Castle Coch, with its turrets and its drawbridge, its dungeon and elaborately decorated dining rooms, is pretty much everything I think a castle should be. Obviously John Crichton-Stuart, the third Marquess of Bute, had similar opinions. Back in the 1870s, he commissioned his architect, William Burgess to design this fairy-tale castle on the site of a 13th century fort.
These days the castle is open to the public for most of the year. Entry is £3.50 for adults, and the informative room-by-room audio guide is an extra £1. Castle Coch is located above the village of Tongwynlais, which is on the Taff Trail from Cardiff to the Brecon Beacons (much closer to the Cardiff end). It took us about an hour and a half to cycle to Tongwynlais from the caravan park in Portcanna… and probably another half an hour for me to push my bike up the steep hill from the village to the castle!
But when we got there, it was worth it. Castle Coch is impressive both outside and in. Outside, we walked around the circumference of the sloping stone walls, and watched children run around in the surrounding forest.
Inside, and on the first floor, we began the audio tour of the Marquess’ apartments. Like in Cardiff Castle, each room was decorated according to a theme. One of my favourites was the drawing room with its high ceiling, the carvings of the three fates over the fireplace, and paintings of the creatures from Aesop’s fables around the walls.
At the end of the tour there were three exhibition rooms, which had models of the castle and the stained-glass windows from the original chapel.
Back in the courtyard, we chanced upon a display of medieval weaponry. A man dressed in chain-mail armour was putting some young visitors through their paces, teaching them to attack and block each other with foam swords. In the tearoom, there was a wide range of affordable drinks, cakes and hot food on offer, including traditional Welsh Cawl and Rarebit.
Everything I think a castle should be, full of stories and beautifully maintained, Castle Coch was my highlight of our long weekend in Wales.
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