27. Begin Research.

Begin Research.

To begin my research, I started at the very basics. I began with Welsh Heritage, and as shown below, castles are a very large part of Wales' Heritage. The screen shot below is from the 'Visit Wales' website, so it is clear that CAstles are even a part of the Welsh Tourism Industry.

http://www.visitwales.co.uk/things-to-do-in-wales/welsh-culture-and-heritage/

I found a large amount of information on this 'Visit Wales' website, yes, granted, the majority of the information is used for tourism purposes, but it is a place to start. The website has a a small 'recommendation' page of which castles to visit.

Top Picks

For the Family - One of Britain's largest medieval fortresses, Caerphilly Castle has a big events programme to match. The annual Big Cheese Festival is a favourite - a free weekend of entertainment for all the family that's staged in the castle grounds.

For a Fright - Strange things happen at Bodelwyddan Castle. Recent sightings an apparition in one gallery, a ghostly soldier in another and shadowy figures drifting down the corridors. Even the tea room has a ghost. 

For Romance - In his day the 3rd Marquess of Bute was the richest man in the world, so he could afford to indulge himself. One result is Castell Coch. A late 19th Century fancy built on the remains of a 13th Century Castle, it is one of Wales' most romantic and unexpected places. Don't miss :ady Bute's Bedroom, its painted double dome features 28 frolicking monkeys (rather risqué at the time).

For a Story - Forget Dan Brown, the Holy Grail is in Wales. Possibly. Ruined Castell Dinas Bran (or Crow Castle) stands on the sire of a 2,600-year-old hill-fort. No surprise then that  the location is at the heart of many legends, including one that says the grail is in a cave below the castle. 

For the View - You can't miss Carreg Cennen Castle - it sits on a limestone crag 300ft (91m) above the little River Cennen, so be prepared for a climb. It's well worth the effort. 

For a stroll - Powis Castle is a mecca for garden lovers. This impressive castle was built 800 years ago and the gardens have matured over time too. There are formal Italianate terraces with original lead statues, lush herbaceous borders and exotic plants cascading from the walls as well as an informal woodland "wilderness" that was added in the 1700's.

In a fight - Beaumaris Castle looks quiet and picturesque, but don't be fooled because it is (or was in the 13th Century) castle technology at its most deadly. It has some wicked touches, like the murder holes through which defenders could drop boiling oil onto anyone they didn't like.

As you can tell, the information is written in an 'attractive' kind of way, it's meant to appeal to you, to make you want to visit these places, and this quite clear. These main castles are the only castles that 'Visit Wales' have any information on. 

There's an e-brochure available on the 'Visit Wales' website, available here: http://brochures.visitwales.co.uk/brochures.php.
It is clear, just by looking at the front cover of this brochure that castles are a large part of the Welsh tourism industry, and this is something that people in  the industry focus on advertising as much as possible. I'd say the castles that scatter our landscapes are definitely one of Wales' biggest attractions yet, and tourism boards certainly make the most of this.

Here's a small clipping I took from the online brochure that is available on the VisitWales website (linked above). It's only a short clipping, which highlights specific Castles to visit across the country. They have highlighted the fairly spectacular Castle's of the country, one's that have been restored over the years, and kept in a very neat condition. Out of all of the one's highlighted, I am only aware of one locally, and that is Caerphilly Castle. I am very aware that this particular castle is known for it's great moat and it's whole layout.
I am also aware that Chepstow Castle isn't too far from Cardiff, it's more towards the Severn crossing to England, so it might be worth researching exactly where it is and maybe visiting there. The other Castles, apart from Cilgerran, are all North Wales, which is quite a distance to travel, if I am aiming to photographing Castles. I do not think I will require much travelling, well not to North Wales, as there are a large number of Castles in the South of Wales, including in the Carmathenshire, Swansea and South Glamorgan area. 
I know I definitely want to go to Caerphilly Castle, but I was unaware at how close Chepstow is, only 30 minutes on the train, which isn't too bad, and the Castle is fairly close to the train station, so it might be worth paying it a visit!

This is where I started my very basic research. Looking through tourist websites on Wales to find some basic information. It might be worth keeping my eyes peeled for any tourist leaflets which might be lying around. 

There was also a relatively large part on the more secretive gems of Wales. On the 'Visit Wales' website, they have created this short holiday plan, which is on route to these secret Castles of Wales. Most of them are located in South Wales, which is useful for me, and it might also be worth noting that actually doing this trip could be very good! Expensive, but useful for my project.