Land of Castles
the Country
of Wales
Castell y Bere is located on a secondary road and journey from the main roads is definitely worth the effort as the scenery is breathtaking; breathtaking is a word that can be often overused but in Wales this word is more often true than not. Castell y Bere was built by Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Gwyneed in the early thirteenth century and constructed on a steep-sided flat-topped rock, with views of the Cadair Idris mountain range and the valley plain below. |
|
Land of Castles
|
|
Castell y Bere requires some imagination as much of the structure has been leveled through the years and it was a tedious, slow journey to the site but the significance of this castle as a measure of Welsh resistance to the Norman interlopers and the beauty of the site is well worth the effort. |
The entrance to the outer courtyard of Castell y Bere was through the doorway cut in the curtain and there was a drawbridge over a rock cut ditch. |
From the outer courtyard, the path to the inner courtyard led uphill to a stairway and then a drawbridge would have been traversed to enter the inner courtyard. To the left of the staircase and drawbridge are the remains of a circular tower, directly to its right are a square gatehouse and I am located by the Inner Keep. |
These are the remnants of the square-shaped Middle Keep looking across the inner courtyard to the typically Welsh D-shaped tower, which was the North Keep. |
These are the remains of the North Tower looking at the most beautiful valley plain below and the mountains in the distance. |