Gwrych Castle is a truly romantic fairytale castle ruin. Set on a hillside with soaring towers and endless crenellated walls. The castle may not be medieval (built between 1812-1822) but it certainly has the appearance of a gothic fortress. If you would like to read more about Gwrych Castle history then click here.
We were fortunate enough to visit the castle on a gloriously sunny day, which certainly added to the castle’s splendour. We entered the castle through the garden entrance which is upon the hill. We quickly came upon the gardens and monkey trees which, thanks to the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust, have been greatly restored and looked splendid with many flowers and roses in bloom and a water feature.
Click here to watch our video of exploring Gwrych Castle and its history
We climbed further up the walls and walked along the pathway past many derelict towers and buildings (although from the exterior they looked rather fine) and came upon a few areas that you could explore the interior. Although these rooms are in a dilapidated state it still gives us a glimpse of how grand this castle once was and the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust is working hard to restore the castle to its former glory. At this point you can also catch a glimpse of the once magnificent marble staircase built by the remarkable Winifred, Countess of Dundonald. The staircase’s condition is no longer what it once was and was cordoned off during our visit but you could still imagine how exquisite it once was.
We descended down a long lane with buildings and towers and entered a courtyard with the remains of the house to the side. The stone structure remains on the outside intact with gothic windows and reaches many stories high. Even in its current state it was certainly impressive!
In the area next to the house (and numerous other areas higher up along the walls) you can see quite delightful scenes over the landscape reaching out to the sea (as long as you ignore the car park and look beyond it) there is also a large well kept lawn beside the house (nice for picnics).
With regards to amenities when we visited (2021), there were portaloos next to the car park, no gift shop or cafe and wheelchair access would be difficult. However the site is a work in progress and entrance fees are very reasonable compared to many similar sites.
This castle may not be medieval or have any military defence but what it is is truly a magnificent and beautiful place that creates a huge impact with its scale and has a both romantic and haunting atmosphere (in the nicest possible way).
Date of visit 06.06.2021
Please do update us on any changes regarding the amenities of the castle if you find them at castlesandlegendscom@gmail.com
The Castle is open to the public (when television filming is not happening) for a small fee. You can check opening dates, times and book your tickets through the castle’s website at https://www.gwrychcastle.co.uk
Click below to watch our video on exploring Gwrych Castle and its history
So castles are a real thing. I always see them in movies and always thought that it was something fictional. It’s great to see that there are plenty of castles in the world. I should definitely go and visit one in my lifetime. I have added it to my bucket list.
I am very happy to have helped you to discover that castles are definitely a real thing. Gwrych is a more ‘modern’ castle (18th century), some castles date back to the Norman times in the 11th century in the UK. An example is Berkeley Castle https://castlesandlegends.com/… read about the castle that has been with the same family (Most of the time) for nine centuries.
Thank you for bringing a bit of history back to life. When I first looked at the pictures I thought it was much older but obviously not. I have to ask, did you take the pictures and is the video yours?. Either way, it is an absolutely awesome bit of historical reporting. Is the castle still in Public ownership, and what does that mean exactly? Is it run by the government? A fairy tale castle it certainly is and a wonderful review, now I want to go there.
Steve.
Hi Steve
Yes the photographs and video were taken by us and very happy to hear that you like them.
The Castle is owned by the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust who are a charitable organisation that are working to restore the castle and have opened it to the public to enjoy for a small fee towards the running costs (check there website for opening times here https://www.gwrychcastle.co.uk
I would certainly recommend visiting Gwrych Castle and if you would like to hear more about the Gwrych Castle’s history then click here for the article that I have written https://castlesandlegends.com/…
Its a whoa moment for me. In as much as I know as a fact that castle are real, they are way behind the recess of my mind that they are relics of the bygone era.
So it was with much enthusiasm that I follow this visit and the video clips makes me part of it. This is really nice and the efforts that are put in place to restore the castle are commendable. Its my desire to visit the castle some day.
Thank you for your comment. Visiting historical landmarks of times gone by can really help to bring them back to life in ones mind and I hope that you do get to visit a castle one day.