Castles! My 3 days in Cardiff were full of castles and history. Now I know more about Cardiff than I really wanted/ needed to... but I do feel like I have a surprisingly clear picture of the history of the city and the growth and changes it has experienced over the ages. It began as a Roman fortification with good sea access and a connection by road to the large fort of Caerlon in the east. After Roman retreat it crumbled for years until the Normans, shortly after the conquest, came to Wales to subdue the Welsh harrying their western boarder. Waelas was the name used to refer to the native Britons and remaining Roman descendants occupying the land before the waves of Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and various other Germanic tribes, as well as the later Normans, came to push them further west and north. Ooops, historical digression with perhaps too much detailed info...
Anyways, the Normans built fortifications in Wales to hold back the Welsh in the 12th and 13th centuries. Of the three castles I visited Cardiff was the oldest, without even counting the Roman fortification. There was a wooden motte and bailey fortification built in the late 11th century by the Normans towards the northern side of the earlier Roman enclosure. It was later replaced by a stone keep and there were walls thrown up along the lines of the Roman walls. The area within the was divided into two wards. Below is the accumulated building that started out as a reasonably small hall for the lord's family, towards the center of the building. This was added onto in the 15th and 16th century, but then later during the Civil War it suffered significant amounts of damage and became derelict. In the 17th century it was renovated and added on to, but the man hired to do the job, "Capability" Brown, was more interested in making the castle grounds fit modern tastes in lordly estates. Left in his hands "capable" hands the wall dividing the wards was torn down, along with the gate house and towers attached to the keep. He filled in the moat and smoothed the grounds over with grass. Fortunately the 3rd Marquess of Bute was more interested in Medieval architecture than he predecessors. In the late 19th century, using his vast fortunes made from his family's ownership of the coal rights in the region, Bute employed the very capable William Burges to restore the Cardiff Castle, as well as two others he owned further north. The interiors of Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch are pretty much accurately described as "Victorian fantasies" but they are stunning fantasies of medieval inspiration. My favorite of the 3 castles Bute had worked on is the 13th century Cearfili, at the top of this entry. He had the Great Hall and main Keep fully reconstructed, but mostly just made repairs to Cearfili. Unlike the other two, Bute never meant to live there, but did have his coming of age feast there. It is the second largest and most complete castle in the UK, being preceded by Windsor Castle. I loved it and took millions of pictures and vehemently hated the noisy French students who arrived shortly after I did and spoiled its tranquility with their incessant noise-making and running around. Hmm I sound a bit cantankerous, but they definitely did not feel the proper amount of respect and awe for so excellent a castle.
This is the courtyard from Castell Coch.
This is from the interior of Castell Coch, a scene of the 3 norns created by William Burges.
From the forest near Castell Coch.
The interior of the Dining Hall in Cardiff Castle, interestingly it was painted by a Welsh painter who had lived in New Mexico previous to this commission.
This is from the library of Cardiff Castle, the firgures represent 5 ancient languages: Latin, Greek, Norse, Egyptian, and... something I've forgotten and can't see the figure well enough to recognize. 
And now, I'm tired of ranting about castles, I'll pick up again later.
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