight into the  Roman industry and technology that far surpassed anything else existing at the time.

After the Romans had left Britain, Caerlon became the administrative center of the Kingdom of Gwent. This led to a Norman castle being built close to the Roman For, and it became an important battleground between the Welsh and the Normans.

It also was an important site for both the Welsh Revolt and the English Civil war; it’s this diversity in history that makes Caerleon not only a very important place, but also a great and diverse place to visit. The site may be overgrown now, and perhaps not really representative of a thriving Roman community, but as you walk around the grounds of the fortifications you do get a feeling of history and you can almost feel the battles that occurred here.

This site is probably not that interesting for children, but as an adult I found it very enticing and educational!

The Victorian era of Britain was one of Industrial Revolution, innovation and inventions. With the success of the industry of Britain, riches poured in and Victoiran society indulged itself. One of the more pleasurable indulgences was the introduction of piers all around the coast of Britain.

Penarth pier was built in 1894 and not only was it a promenade but it also was an important jetty for the successful and highly lucrative steam ship trade across the British Channel. The pier was improved when the local cancel purchased it in 1926 and an amazing pavilion was added.

Disaster stuck in 1941 when a fire destroyed the pavilion, many ships and shops and much of the decking. The pier was rebuilt, but the famous pavilion wasn’t.

Thanks to the national lottery fund and other restoration projects the pier was fully rebuilt and refurbished and hopefully it will culminate in a return to its former glory.

An ongoing refurbishment hope to restore and develop the pavilion and I for one hope to visit it in the planned re-opening in 2013. As you visit the pier now, you still can feel the history as you walk the boards. The remains of the pavilion are dilapidated, but as you pier into the building you can almost hear the music that must have pervaded the decks of the pier.

Somehow, I found a strange peace as I walked out towards the sea, hearing the relaxing sound of the waves and trying to imagine what the pier was like when it was in its original condition.

Visiting the pier isn’t for everyone, but if you want a few moments in contemplative silence then it is an ideal place to visit.

 These are just a few of the amazing historical sites in South Wales. Each holds a special memory for me, but more than that are amazing places to visit. There's more histroy in the South of Wales than much of Europe and it was a pleasure to have grown up in this amazing place.