Castles and Dragons

We arrived back in Llangollen yesterday and went down into the town to do some shopping. Since our last visit a couple of weeks ago a new Nisa supermarket has opened, up by the garage, and it’s a lot cheaper than the Spar in the centre of town.  The river level has dropped considerably and you can now see the rock beds below the water when  previously it had been a raging torrent.

I never expected to see a dragon walking down the street - but this is Wales.

Castell Dinas Bran sits 750 feet above the town and today we decided to go and have a closer look.

that's it, right at the top

It’s a steep climb up a zig-zag path, once you get through the sheep field, and at a couple of points I really felt my age!

The castle was originally built in 1260 but was only occupied for around 20 years before being burned and abandoned.  It’s amazing really just how much of it remains over 700 years later.

But it is so worth the effort as the views from the top are amazing.  It could only have been improved if the sky had been a bit clearer and the sun had been shining.

the sun shone on the Cefn Viaduct (railway)

the canal and River Dee

Raven and Goblet wood carving
with footpath markers