Chapstow Castle, anyone?

Inside of the cout-yard taken from the highest tower at Chepstow.
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Ahhh, Chepstow, you are a beautiful thing, with your climbing towers, crumbling walls, and battlements....

My very first time in Wales was spent scrambling over ruins (of course)! What more could you expected of me? It was a beautifully sunny day too. A little brisk as it can be in the UK coast, but lovely nonetheless!

...climbing towers, crumbling walls, and battlements.

Chepstow is situated on a cliff overlooking the Wye in southeast Wales. It was built in Norman times in 1067 for a William Fitz Osbern (who was English). The castle was strategically placed to protect the waterways, and to be a point in which the English could invade Wales...which I am sure they had fun doing! There are several different levels and periods of construction on the Castle, but most of the details of my memory are hazy since it was over a year ago now...and I would hate to load this with potentially false information.

Parish church next to the Roman ruins.
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The tower was amazing. It started as a chamber for a king, and at one point became a prision for royalty. The great-hall was huge, and there were a lot of areas and passageways to explore around the castle...as well as a little museum. It is a very popular castle to visit, and there were a lot of tourists there that day, as well as a mass of British children and a few BIG kids (a.k.a university professors) running around with wooden swords they had purchased at the extremely over-priced gift shop.

A veiw of the castle from the far side of the river Wye.
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After Chepstow, we visited the Roman town of Cearwent, which was also interesting, but not as much so. Romans tend to conform to the same type of archetecture, and the remains aren't usually as nicely preserved as the Medieval. We also had to write an essay while we were there (which takes the fun out of the experience)...not to mention we were being rushed and trotted around the entire time.  

Unfortunatly, I have no pictures of Cearwent because my camera batteries went dead. Note to self: ALWAYS bring spare batteries! But, before it died, I got a lovely pasture scene with a white horse and a parish church in the back-ground which was neighboring the ruins. Lovely. <---If I may say so?