Probably one, if not the busiest day of our trip to Wales; we set off really early for an adventure. I mean first of all I should say I woke up about 4am and couldn’t get back to sleep. I had my copy of The Beautiful Ones nearby (review here) and had only 10 chapters left so I wanted to try and fit that in -which I would later come to regret, massively.
Our first stop of the day was the waterfall walk, Talybont-On-Usk. We had decided to take snacks and go early as we really didn’t want to do this in the full heat. Plus, we didn’t want to contend with crowds. We’ve done this waterfall walk a few times in the past (mentioned here) but wanted to show our buddies this time around.
We took a few small stops on the wall but made it to the end of the walk in good time and took a sit down -or a lay down in my case. I was feeling a bit of a zombie at this point and needed a bit of shut eye while the others explored and got their shots.
Given that we completed the walk so quickly, we headed to the Brecon Mountain Railway for a wander and a drink (and a vegan ice cream). We’ve done the Brecon Mountain Railway before as well, there’s a post here but with two train-enthusiasts and it being so nearby, it was a great spot to stop by.
After taking a load off and making a fuss of a variety of dogs, we set off for our last stop: Carreg Cennen Castle. Once again, we’ve been here before but we still had some time to spare and thought we head over there to have a picnic and chill in the sun for a while.
Carreg Cennen Castle has the imposing placement of being set atop a clifftop, with its steep slopes making the castle an impregnable fortress. The first castle was built by a Welsh Prince in the late 12th Century, which was later fought over and switched hands multiple times. It was later seized by King Edward I of England, who is famous for successfully subduing and taking control of Wales. He built 17 castles in Wales through his lifetime, the finest being Conwy, Beaumaris, Caernarfon, and Harlech (I have since convinced Bearded Boyfriend that we should try visit all the 17 castles as a bucket list challenge).
The fact that the steep slopes make the site so hard to access but easy to defend was a bit reminiscent of the Eyrie from Game of Thrones, definitely gave me those vibes.
Once you zig zag along the hills edge you go up hill and enter through where the castles first defence line would have been and where there are a few remnants of it still.
There is also a cave beneath the castle which once ran all the way down to the river bank, and would’ve survived as an escape route when needed. Today it is blocked from below and you can only access the cave through the castle. I skipped this part of the site, choosing to finish up my postcard-writing and admiring a playful black lab instead.
As I said, we have visited this castle before and it is truly lovely. I love the farm buildings below where there is a gift shop and tea room. They also have another building with a huge window looking up to the castle, where they perform wedding ceremonies.
Our day was rounded out by a trip to Tai’r Bull Inn for dinner, which was nice but has recently switched hands so I weren’t entirely sold on the experience. We then headed back to our home-base and got some much needed rest.
Cheerio for now!
withsomejam 