Castell Coch (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈkastɛɬ koːχ]; Welsh for 'Red Castle') is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built above the village of Tongwynlais in South Wales. The first castle on the site was built by the Normans after 1081 to protect the newly conquered town of Cardiff and control the route along the Taff Gorge. Abandoned shortly afterwards, the castle's earth motte was reused by Gilbert de Clare as the basis for a new stone fortification, which he built between 1267 and 1277 to control his freshly annexed Welsh lands. This castle may have been destroyed in the native Welsh rebellion of 1314. In 1760, the castle ruins were acquired by John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, as part of a marriage settlement that brought the family vast estates in South Wales.
John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, inherited the castle in 1848. One of Britain's wealthiest men, with interests in architecture and antiquarian studies, he employed the architect William Burges to rebuild the castle, "as a country residence for occasional occupation in the summer", using the medieval remains as a basis for the design. Burges rebuilt the outside of the castle between 1875 and 1879, before turning to the interior; he died in 1881 and the work was finished by Burges's remaining team in 1891. Bute reintroduced commercial viticulture into Britain, planting a vineyard just below the castle, and wine production continued until the First World War. He made little use of his new retreat, and in 1950 his grandson, the 5th Marquess of Bute, placed it into the care of the state. It is now controlled by the Welsh heritage agency Cadw.
Ceri Clark | Mar 1, 2018
Castell Coch was amazing. I went with my son and they have a fairy trail using your phone. It's best to download the app before you leave to go there and download the information so you don't need your wifi on when you get there. My son loved moving my phone trying to find the flying fairy. We collected all the fairies and got a set of stickers from the gift shop at the end. The castle was lovely and definitely worth a visit.
Emma De Vito | Feb 17, 2018
This is an amazing fairytale castle – the prettiest I have ever visited. I think you can probably spend about two hours here but we spent a little longer because we were fascinated with one room in particular that had so much detail that we spent at least half an hour in it picking out all of the fantastic, beautiful paintings on the walls which depicted different scenes such as Aesop’s Fables. I would highly recommend taking advantage of the audio tour as it’s a quick way to get to know the history of the castle and it’s also quite engaging.
Chris Risner | Feb 19, 2018
Very cool medieval inspired castle. Interior designs are very interesting and different from traditional older castles. The same architect designed part of the nearby Cardiff Castle so you should really check out them both.
Barbora spáčilová | Jan 24, 2018
About 16 km walk along the river from the center of Cardiff. Taken bus back. Fun thing for a saturday fresh air trip. Loved the cakes in the castle tea-room. The nicest one we have seen during our Wales visit. Felt like little Alice in Wonderland. The castle itself surprises with how much care someone took to reconstruct some long-time abandoned structure.
John Isaacs | Dec 23, 2017
The Castle is beautiful with some lovely rooms. The painting of the ceilings is particularly good. There are also some interesting walks, be careful in the car parks I managed to damage my car on a low wooden post, entirely my own fault. Very helpful staff.
Chris White | Apr 5, 2018
This is an amazing place. If you love visiting castles, this is a great way to help you visualize what an ancient castle in its living state would have been like. It's not ancient, its only a couple hundred years old, but the immensely wealthy builder painstakingly re-constructed the original castle using ancient methods and period techniques. Don't pass this one up if you are nearby.
Jeremy Clutterbuck | Apr 6, 2018
Lovely place, very interesting. The audio guide (free) is a must. The tea rooms are lovely and reasonably priced, but there isn't much seating so I can imagine it being difficult to find a seat when it's busy. The toilets were okay, rather like an original castle toilet - small closet space but with a proper toilet instead of a hole in the floor. Car park was good, but the entrance is a little steep and narrow but no problem.
John Walker | Apr 2, 2018
A splendid job was done for the Easter egg hunt, lots of fun clues and hidden items. The castle itself is completely bonkers in the best ways, and a lot of fun for a 3yo to explore. It looks small from the outside, but there are so many passages and spirals stairs to find that it can occupy a good couple of hours. The only downside is the tiny, unsigned toilets, leading to enormous confusion for everyone.
Kate H | Apr 25, 2018
Great place! Beautiful castle, even on a rainy day and the staff are all lovely excited people. Had a wonderful time. Priced really reasonably for tickets, gift shop items and cafe. Pretty good food. Not hard to get to with public transport. Would go again.
Dinah Jones | May 20, 2018
We got married here and it is a fairy tale come true, gorgeous castle, the room is amazing would do it all again tomorrow. The only little down side was the one lady couldn't wait for us to leave and made us feel uncomfortable when having our last photos taken, but we was still in our time that we paid for. Overall loved my wedding here.
Sarah-Jayne Bisley | Jun 8, 2018
Beautiful "red castle" peeking out from the forest on the hill. Always a lovely walk be it in sunshine or snow, the many trails up to and around this wonderful centrepiece is definitely worth a visit. Take the virtual tour around the castle then stop off for a cuppa and a homemade cake at the forest cafe.
Vee Slater | Aug 1, 2018
Stunning place to visit, so much wonder to see in the castle. Impressive pod guides and a WONDERFUL electronic fairy trail for children to follow. I would recommend to everyone (although spiral staircases are a no no for people with immobility) - it is quite a magical place !
Kelly Jean | Aug 2, 2018
As a child I had always seen the "Red Castle" and was in awe of the Princess castle in the trees. My eldest son wanted to see the Castle we had seen on the way to another tourist attraction. For the money I paid to get in I was not impressed. The big castle wasn't that big. I walked around the Castle and couldn't work out why I had paid so much. The rooms weren't that grand and my son kept asking why the rooms smelt funny. Visited once won't go back. Cafe was overly expensive and didn't cater for small children. highlight of trip was the building of Castell Coch using wooden blocks felt unwanted towards the end. staff weren't very friendly
maddy in space | Jul 16, 2018
Beautiful scenery and an amazing castle! Great place to stop when cycling the taff trail or a fun day out. The surrounding woods are a great place for a picnic or just adventuring with a few friends!
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