Our first stop once we crossed into Wales was Raglan Castle to pick up a shirt left behind by one of the SCA crew from the recent Raglan Fair event. This gave David an opportunity to talk more with the staff of the castle and see if they had any concerns from our recent inhabitation. While he conducted that business, Dave and Linda set about shopping in the gift shop. Smiles exchanged, and tokens tucked away we all piled back into the vehicle to head to Castle Coch.
We headed up through the village to the castle to be promised on the hill. We had seen visages of the castle through the hedges before we left the motorway and so we know that the castle will be a site to behold once we find it in the dense forest surrounding it. We parked in the lower lot as designated and treked up the rest of the hill toward the castle. Our patience was rewarded with quite the view!
As we went inside we were amazed at how intimate this castle presented itself and how intact it truly was. As we explored room from room, up staircase after staircase in each tower we were amazed that although the castle seemed small and intimate there was always more to see. The castle itself once lay in ruins like so many we'd seen until a Lord took it upon himself to hire a Victorian Architect and rebuild Castle Coch as a home for himself and his wife, which is the Coch we review today. The castle even provided a Tea Room where entered for tea to take the chill out of the air, but once we smelled the lunch selection we ended up staying for an amazing lunch. In the gift shop, David found miniature figurines of the castle(s) done by Landmark and some Knight figures done by Myth and Legends for us to keep watch on for later acquisition. Next stop, Kidwelly Castle.
We approached Kidwelly through some smaller roads (some of them one lane) and were amazed by the quaint little city that still has part of the original castle wall running through it. We proceeded into the Castle through the gate house which had multiple murder holes and plenty of little rooms off to the side, one of which used to serve as a prison complete with oubliette. There was an inner and outer Bailey to this castle as well. This castle was well worth the travel off the beaten path. We were nearby Laugharne Castle and so we decided we'd head that direction next since it would give us approximately 1 hour to view it before it closed.
Back the way we came and down the road a piece toward Laugharne we saw a sign which read "Pemberton's Chocolate Farm". Okay, so I'll admit we were all curious and decided to take the detour to see what exactly constituted a Chocolate Farm. After following the road for a bit we saw a sign that said we were still 8 miles from the chocolate farm and it gave us a direction. After some more one lane roads and some farm tractors coming the opposite direction, we all agreed that this was the longest 8 miles ever. The signs kept leading us and we kept following. When the road ended we found a cute little visitor's village created around Pemberton's Chocolate Factory. You can purchase some chocolate, explore their collection of Hobo dolls, and tour the chocolate factory. David and I opted for a vanilla hedgehog which is Dreinog in Welsh (according to the gal behind the counter) and he was WAY AWESOME chocolate with a vanilla cream filling. Linda and Dave had Whiskey truffles and peach brandy -------. We just popped in for the chocolate and then headed back on the road in the hopes of still catching Laugharne.
On our way back to our road, we crossed through Whitland and saw (from afar) Whitland Abbey. As we went up another one lane road we pulled to the side to let this lady with a horse and cart get by. She was followed by her dog who looked a little tired and they pulled off to the side behind us to allow the semi by them which had been following them downhill without overtaking them.
As we neared Laugharne we saw St. Martin's Church and decided that we had already missed opening and so we stopped to take a look around this church and it's graveyard. Several of the gravestones were 1880's and older so I took the opportunity to do some research on epitaphs from the American Civil War era. After about 30 minutes we decided we should probably really finish our trip to the castle.
We passed the castle and parked down behind near the beach. Yes this castle overlooks the water and now we could see how writers and poets would want to use this place for inspiration. We noted the signs warned us the park was subject to flooding, which must be when the tide is in and high. The castle itself was closed but we enjoyed walking the waterfront and the outer walls. We noted lots of Inns and pubs nearby. Although it was beautiful we decided that we needed to get to our hotel for the evening and then we needed to get some food.
BB took us on another one lane road to reach our hotel. When we reached Tenby we noted that a portion of the city was walled and it was near the waterfront. BB kept trying to direct us down roads we weren't allowed on because of the walled portion of the city but eventually we found our way around and inside the wall itself to find our hotel. We stayed at the Blue Dolphin and it was a cute bed and breakfast type set in and amongst the city and just a minute's walk from the waterfront. Our rooms were all the way at the top of the stairs and so we knew we were going to get our exercise. It was a breathtaking view as we wandered the streets but then the need for food was overwhelming. As we wandered down the main street inside the wall, we saw St. Mary's church and it was open so we went in to take a look. Inside was a very kind young gentleman who answered our questions about the church itself and then, upon request, provided 2 suggestions for places to eat. His second suggestion, The Buccaneer, was open and we weren't disappointed as the food was both diverse and VERY good. We were pleased to note that the church bells tolled frequently and then we found out through the night that they tolled all night frequently. But the room was cute and comfortable and we enjoyed our stay. We headed off for our rest as tomorrow we needed to explore Pembroke before Dave and Linda catch the ferry.
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