CARREG CENNEN CASTLE

Carreg Cennen Castle

Carreg Cennen castle is in Carmarthenshire in Wales. It sits on a limestone precipice overlooking river Cennen and is almost 100 metres above the river. It is a native Welsh castle probably constructed by Lord Rhys. In the late 12th C. During the concuest of Wales by. Edward I the English got control of the castle and whatever remains now heralds from the later English work.

During the Wars of the Roses the castle surrendered to the Yorkists and was partially demolished by them to prevent any further threat. 

The steep limestone cliffs that it is situated on makes for a very dramatic look and attractive for my photographic eye. Also on the other side it is a steep climb to get up to the castle. There is a geological fault zone stretching from Pembrokeshire to Shropshire in England. It is called the Carreg Cennen Disturbance after the place where it is most impressively revealed, at Carreg Cennen.

The castle stands out with its prominent position on top of the limestone crag. I approached it from the other side and although easier than climbing up the nearly vertical wall on this south side, it was still a bit of a hike up to the castle
In a countryside dominated by sheep the castle can just be seen in the background
Here I have moved on and the view of the fault line that created is very clear here. The river is in the valley in front of the rock
From this side you can see the gentler slope leading up to the main entrance to the castle
Arriving at the castle we had a picknick of Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam and picked cucumber, all very Swedish
Climbing up, the castle looks formidable nearby. The entrance, then as now, was at the right side through two draw-bridges and separate gate towers. Only the foundations of those towers remain now
A westerly view from what had originally been one of the gate-towers

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