About Me

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Hi! I'm Eunice and I live in Bolton, Lancashire, with my two dogs Sophie and Sugar and an assortment of cats - well it used to be Sophie and Sugar, now it's Sophie and Poppie. I first began camping back in 1997 when my then partner took me to Anglesey for my birthday weekend. We slept in the back of the car - a hatchback - using the cushions off the settee at home as a mattress, and cooked and brewed up on a single burner camping stove. The site was good, the views were great, the weather fantastic and I was completely hooked. Following that weekend we got a two-man tent and some proper accessories and returned to Anglesey two weeks later, then over time we progressed to a three-man tent followed by an old trailer tent, then a new trailer tent, a campervan and finally a caravan. When my partner decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the street - literally - in April 2009 and I suddenly found myself alone after fifteen years, I decided there was no way I was going to give up camping and caravanning if I could cope on my own. This blog is the story of my travels, trials and tribulations since becoming a solo camper - I hope you like it

Wednesday April 8th 2015 - G is for Gwrych Castle

This post is part of the A - Z Challenge.

 Gwrych Castle is a Grade 1 listed building set on a wooded hillside within a 4,000 acre estate on the outskirts of Abergele, North Wales. It was built between 1819 and 1825 on the instruction of the grandfather of the then Countess of Dundonald and had a total of 128 rooms, 19 towers and a 52-step marble staircase, with the whole of the front facade being more than 200 yards long. From 1894 until 1924 it was the home of the Dundonald family, then when the Countess died she left the castle in her will to King George 5th and the then Prince of Wales, but the gift was refused and the castle passed to the Venerable Order of Saint John. In 1928 the 12th Earl of Dundonald bought the castle back for £78,000 but had to sell the contents to meet the cost.

 During World War 2 the government used the castle to house  200 Jewish refugees, then in 1946 it was sold on, leaving the Dundonald family and passing through several owners. It was open to the public for twenty years until 1985 and played host to many different events, including medieval re-enactments and banquets. In 1989 it was bought by an American businessman for £750,000 but his plans to renovate the building weren't carried out and it was extensively looted and vandalised, although in 1996 it was used as a backdrop in the film Prince Valiant, which starred Joanna Lumley and Edward Fox. In 1998 the castle was extensively damaged by the collapse of various ceilings and floors and was later further damaged by fire, reducing it to a derelict and dangerous ruin.

 The castle was sold on again in early 2007, being bought by a hotel and property chain with plans to convert it into a 5-Star hotel, but the company was placed into administration; since then new developers have obtained fresh planning permission to convert the castle into a luxury hotel with 75 bedrooms and associated facilities. In 2014 the Gwrych Castle Trust, working in conjunction with the castle's current owners, started a 3-year project to renovate and restore the buildings surrounding the main castle and convert the old Melon House and conservatory into a visitor centre.

 Within the castle estate is the 18-hole Abergele golf course and next door to it is the camp site where I stay. On a sunny day a traffic-free walk with the dogs up to the castle and back is a very pleasant way to pass some time and hopefully in the not-too-distant future I'll be able to see the castle restored to all its former glory.


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5 comments:

  1. Billy Blue Eyes8 April 2015 at 08:37

    Nice to see your blog is still going with your adventures. Never been to this place but must look out for it.
    http://spudsdailyphoto.blogspot.co.uk/

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  2. Tigermouse8 April 2015 at 09:21

    Thanks for the comment Bill. I've just been away for four days over Easter but the posts for that won't be published until the challenge finishes.

    I've got some great photos from up above the castle looking down into the ruins, and last time I was there I managed to sneak through a gap in one of the security barriers and wander through the inner grounds. The front facade in the sunshine makes for a good photo so well worth going to have a look at if you're ever up that way.

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  3. Arlee Bird8 April 2015 at 13:47

    A 5 star hotel in a renovated castle might have been interesting then again it might have been somewhat of a travesty to tamper with history in that way.

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Wrote By Rote

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lisa8 April 2015 at 21:22

    I am SO going there some day. I went and googled it to see what it looks like, and it could be in Game of Thrones! Thank you for sharing this. I'm always interested to find new places to visit in the British Isles...
    Lisa, co-host AtoZ 2015, @ http://www.lisabuiecollard.com

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    Replies
    1. Tigermouse8 April 2015 at 21:31

      Thanks for your comment Lisa. I've never seen Game of Thrones other than a tv advert for it, and from the bit that I did see then yes, maybe this castle could very well be in it. Even though it's derelict it's a fascinating place.

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