Caerphilly Castle - The Largest in Wales, 2nd in Britain

I head to the largest castle in Wales, the second largest in Britain ...Caerphilly Castle! 🏰 I explore the massive 30 acre site, the medieval rooms and passageways, and fly around and over the drawbridge, moats, trebuchet and breathtaking fortification 😍

The castle was built from 1268 to 1271 by red-haired Gilbert de Clare. He was the Norman Lord of Glamorgan and was worried by the strength of support in this area for Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Wales’ last indigenous prince. The castle became the de Clare family’s administrative centre for Glamorgan. Gilbert’s son-in-law, Hugh le Despenser, enlarged the castle’s Great Hall in the 1320s for entertainment on a grand scale.

The market town outside the castle controlled the area’s trade but wasn’t surrounded by the defensive walls common in other Welsh castle towns. The town was attacked and damaged more than once, and largely destroyed in 1316 by rebel leader Llywelyn Bren.

King Edward II took refuge in the castle in 1326, hiding from persecution by Queen Isabella, his wife! Edward and Hugh le Despenser, his advisor, fled from Caerphilly Castle but were eventually caught and Edward was deposed.

In the 14th century, court sessions were moved from the castle to a purpose-built court house, now a pub.

The castle was disused by the Tudor era. It provided a handy source of dressed stone for local buildings, including the Van Mansion (east of town). The moats vanished after their dams became derelict. Nant y Gledyr, which had supplied the water, flowed past on the south side, where it powered a woollen mill.

Restoration was started by the Bute family of Cardiff Castle. In Victorian times the Great Hall was roofed again. Major works in the 1930s preserved or rebuilt the walls and towers but left untouched the iconic leaning tower, which gives us an insight into the castle’s original structure. The tower may have been built on unstable foundations or been deliberately damaged during the Civil War of the 17th century to prevent future defensive use of the castle. It leans at a more acute angle than the Tower of Pisa in Italy!

The Marquess of Bute also cleared shops and other buildings close to the castle. This paved the way for the moats to be re-flooded after the Second World War.

Caerphilly Castle website: https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-t...
My 360 Images: https://kuula.co/profile/clinkadink/p...
My Instagram:   / lambourne_photography  

SOFTWARE:

Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Lightroom
Adobe Photoshop Elements
Adobe Bridge
DJI Media Maker
MS Image Composite Editor
Autopano Giga
Backyard EOS
Deep Sky Stacker
Stellarium
Sequator
PIPP
AutoStakkert!3
PHD2 Guiding
ASI Studio

HARDWARE:

Land:
Canon 250D SL3
Canon EF 50 mm F/1.8 EF STM
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Sigma 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 DG APO Macro
DJI Pocket 2 Camera
DJI Wireless Mic Transmitter
PolarPro Cinema Series Filter Vivid Collection

Air:
DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone
DJI Mini 2 drone
PolarPro Vivid Filter Collection
Freewell Long Exposure Series Filters

Space:
William Optics Zenithstar 73 III APO
William Optics 32mm Slide-base Uniguide Scope
iOptron CEM26 GoTo Equatorial Mount
iOptron iPolar Electronic Polarscope
ZWO ASiair Plus Wireless Astrophotography Controller
ZWO ASI 294MC-PRO USB 3.0 Cooled Colour Camera
ZWO ASI 120MM Mini USB 2.0 Mono Camera
ZWO Electronic Automatic Focuser (EAF)
ZWO 2" Filter Drawer
OVL Field Flattener
Celestron Luminos 2.5 Barlow
2" Altair QuadBand OSC CCD Filter
2" Svbony UHC Filter