Skip to main content

Cardiff Castle and Castle Coch


First things first: It is NOT castle coCK. Coch is the Welsh word for red. It’s Red Castle. Are we clear? Good.

Here is the long awaited (by no one I’m sure) blog post dedicated to the two castles I visited when I was living in Cardiff. I’m dreadfully disappointed in myself, actually. Wales has the most castles per square mile in the world, and I didn’t see nearly enough. All the more reason to go back!

Cardiff Castle


Cardiff Castle is conveniently located smack-dab in the middle of City Centre. The castle walls are massive, and the land itself also includes a park (mentioned in this post). Another bonus? Residents of Cardiff can get the “key to the castle” to get in for free anytime they want as well as discounts off purchases.


There are so many rooms to explore in the castle grounds. You can walk yourself around, or there are free audio tours that take you everywhere.


I definitely suggest doing the tour. It costs a little extra, but it is so worth it. They have an awesome philosophy where the tour guides don’t have scripts to follow. One tour can be completely different from the next. One of my roommates went three times and said each tour was unique.


I am, obviously, all about the libraries in these old buildings. This one was stunning. The rooms in Cardiff Castle are all so unique and made for living (the place has heating!).


If you’re not afraid of heights, you definitely need to go up the Castle Tower. The views of Cardiff are fantastic, and you really realize how vast the castle grounds are. It is so special to have a castle so close by.

Castle Coch


Here’s a cool fact: you can see Castle Coch from the top of the Castle Tower in Cardiff Castle. It is hidden in the hills, so the views are magnificent. This castle did not house royals. It was simply a guy who wanted to build an elaborate home for his wife (taking notes, boys?).


This is much smaller than Cardiff Castle. It has an audio tour which is one of the best I’ve ever experienced. It is clear, concise, and also informative. The rooms were still just as cool.


There are loads of places to hike around Castle Coch because it is in the hills. My roommate and I took the bus to the town and then walked to the castle. Altogether, the day cost less than £10. We had tea and a Welsh cake while walking around the exterior. One of the highlights of my year!

Like I said, I would love to go back and do even more exploring in and around Wales. I love castles so much, and I was lucky to have so many close by.

What is your favourite thing to explore?

-Daniella

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Very Inspiring Blog Award

Yay yay yay, I got nominated for the Very Inspiring Blog Award from Marlee at Marlee and You ! Now, you can learn even more about me! Pretty exciting isn’t it? The hardest part is gathering all the 15 bloggers to tag. But hey, I got this! Rules: 1.        Link the person who nominated you (CHECK) 2.        List and display the rules (CHECK) 3.        Share seven facts about yourself. 4.        Nominate 15 other blogs and let them know they have been nominated. My Seven Facts: 1.        My favourite meal is breakfast. Although I basically only eat milk and cereal, I love the variety of things you can have. I just made myself a Blueberry Breakfast Quesadilla , and it was amazing! 2.        My all time favourite website is HelloGiggles . I have recently taken on the title of a feminist, and...

Recently Read - October 2020

 Is fall not the best reading season? I’m so glad I’ve had a few opportunities to sit on the front porch, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket with a hot drink and my book. Right now, it’s raining outside and all I want to do is cozy up and get back to my book. I’ve read some great non-fiction in the past six weeks. I’m learning so much about how people relate to the world around them. That is so important to me. Check them out! The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism – Naoki Higashida – 4 Stars         This is a very short book that I think everyone should read – particularly those who work with children. Although knowledge has come a long way, there is still so much more to be learned about autism. This book is a series of question that Naoki Higashida answers from his point of view. Interspersed is also a handful of short stories from Higashida’s point of view.         It’s an i...

Book Review- A Treatise On Shelling Beans by Wieslaw Mysliwski

So this book took me way too long to read. I read before bed to shut my brain off, but I was so exhausted all summer that I was asleep as soon as I got into bed. It has been a long time, but I finally finished it! I took a good handful of quotes that sparked my thinking, so brace yourself! And if you’re interested in the tradition summer, you can find it here . 1.        When people can be divided by something they always will be (9). Just think-the only thing that really divides us as people are differences. If we see someone who is a fraction of a fraction different than us, our minds consider it division. Why is that? Why must we let things get in the way of relationships?   2.        All the more because if you ask me, these days the soul is a commodity like anything else. You can buy it and sell it, and the prices aren’t high (28) A popular book genre of the modern era is “self-help.” Lumped with that...