Raglan Castle

Raglan Castle is the last castle built in Wales, and one of the more grandiose ruins I've ever seen. It's not well preserved, but it's huuuuuge and with just a little imagination, you can dream yourself away to a more romantic era. Full of shit, sweat, pestilence and early death, but more romantic.

The castle was destroyed by Parliament forces in the 1640s, after being a monarchist stronghold for some time. When the King was restored, the previous owners didn't want to take up residence again and so the structure fell into further disrepair.

All pics here.

The main entrance. These are just the gatehouses.


View from the other side. The keep to the right.


The keep originally had five floors.


And an inner moat. Paranoia was a lifesaver back then.


The largest of the inner courtyards.


The old kitchen. There were two fireplaces like this and several smaller ones. I saw an estimate that at least 200 people were living here.


Grand staircase.


The Welsh must have the coolest flag in the world.