Gwrych Castle, Abergele

[Montreal Wanderer]

Castle Drogo looks a bit like one of our prisons!

[mummywhycantieatcrayons]

The structure and setting were outstandingly beautiful - the castle was original - but the interiors are renovated in a modern style and thus it felt to me as though I was walking around the inside of a modern hotel rather than a centuries old castle.

I guess however that if Leeds Castle and many other 'stately homes' had not gone down the hotel / conference centre route then they would probably have ended up in a similar state as Gwrych, Hafodunos and so many others.

That's right - it's exactly what the Hafodunos locals rejected and now look at the place.

The fact is, these places are very expensive to maintain and secure, not least because they seem to attract so many undesirables (not including me ). If it's the only way they can be preserved then so be it.

All we can hope for is that the restorations are as sympathetic to the originals as is possible when creating hotels/apartments etc. I hope those that have bought Gwrych and Hafodunos consult local historians when they are spending their millions.

But I'd definitely rather visit them as a hotel guest than be someone surveying a grade-I listed pile of rubble.

[TANGODANCER]

All this presents a very strong case for removing history as a school study ...........I think not. These mindless twunts are products of a society that, in the main, wants done with tradition and history and on with the anarchaic "future". Er, yes, right. "Back to the future" should maybe take some lessons from "Forward to the Past".

[Little Green Man]

expect to be completely underwhelmed by edinburgh castle TD

It's going to look stunning from the gardens below at around 9.30pm on Sunday - especially after a glass or two of the fizzy stuff.



I seem to recall that it is a bit dull inside though - but then again it has been a garrison and a prison for most of its life.

[communistworkethic]

expect to be completely underwhelmed by edinburgh castle TD

It's going to look stunning from the gardens below at around 9.30pm on Sunday - especially after a glass or two of the fizzy stuff.



I seem to recall that it is a bit dull inside though - but then again it has been a garrison and a prison for most of its life.

]

oh I know. Need any tickets?

[Little Green Man]

expect to be completely underwhelmed by edinburgh castle TD

It's going to look stunning from the gardens below at around 9.30pm on Sunday - especially after a glass or two of the fizzy stuff.



I seem to recall that it is a bit dull inside though - but then again it has been a garrison and a prison for most of its life.

oh I know. Need any tickets?

No thanks - sorted for tickets and whizz.

[Bruce Rioja]

This is my favourite ruin in the world. Sleddale Hall, better known as Crow Cragg. Surely it must be worth someone's while to buy it 'orf of' the Water Board and turn it into a themed hotel.

[TANGODANCER]

Aye, bet that place could tell a tale or two Bruce. Not sure about the themed hotel. Be nice if somebody just restored it to its former glory though. Very Ethel Austen and the Brontes.

[TANGODANCER]

Sounds almost unbelievable today, but this is the sort of cottage my dad was brought up in in County Mayo. Sixty years ago, when we first went there as young kids his old home was little different to this and our relations are still there today. the roof was thatched and the walls limed, chickens pecked about on the flagged floor, the cauldron was in regular use and the bedroom walls had a cavity for an extra sleeping area. The lighting was kerosene lamps only and water came from the well. Nobody seemed to be suffering much harm from it all. Plenty boiled eggs, homemade bread and Irish butter.

It's all much smarter today, all mod coms and the thatch roof replaced with slate. Old-fashioned thinking, I know, but it doesn't seem to have quite the same attraction somehow,

[Montreal Wanderer]

Aye, bet that place could tell a tale or two Bruce. Not sure about the themed hotel. Be nice if somebody just restored it to its former glory though. Very Ethel Austen and the Brontes.

Ethel Austen? Isn't that a clothing store or summat?

[TANGODANCER]

Aye, bet that place could tell a tale or two Bruce. Not sure about the themed hotel. Be nice if somebody just restored it to its former glory though. Very Ethel Austen and the Brontes.

Ethel Austen? Isn't that a clothing store or summat?

Well done Monty. Wondered if someone would pick up on it. Just my bit of fun. It's Jane of course.

[Montreal Wanderer]

Aye, bet that place could tell a tale or two Bruce. Not sure about the themed hotel. Be nice if somebody just restored it to its former glory though. Very Ethel Austen and the Brontes.

Ethel Austen? Isn't that a clothing store or summat?

Well done Monty. Wondered if someone would pick up on it. Just my bit of fun. It's Jane of course.

So I assumed, although I tend to associate Jane with middle or upper class families, somewhat impoverished and with daughters to marry off. However much we think of the glorious past I think there have been some improvements since your father's boyhood!

[TANGODANCER]

So I assumed, although I tend to associate Jane with middle or upper class families, somewhat impoverished and with daughters to marry off. !

Quite so, but a lot of the places in her novels were cottages visited, clerical homes etc and a bit less grand. The last version of Pride and Prejudice (with Donald Sutherland as the father and the gorgous Kiera Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet) presented a much more humble manse as the family home.

Oh, and er, the houses were like that in my boyhood, not my dads.

[Little Green Man]

expect to be completely underwhelmed by edinburgh castle TD

It's going to look stunning from the gardens below at around 9.30pm on Sunday - especially after a glass or two of the fizzy stuff.



I seem to recall that it is a bit dull inside though - but then again it has been a garrison and a prison for most of its life.

Sunday night - with a bit of artistic licence from my camera...

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

South rather than North Wales, and all but ruined, but check out this chuffer - Dryslwyn Castle. We had a B&B more or less at the foot of the hill recently and we'd drive past this every morning, shrieking the vocal riff from Immigrant Song, on the way to recording our album in a remote farmhouse. Worked every time.


comefromthelandoftheiceandsnow...

Also impressed when we camped near
Bodiam Castle in Sussex. It's the fabulously moated one out of Monty Python's Holy Grail...

[TANGODANCER]

Tragic to see so many of our heritage castles in ruins. This is a window detail from the Alcazaba in Malaga Spain. It was built in the 8th and finished in the 11th century.

[Dujon]

Not too many castles in this neck of the woods. I guess the Aboriginal population wasn't exactly skilled in masonic trades, which is understandable given that they were semi-nomadic in life style.

I guess that the closest we have is a fort - Fort Denison - situated in Sydney Harbour. I believe it was completed and manned in 1857 - which makes it modern by European standards. Happy 150th, Pinchgut.

I don't know whether this site will let me borrow the image, but if so then here it is:




It was built when the fledgling colony was rather concerned that the Russians might arrive in order to annexe this corner of the British Empire (there was a bit of a kerfuffle going on at the time). As it turned out the guns were never fired in anger. The place has been done up a bit and is now given over to tourism under the auspices of the NSW National Parks (I think).