On a sunny day in late March, I visited Tretower Court and Castle when I was in Wales on a mini-break. This is on of the best examples of a fortified house in existance as it escaped the war and destruction. The progression of the site was a medieval castle, which was in use when the medieval court was built and is 11th century. The court dates from the 14th century. Today, it is managed by Cadw and has been used for filming.
I first went to check out the court as it is closest to the entrance, and there was an audio guide to accompany the visit.
Inside the inner courtyard, there were various rooms to visit.
The Picard family owned the castle, and they had helped the Normans in the conflict and established themselves as powerful Welsh lords. It became a lavish place for visitors.
The tour started inside the kitchen area, and these are picturesque rooms that gave a good sense of how the court would have been lived in and with its screen separating some rooms before the great hall.
This led to the great hall.
Upstairs were some bedrooms and other rooms to see.
And there was a walkway to visit some of the other rooms on top.
This is the gallery, and it has some games to play today.
From the walkway, visitors could look into the courtyard.
After visiting the house, I walked outside and saw the garden which was arranged to what it would have been like in its day.
Walking around to the back of Tretower Court, the castle can be seen. It is a short walk away. The castle dates from the 11th century. The tower is surroundd by a shell keep, and the formal rooms were inside the tower.
Today, the castle is in ruins with part of the tower still standing. Visitors can climb a small staircase to look inside the ruined tower.
There is not too much to see. The birds love it here.
I had a few more glimpses of the castle ruins, which are next to a farm.
I walked back to Tretower Court and through the garden, which was not quite out in foilage yet at the end of March. The daffodils were in full bloom.
As it was a warm day and the shop was quite nice, I bought some local ice cream in mint chocolate flavour and enjoyed it on some benches outside.
I enjoyed the visit to see Tretower Court and Castle.
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