Caerphilly Castle & Castell Coch
We love visiting castles, they are just so interesting and every one is different. We've been to see many fabulous castles, such as Newark Castle but there are also some gems more local to us. On bank holiday weekend we spent a fabulous day visiting two wonderful historic sites local to us - Caerphilly Castle and Castell Coch.
Both on the outskirts of Cardiff they are very easy to get to and well worth a day out to visit. We took the children and met some friends there to really make a day of it.
Caerphilly Castle is simply stunning. Surrounded by a huge moat it is the most impressive castle I have ever seen.
We happened to visit when there was a medieval fun festival which was fabulous - the girls loved watching the people dressed up and the re-enactments. It really helped them to get involved and made it fun for them to learn more of the history.
We carried the baby in a sling as we knew there would be a lot of steps and so we could all enjoy the spectacular views from the top of the castle. We watched a re-enacted kit inspection, enjoyed a yummy cake inside and also got to see some bird of prey who were there for the day. We headed off before lunch but we could have easily spent hours there.
I took so many photos but here are just a few...
After lunch in Caerphilly we headed over to Castell Coch. I've known many a person refer to Castell Coch as the Princess or Disney castle - it looks like a fairytale castle from afar. Castell Coch is Welsh for Red Castle.
This time we took the pushchair up to the castle as we could leave it undercover while we explored. Castell Coch is impressively decorated and is very different to Caerphilly Castle in that you see more interior style and history at Castell Coch. We were given audio guides which the girls loved as they really got to listen to the history and Bean was fascinated by the moral stories on there.
They have plenty of activities for the children, from learning how to stencil (and seeing the same stencil designs in one of the bedrooms was a highlight!) to building a replica castle.
There is also a lovely little tea shop where we stopped for a well needed coffee and cake and a little gift shop.
We had a fantastic day and I would thoroughly recommend visiting both castles. Entry is only £16.50 for a family of four with under 5's going free so it is great value for a day out.
Relive it with us a little by watching our vlog of our day out...
Disclosure - we were granted free access to both castles by Cadw for the purposes of this review. All opinions are honest and my own. To find out more about these castles and other places of historical interest take a look at Cadw's website.
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