Husb and I celebrated St. David’s Day today with a quick trip up the Valleys to visit Castell Coch, which is Welsh for the Red Castle. It was packed to the rafters with visitors so I didn’t have much time to draw, just a quick sketch of some of the extraordinary carvings above one of the fireplaces. It’s an amazing place, a Victorian folly built onto the foundations of a Medieval castle, designed by William Burges in the Gothic Revival style and bankrolled by the Marquis of Bute, reputedly the richest man in the world at that time.
We also nipped up to the lovely Workers Gallery in Ynyshir to take up some of my artwork. I show a lot of my work there, I am one of the gallery’s permanent artists. It’s a lovely place and it’s great to see a new arts venture open up in such an area of high deprivation.
I drew these sketches into my A5 Tate Gallery sketchbook with a Faber Castell Pitt drawing pen.
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My daughter and I did a road trip of Welsh castles a couple of years ago, and Castell Coch was one! Extraordinary place, little bit Disney, little bit Victorian fantasy, but we loved it – and had the best scones I have had in ages in the coffee shop!
We’re not short of a castle or 2! It’s an amazing place.
I know – I think we only managed half a dozen or so, and they were so dramatically different too. There will be more visits!
Ooohhh which ones did you visit?
you know, it was hard to remember which ones! Raglan, Tintern Abbey, Ogmore, Neath Abbey (I think all those were on that trip) and looking at pictures on the Cadw website Beaupre looks very familiar, but I didn’t remember the name … I know there were others though. Love a good ancient building!
How lovely. I think they’re mostly the ‘ Picturesque ‘ ones. Caerphilly and Pembroke are the really hardcore military fortresses, quite imposing.
Raglan is quite fortressy – I really like the mix of pretty and tough! Neath abbey was interesting, with the remains of an Elizabethan abbey built inside the ruins of a much older castle. Will have to see some more …
There’s plenty more where they came from 😀