Monday, 13 May 2013

Wild Wales Tour

Off south today for our Wild Wales Tour. I saw this in a magazine a while ago and it sounded great and relaxing. First stop was the Devils bridge. This consists of 3 bridges, each one built on the older one. The original bridge was built in the 11th century which is amazing as it is over a very deep ravine

The oldest bridge of the three.
 
All three bridges

Legend has it that the devil built it for a woman in exchange for the first living creature to cross it. The woman outwitted it by sending her dog over and the devil went off in a rage.

Memorial to the old lady who outwitted the devil

We went on the long walk down to see the bridges and also the waterfalls. Quite cold today.


What a great camera!

Next stop was Strata Florida Abbey which was built in 1164 by a Norman Lord. It was an important religious, political and educational centre in medieval times. There are the remains of unique hand painted floor tiles.

Most of these had been taken as souvenirs when the site was discovered in Victorian times. It has rows of ancient graves behind the wall. The monks of the abbey very much supported the push for Welsh independence. In 1212 King John fined them £800 for supporting the independence cause.

It is believed that it is at Strata Florida the most important primary historical source for early Welsh history, the Brut y Tywysogion, was compiled. Around 1238, not even forty years after the building of the Church, the Welsh Prince, Llywelyn the Great held a council at Strata Florida. Here he made the other Welsh Princes swear that they would acknowledge his son Dafydd as his rightful successor.

These were tiny daisies in the grass

Strata Florida Abbey was the base of King Henry IV and his son, later to become Henry V, in 1401 during the early years of the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr. They excluded the monks who had sympathised with Glyndŵr and the Abbey was plundered by the English army as a punishment. The King occupied it as a military base as he planned the capture or defeat of the rebel leaders active in the area. In 1402 the Abbey was held in the King's name under the Earl of Worcester and served as a military base for the further campaigns against the Welsh rebels in 1407 and 1415 when it would have been occupied by several hundred men-at-arms and many archers and foot soldiers enlisted in the King's cause.

The abbey was destroyed by Henry VIII in 1540's and the stone was used for many of the surrounding buildings.

For lunch we stopped off at Tregaron which was a medieval market town. Geoff had some very nice quiche and I had the Courgette and Tarragon soup. It was great to get out of the bitterly cold wind!

Market square

Following lunch we were back on the road and travelled a bit further to Camarthen which is the oldest continuously occupied town in Wales. It was built on the site of a Roman town which had a fort and an amphitheatre.

We went on a bit of a self guided tour through the rain and a chilling wind and found out the following.

Artist's impression of the castle

The castle was built by Henry 1st in 1106. It was one of the largest and most important royal castles in Wales. It was built on the site of the Roman fort. The castle grew through the centuries as stone replaced the wooden structures. The castle was destroyed by Llywelyn the Great in 1215. In 1223, the castle was rebuilt and permission was received to wall the town. Carmarthen was among the first medieval walled towns in Wales. Castle was captured by the Welsh led by Owain Glyn Dwr in 1403 and 1405.

Legend has it that Merlin was born in a cave outside of Camarthen. There was a priory established in the town in the 12 th century. Bishop Ferrari of St David's was burnt at the stake in the market square- now Nott Square in the 1550's.

By 5pm we have had enough of the cold so book into the Boars Head, the oldest inn in town. A mediocre though cheap tea and up to our room for a little TV.

 

 

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