Chepstow Castle

As the title of this post suggests, I spent the day in Chepstow. Its a small town in East Wales. We caught a taxi to the Swansea train station at eight this morning and by 8:30 we were on the train to London. We got off in Newport and sat outside at the station, in the freezing cold, for an hour and a half waiting for our connecting train. We finally arrived in Chepstow about 11:00 but then we had to find the castle. Fortunately, Chepstow is a traveler friendly town and was kind enough to have posted signs around the city pointing to specific locations including the castle. We had to cross a very busy street and as we approached it we began to see signs that read, "Subway." We soon realized that the signs were referring to a crosswalk that went through a tunnel, under the street, and to the other side. That was the, "Subway." We walked to the castle in about fifteen minutes and as we turned the corner we became dwarfed in its shadow. As you will notice in the pictures below the castle is awesome in size and while parts of it are in a state of disrepair most of it is still standing and the remaining structure alone is enough to make you stop and think. I hope that you enjoy this virtual tour at least half as much as I enjoyed the real thing. Welcome to Chepstow Castle, St. Mary's Church, and the town they were built for.

Below is an external view of Chepstow Castle. It is the oldest stone castle in Britain and was occupied by King Edward. It even comes with a moat!

This next picture evidently is me with the castle. Do I look a little small to anyone else?

Nicole, me, and Marta in an archway which was once a door. The architecture is breathtaking and the simple fact that it was built, amazing.

These are the stairs leading down to the wine cellar. Now that's my kind of castle! The cellar was dry, unfortunately. Back when the castle was in use they would hoist baskets with the wine in them up from boats that were in the moat below.

This would be me with more castle ruins in the background (you'll be seeing a lot of that, sorry).


Alexandria and I in a random window You probably can't really make it out too well but the shimmery substance in the background below the trees is the moat.


This was once the Grand Hall and if you follow along the top edge of the wall you can tell where the vaulted ceiling once was. All though more decrepit now it is still grand.

Me in a staircase that went no where but its in a castle in Wales and that's good enough for me!


The warrior and I, sounds like a movie. We were a little alarmed to see the manikins at first. We weren't expecting them and in one exhibit there was a fake rat on the floor. Chepstow was an interesting experience to say the least.


This one would be of Nicole and her handsome fellow. She seems excited about the match.

My staircase to no where. The steps were absolutely tiny and narrow wouldn't be the word for it, but its still better than the spiral staircase at the Opryland Hotel so I'm happy.

Its difficult to tell but that would be Nicole and I. There were metal helmets from the time period that we could try on and so we did. My head is apparently much smaller than most people think it is but Nicole's is even smaller. The helmets were made of solid metal and had to weigh at least seven pounds. Uncomfortable and embarrassing might begin to describe how we felt when this one was taken. I hope that you've enjoyed your laugh, now moving on...

Me in front of a window in one of the turrets. The really narrow windows, like the one in the background, would be placed close together in a circle to increase air flow into the castle. It was the predecessor to modern air conditioning.

Marta and I in a doorway leading to one of several courtyards.

Alexandria and I in a courtyard with castle ruins for a backdrop. Notice, if you will, that the grass really is greener on the other side.

Again, another, "Great Hall" that has since been reduced to architectural rubble but it is beautiful. There are what appears to be sand colored sculptures carved into the side walls. These were once the base of an archway that has since been destroyed by time. This room was most likely two or three stories tall when it was built. Sorry that its crooked, maybe I was the one who emptied the wine cellar.

This isn't the same room as above but its just as big. Perhaps this will help you put things into perspective. Alexandria is the one in the red.

This picture wasn't actually very planned. Amy, Marta, and Nicole happened to be all be looking out the windows at the same time and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

This one was just for kicks and no, we didn't plan to wear the same jackets that just randomly happened but it makes for some fun pictures.


Alexandria and I with the moat in the background.

No Marta isn't hugging a tree because she's lost. Pardon the pun but this picture stemmed from an inside joke about Marta and the Tree of Knowledge.

This picture has become known as the, "Prince Charming one." Anyone see him? Neither do I.

Everyone here claims that this looks like it should be a senior picture. I'll let you decide. By the way, we ate lunch sitting in such windows in one of the turrets. It was by far one of the most exciting meals I've had in a while.


Here are some random photos that I took of the castle. They aren't of anything in particular, just pictures of the past.
















These next two pictures are from the actual town of Chepstow. The first is of the street that the castle is off of and the second is of the city gate which was once the entrance into the walled city. Most of the wall is gone now but there is a path that follows the remains of it around the streets.



This last picture is of St. Mary's Church. The land that it is built on was acquired in 1073 if that is any indication of how old it is. The inside is beautiful although I don't have any pictures of it. Some other people took pictures of the inside and I'll try to acquire some for you.


Oh yea, this one was taken at the train station on the way back. I found the sign to be rather interesting and of little use seeing as it was on the roof of a train station. Perhaps it was a warning to the pigeons.


At last we have come to the end of another day in Wales. We left Chepstow on the 4:30 train and again changed trains in Newport. We got back to Swansea at 5:40 and caught a taxi back to campus. We made it back to uni at 5:55 just in time for our free dinner at six. We found our way to Chepstow, saw the castle, made it home, and didn't get lost. I would declare that a success and we did all for less than £10 per person! I will probably be incommunicado tomorrow as I plan to be sleeping,exploringg Mumbles, and doing laundry. Its been fun but now, seeing as it is 1:00 am, it is time for bed. I hope you had fun looking at the pictures because I thoroughly enjoyed making the memories that accompany them. Again, thanks for the comments and to Auntie Jean, if you click on a picture it will become a larger version. Anyways, my motto is, "Guinness For Strength." Today was awesome!