Caerphilly Castle

A good excuse to go to Wales.

Caerphilly Castle is one of the largest castles in Europe, the largest castle in Wales, and the second largest in all of Britain (after Dover Castle). Being just north of Cardiff, it isn’t too difficult to get to from England. From our base in the Cotswolds, it was under 2 hours. And the neat thing about going to Wales is your kids will get to see bilingual signs everywhere. I assume it’s the law or something, but you’ll get along fine knowing only English. My cousin has lived in Cardiff for over 20 years and still can’t speak a lick of Welsh.

Built in the 13th century, Caerphilly Castle is a splendid castle known for its double moat, which was considered one of the finest castle water defenses in all of Europe. The castle was built as part of the Anglo-Norman push to subjugate the Welsh, and it saw significant action throughout those campaigns. It is generally well-preserved, though one of the towers has a pretty severe lean to it. They don't let you in that one, but they have rather amusingly put a sculpture of a man holding it up.

Caerphilly Castle is managed by Cadw, but they give discounted admission to English Heritage members. There is no audio tour, but there are numerous display signs throughout the castle to explain much of it. I still prefer audio tours, as they tend to the tell the story better, but the signs work fine. You can climb to the top of several of the towers, which is always fun for the best views.

On the grounds outside the main inner gate are displayed several medieval siege weapons, including a ballista and a trebuchet.  My son loved getting to climb up on the ballista and pretend to fire it.

And also, dragons are a thing in Wales.  A red dragon appears on the Welsh flag:

A dragon emerges from the ground outside the main gate:

The dragon billows smoke from its nostrils.

And a red dragon poses at a break in the outer wall:

All said, Caerphilly Castle is an excellent example of a medieval castle, well worth the visit if you plan to make it into south Wales. It will be a pleasant day trip if you’re based in western England, and the town of Caerphilly is also pleasant enough. You should be able to find a good pub to eat lunch in at a reasonable price.