Not even the car had a roof...
The skies are blue and the sun is coming up over the mountains. It is the first week of November and despite the time of the year, the air feels comfortably warm. I'm dressed up for my first Castle Adventure. Nearby are four "open-air" castles and I'm excited to explore them. In the Netherlands you simply don't have such ancient ruins and in Devon there are a couple of castles yet so far I managed to miss them all.
The road takes me over narrow lanes, with on both sides huge trees. Their brown, yellow and red leaves are covered in the warm light of the morning sun. Uphill, downhill we go and everytime I get surprised with yet another stunning view of the hilly landscape.
The first destination today is White Castle. I'm the only visitor and I take my time wandering around. The walls are still up and a bit of the floorplan is visible. It may not be much, but it feels really cool to walk over the bridge through the gate, mentally putting myself back in medieval times… the experience is being completed by a beautiful rainbow.
Back at the car, a slight rain starts to fall. And how timely, because when I arrive at Grosmont Castle, it is dry again and the sun peeks through the clouds. The castle is situated on the edge of a tiny village (or shall we say that the village is situated adjacent to the castle grounds?) I meet an old lady who has spent her life in the village and who highly recommends a visit to the church. I love old churches, so I make a mental note to pop in after visiting the castle. Quite a lot of the castle building is still in tact. You can even climb up a part of the walls, like the guards once did.
Back down I walk over to Grosmont Church and it is old indeed. The door is open and indoors I discover some beautiful stained glass windows through which the sun is creating a lightshow.
The third castle for today is Skenfrith Castle. By now, it is actually warm, the sun shines full out and with a big grin I open the roof. Ohhh the luxury of it all! Looking up at blue skies and the sun shining on my face while I'm driving. People asked me why on earth I would go to Wales 'in the winter' and here I am: driving around in my cabrio in sunny Wales.
After a walk through the inside of Skenfrith Castle, I end up at a gate that leads to the river. Here is still visible where ships used to anchor and with some imagination, one can see the barrels with provisions being brought into the castle. The walk along the river brings me back to my car and we head for the last stop today: Raglan Castle.
Time went fast and I got not much more than half an hour left to visit the castle before they close. I do it anyway and decide that I can go back anytime, since this castle is nearly on my doorstep. Raglan is very well-preserved and it is a joy exploring it.
I'm working on the images now, White castle is already available:
Be sure to watch more photos:
