Castle Coch ... a fairytale castle

After driving past it many times and seeing it from the roof of Cardiff Castle it was time that we headed to the 'Fairytale Castle'. 


This was the summer home of Lord Bute and his family, a place to come and enjoy the spoils of his nearby vineyard and have a good time with his friends, a place to unwind and relax, a place to ... oh wait, he only stayed a few times?!? What was the point of that then?


Ah, well. Armed with our audio guides and a thirst for more knowledge we headed off to explore anyway. 



Like all good Castles, it was filled with beautiful decorations on the walls and ceilings. Some of it was painted like we'd seen at Cardiff Castle and some of it was carved. We were all particularly taken with a room that was decorated with Aesops Fables. The ceiling was magical.


Like all good Lords and Ladies, they had separate bedrooms. His Lordships was a bit leaky, so they are currently working on some restoration of the chimney. It was also quite small but had a toilet, which is always a bonus. Her Ladyships was large and at the top of one of the turrets. You wouldn't have wanted to forget anything because the stairs weren't particularly large or easy walking. She did have running hot and cold water, so that is helpful. We all thought the beds looked pretty uncomfortable and rickety. No Sleepyheads here. 


We found the children's rooms above the kitchen area and I took this because it reminded me of my friend Margaret. You should totally make Mike create a sign like this for your room Mags!

Side note: When the kids were young and got the mumps/measles they shut them away from the rest of the family so they didn't infect anyone else. No mothering of the kids from Lady Mumsie here.


We continued to wander finding little chapels and rooms for reading or praying. There are no staff rooms here, as most of the staff would walk in from the local town. 




We then went for a walk around the outside, because the sun was out and we wanted to see the bits that used to be an old Norman Castle before this was built on top. 




Bit of the old Norman wall





It was a pretty fun afternoon.



Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 19, 2018 at 11:24 AM

    Hi team x it's a pretty wee place eh! Laughed out loud when I saw the sign for Magz plus I remember seeing it too! The Aesops ceiling is a little bit special - clever artists of the day :) I think you'll love comparing all this history when you get home and really have time for it to sink in x To enjoy again :) What an adventure x

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