More fried toast this morning but my stomach was no more interested it than yesterday. Consolation prize in that it was midly better than last nights dinner which was quite forgettable.
We invaded Pembroke Castle first. Initially we were planning to head to the northen end of Wales but one we realised that Pembroke was open, we went there instead and it probably turned out to be the pick of the castles we visited. Tell you what though, climbing all those towers soon got boring as it's a continuous right hand spiral with slippery and steep stairs. Tell you what though, I'm not sure how these people moved around these castles with ease cause they're pretty tight at times, especially those soldiers who carried photographic gear with them!
Mildly easier to navigate than the stairs in the hotel Julz and I stayed in
You could probably play AFL inside Pembroke it's that big!
On leaving I noticed a brass rubbing store next to the castle exit. Sarah's a bit of a fan of these rubbings so I thought I'd have a go. King Hen-rye the 8th is a favourite of Sarah's so I rubbed up a brass King Henry for her which she was pleased with. It will now feature on her wall of stuff.
I don't think I've ever looked this focused!
Damn it... back at work already!
We also checked out Carew and Cilgerran castles. Once we finished Cilgerran Castle, we inserted some bogan reference. Figured while we were so close to this town, we'd take the opportunity to take this photo considering we're both Magna owners and Mitsubishi is commonly referred to as the 'Cardigan Car Company'
Carew Castle was more manor than keep
These crazy Welsh or Tudors or whoever must have good taste in music!
(lame Bon Jovi reference)
Welsh bogans (English equivalent are Chavs)
Seeing as though we intended on checking out Bath the next day, we worked our way back to Cardiff for the night and managed to stay in the same room although Brendan managed to score a broken bed.
Brendan says...
I agree with Cookie on both counts - Pembroke was a fantastic castle; easily the best I've been to, and surprisingly big, but the initial excitement upon finding a hitherto unnoticed doorway quickly fades as it leads to yet another sequence of small, round rooms and narrow, winding stair-cases.
It was fascinating to be able to explore a castle almost in its entirety. The usual castle ruin experience happens at ground level as all the stairways have crumbled or are blocked off, and keeps that used to boast four or five storeys are now hollow stone tubes, full of mud and pigeons. So being able to wander between towers whilst inside a wall, or ascend to the top of the gatehouse and lean over the parapet was awesome. We spent 3 hours here!
One thing though - people were a lot shorter back then.
Carew was majestic, with amazing picture windows. It would have been a sight back in the day. But it and, in particular, Cilgerran, were a bit "meh" after Pembroke.
I'm still yet to find a satisfying Mexican restaurant in the UK. And for some reason all my dreams were at funny angles.
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