The Biggest Castle in Wales - Caerphilly Castle

A medieval fortification built by Gilbert de Clare in the 13th century in the town of Caerphilly in South Wales. Loads of moats and lakes, it is said to have the most elaborate water defences in Britain. Occupying around 30 acres (12 hectares) it is the second-largest castle in the United Kingdom.
One of its defining features is its leaning tower. The south-east tower in the Inner Ward leans outwards at an angle of 10 degrees.
Follow us on social media:
Twitter: / mostlycastles
FaceBook: / mostlycastles
Instagram: / mostlycastles
Help us to make these films by becoming a Patron.
Patreon: / mostlycastles
Visit our website at www.mostlycastles.uk

[@silverchill1]

"moats, and lakes, and ducks, and swans, and geese." proceeds to zoom in on a seagull LOL

[@MostlyCastles]

Damn, you noticed! 😂

[@Tiswhattitis]

Well this bought back some wonderful memories!! I got married to my wonderful wife in this castle back in 2004. The whole experience was just magical and the staff were fantastic!! Thanks for posting this video, really enjoyed it! 👍🏼

[@MostlyCastles]

Oh wow, that sounds lovely! Glad to bring back such wonderful memories for you, thank you for sharing them with us 😊

[@PaulStewartAviation]

Interesting video, thanks!

[@anoncrazynonevilgooddecent7631]

Wow beautiful castles, I wish USA had castles but USA doesn’t have the history and medieval things that Europe had anyway, Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 is so cool the flag, the language, the castles!

[@MostlyCastles]

Every country has its own unique history, ours is just much stonier. Definitely agreed though, it’s hard to beat a dragon on your flag!

[@TwpsynMawr]

Yeah sadly what was your land's history was wiped out by us Europeans ironically

[@rethinkinglove6269]

What an amazing design! A testament of design and Mr. GIlberts legacy! Wow!

[@MostlyCastles]

It does have a fantastic lay out, they don’t make them like that any more!

[@robyndickson1289]

My husband and I visited this castle in 2007. The tower was amazing. Standing near it and looking up gave a sense of it swaying. Loved the castle. I would love to see the restorations now. The Great Hall had been done when I was there. The stairway to the soldiers quarters was something else. I am afraid of heights, so it was scary for me. The only support was a rope handrail that moved with steps that were very narrow. I have a photo of me stepping (well, jumping actually 😁) off the bottom step … to prove I had actually walked down it.

[@philtrundle]

Cant believe I still havent been inside despite living 15mins away and working opposite occasionally in an office. Great vid again.

[@MostlyCastles]

Thank you 😊 We hear that a fair bit, people don’t look at the thing on their doorstep because they’re so used to having it there and it becomes invisible. Luckily for you, we explored on your behalf 😁 But if you get a chance I’d look around, it’s a cracking place.

[@kianukasceltictales3403]

Great video😊 This is probably the most beautiful castle I've ever been to. Thank you for bringing back good memories.😊

[@MostlyCastles]

I’m so glad we could remind you of such things 😊

[@thejudgmentalcat]

I'll always remember this as the Leaning Tower of Caerfilly 🙂

[@MostlyCastles]

Hehe, absolutely 😂

[@dumpc]

My hometown! Always a joy walking to school passing this castle back in the day.

[@MostlyCastles]

I can imagine! Makes me wonder if there was a bigger interest in history at your school amongst the students

[@dumpc]

@@MostlyCastles Yeah we learned a lot about the castle and often took school trips there when I was in shcool.

[@MostlyCastles]

It does look like a prime school trip place 🙂

[@joeboudreault2226]

Nice little tour. Reminds me of those circular stairwells my wife and I climbed in Blarney Castle near Cork, Ireland. It made us wonder how the spiral traffic would be like when under attack.

[@MostlyCastles]

I can only imagine it was very loud and cramped. I seem to remember a program that discussed it, but for the life of me I can’t remember what it was on.

[@taliahamalian6455]

Love the beautiful music! Thanks for this interesting & educational video!

[@MostlyCastles]

Glad you enjoyed it. 😀

[@lustforlife358]

Super educational video. Great channel!!

[@MostlyCastles]

Thank you very much 🙂

[@binshotalot]

Very enjoyable, thank you 👍

[@MostlyCastles]

Thank you! 😊

[@janetrapoza3877]

Great video! Well preserved castle 🏰!!!

[@residentoftherealm]

Great video! I live in caerphilly and have visited the castle many times. The area covering the castle of glamorgan would have fallen under the smaller but still important cantref of senghenydd. In around 1150 The territories of glamorgan in the uplands still remained in welsh hands under protection of the greater welsh princes Rhys Ap Gruffyd of Deheubarth, followed by Llewellyn Ap Iorweth of Gwynedd and his grandson Llewellyn Ap Gruffud. In 1217 the lordship of glamorgan passed to the De Clare family. The De Clares had been earls of Hertford since the 1140's but now with the acquisition of the lordships of glamorgan and the neighbouring Gwynllwg they became the most powerful family in 13th century England. Even at this point amongst the political unrest and attempts at dominating the territories of medieval wales, the 2 upland commutes of Senghenyd remained in welsh hands. I always feel very proud that the uplands of wales held their territories so well especially because I am from there 🤩 senghenydd hill (mynydd Eglwsilan) is a very important historical hill even today & contains a wealth of ancient artefacts. Sadly there are plans to put wind turbines there and possibly damage the ancient sites of historical importance...I will share a petition here for anyone that reads this and wishes to help support us to protect this site for future generations 👑 petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245189

[@markoshea6833]

Paul Doherty novels were written about this time. "The Welsh Marches" is all that I can remember.

[@theenglishknight1520]

because of the battles that were there imagine how haunted the castle is at night

[@MostlyCastles]

Why just at night? 👻 To be honest we don't get easily spooked. We live in a very old house that really looks as though it should be crawling with ghosts and yet nothing spooky has ever happened. I find the living more disturbing than the dead. 😀

[@PostcardAndAPint]

We’ve never visited this one before. It’s stunning. Thanks for all the history too. Cheers 🍻

[@adrianwechsler5441]

Beautiful And Great Video! I Loved It So Much. ❤

[@MostlyCastles]

Thank you so much for letting us know. Glad you enjoyed it. 😀

[@5thandoverland]

Beautiful. I would love to visit these places. I can't imagine actually getting to live in a place like that

[@MostlyCastles]

I should imagine it would be quite damp and chilly. Mind you, I suppose they did have a lot of big fires. Probably a lot more people around too- what with guards and servants etc, so perhaps not quite as bad as we imagine?

[@5thandoverland]

@@MostlyCastles BIG tapestries right? haha

[@MostlyCastles]

@@5thandoverland Ooooh yes, definitely a ton of tapestries needed!

[@thedok7333]

Really enjoyed that one..😍Great information guys..👌..I really want to fly that Castle🙌

[@MostlyCastles]

It is a fantastic place, it looks great in the snow too :)

[@FindingTime]

Nice work guys :) Nice to see another channel with love for castles. Subbed.

[@MostlyCastles]

Thank you. Loving your explorations of Irelands castles. We have always fancied popping over for an explore. We have subscribed to you too.

[@FindingTime]

@@MostlyCastles If you do feel free to drop me a line! Keep up the great work.

[@MostlyCastles]

We will, thanks. Can't see us getting across any time soon though.

[@LL-yy1pv]

I just now discovered your channel and I'm loving your work! Thanks a lot for sharing your discoveries with everyone! Can't wait to see which castle is up next :)

[@MostlyCastles]

Thank you. Very glad you are enjoying them. Not sure which will be next. Normally this is resolved by a fight to the death between Jo and I. We must come up with a better way. - Ian

[@LL-yy1pv]

@@MostlyCastles Yeah I can't help but feel that this way of handling things might get old (and lonely) rather quickly. Good luck anyway, I'll be thrilled to see who wins the next round!

[@MostlyCastles]

@@LL-yy1pv True. It also makes it impossible to fight to the death after the first time we do it. Perhaps some variation of rock paper scissors is the answer. Whatever wins I can guarantee it will be a film about a castle.

[@lizadams2263]

That leaning tower is really annoying! I want a Welsh giant to heave it upright. Maybe there's a folktale about that, come to think of it.

[@MostlyCastles]

That sounds like a grand idea, although what some see as a flaw others enjoy as an interesting feature.

[@tophatst5457]

Brilliant video it’s my favourite castle and every time I go to The Big Cheese 🧀 it’s a must to go around again 🎩

[@MostlyCastles]

Thank you 😊 It is a fabulous castle, I can imagine you’ll get something different each time

[@alfaubrom]

The second fire place with the unusual keyed in stones that support the chimney, what period is that? An interlocking jigsaw fire chimney mantel support. Great castle great video cheers.

[@jessicaalexandra306]

Absolutely gorgeous I wanna go see these castles so bad

[@MostlyCastles]

Hopefully one day you can, in the meantime we've been so you don't have to :)

[@sugarcube9605]

You would Enjoy it! Caerphilly is a very friendly place and has Amazing bakery’s and shops! :)

[@jessicaalexandra306]

@@MostlyCastles no I doubt I ever will get to even though going to Scotland to see the castles has been a dream of mine since I was little and wanting to be a princess ,and promised myself I would get there by 30 and fall in love ,well I'm 32 and I cant even afford to feed my daughters these days so traveling to Scotland ,Ireland and England is never going to happen .I just wanted to touch the walls of a castle to feel the hundreds of years of history they have seen and to step foot inside and be taken back in history .but I see it through people like yourself on youtube so thank you :)

[@garethbarry3825]

We are coming to the UK in July this year, staying in Gloucester, and couldnt decide which castle to see- either Chepstow, Caerphilly or Berkeley. I found this video and the one you did on Chepstow to be very helpful.

[@billywilliamswilliams4198]

cleaned all the moat years ago for a visit from prince charles had to be done in a rowing boat with big nets to collect all the rubbish . fill the boat then row to the edge to empty it. every boat load was full of rats great fun.

[@MostlyCastles]

I was thinking that sounded like a weird and fun job, until you mentioned the rats 😬

[@billywilliamswilliams4198]

@@MostlyCastles the moat was a dumping ground when the pubs closed for leftover takeaway food. happy rats.

[@MostlyCastles]

Wonderful- msg filled rats. I hope the job didn’t take too long, I feel that would be its only saving grace

[@blueXRPdynamite.]

How deep is it?

[@kfl611]

I bet it was a beast to heat!

[@MostlyCastles]

I should imagine there was a great deal of layering up clothes wise, that’s for sure!

[@robnewman6101]

Wow.

[@henryvagincourt4502]

Excellent, one I've never done, on my list though.

[@MostlyCastles]

It's well worth it. There's loads of it intact, which is nice, and there are lots that's actually interesting to explore. A winner by our standards. 😀

[@henryvagincourt4502]

@@MostlyCastles + We will get there, after this Covid, whenever the damn thing ends. In the meantime we are enjoying your video's.

[@MostlyCastles]

Glad to hear we can offer some entertainment in these dark times. We watched Lord of the Rings so I am now describing everything in terms like "Dark Times". It feels fitting.

[@henryvagincourt4502]

@@MostlyCastles + Very much, I've kept busy most of it being a fire-fighter, but I will be glad when we see the light at the end, I will say I use your video's to relax, as an escape I guess, so a thank you both for that.

[@MostlyCastles]

We are very glad we are able to help. Fortunately, we have several more films in the can so hopefully we should be able to put up a new film each week until this is all over and we can get out and start filming again.

[@robnewman6101]

I have the Papperback DK Eyewitness Book of Castle.

[@kasie680]

Oh wow check out that lean!!! Did they build the foundation un level or has it sunk into the ground?

[@fareehanasir327]

Nice vedio plz upload more

[@MostlyCastles]

Thank you! We will when we can, with the lockdown and some health issues we had to stop filming. But we will resume

[@markoshea6833]

i looked at the castle Saint Paul du Vent and the common folk lived in it. I think Dennis Callan etc.

[@kylejervis3344]

Lavish

[@MostlyCastles]

It did seem to be the word of the day/ year

[@kylejervis3344]

@@MostlyCastles I like your video. I’m just teasing. It’s good content.

[@MostlyCastles]

Thank you! And no worries I did tease him about it too 😁 Jo

[@sourcelight3448]

Lol my great grandfather x35 Llewelyn burnt this castle I guess

[@MostlyCastles]

The vandal! 😉

[@henryvagincourt4502]

Source Light + The town maybe, but not the castle, never taken as it was by far one of the strongest castles in Wales. Mr Cromwell did the damage we see today, slighting it.

[@RS-kl8hs]

It says inner world instead of ward in the timeline

[@robnewman6101]

🏰👑⚔️🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿⚔️👑🏰

[@paulheart320]

Just how imagine Camelot to be.

[@MostlyCastles]

With or without coconuts?

[@allenschmitz9644]

I was wishing he would blame the Romans for building it instead of the 14th century.

[@MostlyCastles]

But what did the Romans ever do for us?

[@robpalmer518]

well done on the pronunciations. not easy at all lol

[@MostlyCastles]

Thank you! We had to improve at some point 😊

[@dontfearthereaper2887]

1:40 Of course the tower ain't gonna fall on you, there is a giant dude behind you keeping the tower from collapsing.....Duh!

[@robnewman6101]

The Railway Children 1970. Edwardian Era Novel. Published in 1906. Regin of His Majesty King Edward the VII. One Rainy day at Oakworth Station in Yorkshire. The three Waterbury children sitting in the waiting room. Waiting for mother to come home. Hope Mother doesn't get too wet. We don't want her ill again. Its like being in a sieged castle. The arrows & the bows striking agenist the battlements. Its more like a great big garden squirt. You're a great big garden squirt. Thank you. Stop it you two! There's a train coming. Oakworth. Oakworth Station. Mind you're heads. Its only a shower.

[@markhuckercelticcrossbows7887]

hiya guys, did you have to get permission from Cadw to film there? im around the corner in Caerwent and want to do some filming there.

[@MostlyCastles]

Hi Mark. Yes we did get permission from CADW. It's worth having a chat with theme about filming because there are all sorts of do's and don'ts when it comes to filming on their properties with regards to rights, purposes, etc. and of course there is the definite no no of flying drones over their properties. Largely it comes down to whether you intend to use the footage for commercial projects or just for fun. If it's commercial they will want to be paid. Hope this helps.

[@markhuckercelticcrossbows7887]

@@MostlyCastles Hiya, yes it does help thanks, i wanted a second opinion from some one, i was just gob smacked, when they wanted £150 plus public liability insurance for filming with a mobile phone. cheers mark

[@kushcloud420]

I died inside when he tried to pronounce Caerphilly

[@MostlyCastles]

We die inside when we have to pronounce anything in Welsh, because although we try we know this will be the result

[@clivedunning4317]

To add to the pronounce debate. There is the "correct" pronunciation AND the "local" pronunciation ie CAERphilly is correct, but a 'local' would say CA'philly !

[@kushcloud420]

@@clivedunning4317 I'm local they are a bit hard on the c when pronouncing Caerphilly imagine saying car really fast and Philly at the end it

[@clivedunning4317]

@@kushcloud420 I know mate, I'm from Upper Boat !

[@henryvagincourt4502]

kushcloud + For a dead person you type amazingly well, is it not Caerffili, if you speak Gymraeg, I'm just an Englishman who does, as my family are Welsh. They are just making video's about Castles MOSTLY, cut them some slack mucker.

[@zbaby82]

It would be cool to camp out in that castle with a sleeping bag in the summer.

[@MostlyCastles]

I suspect you would need to bring something soft to sleep on too- very hard floors there

[@jessicaalexandra306]

Crazy eh how something built is 1200something is built strong enough to still be standing and leaning so far over with barely anything holding it up but shes still standing strong and they didnt have the modern technology and material we have today. If it was build with modern material and had a lean like that you know damn well it would fall over . I wonder what they used to hold all the stones like their cement or mortar had what all in it

[@MostlyCastles]

They certainly don’t make ’em like they used to. But I guess huge lumps of stone are quite sturdy. As for the mortar it could be burnt lime mixed with crushed bricks and sand. www.google.com/amp/s/www.medieval.eu/medieval-mortar/amp/

[@tonyfuller8894]

Its really leaning can we see the castle

[@MostlyCastles]

It does have quite a lean on it. The cadw website will tell you when it’s open again

[@SpiritWolf1966]

For the algorithm

[@robnewman6101]

I have a Hardback DORLING KINDERSLEY DK EYEWITNESS GUIDES Book of MEDIEVAL LIFE. Discover medieval Europe - from life in a country manor to the streets of a developing town.

[@0hMonke]

"Carephilly" Its just simply "Ca-philly"

[@cymro6537]

But if you're a Welsh speaker it's called Caerffili 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿👍

[@josephinestabel9647]

Some castels looks like a prison OUTSIDE.....🌍

[@MostlyCastles]

Some castles were also used in part as prisons. I expect they look similar because you want to stop people getting out and in and castle architecture lends itself to both purposes.

[@supernova046]

music spoilt the video.

[@kevinduggan6907]

.it was the largest castle in britain until the hadded buildings to windsor castle for the queen

[@MostlyCastles]

I can imagine that, it’s pretty sprawling

[@kevinduggan6907]

most people think the leaning tower was done with cannon fire but it was a massive steam explosion in the kitchings

[@MostlyCastles]

Somehow that seems like the better story too- where did you read that?

[@kevinduggan6907]

@@MostlyCastles its in a couple of books about the history of caerphilly also 4 underground passages lead out from the castle one in the direction of van mansion another was found when they knocked the armoury down and built the job center also one heads towards taffas walk just of mill road

[@kevinduggan6907]

also right next to the travelers rest pub there is a ruin of a castle its a rare type of design i think it was called castell morgraig apparently the ran out of money building it

[@m0-m0597]

Shadiversity brought me here

[@brianneale2006]

Why Not Welsh People narrating this video

[@MostlyCastles]

Because we don’t have any. It’s just us making these films.

[@henryvagincourt4502]

@@MostlyCastles + That made me smile, are you not the BBC, correction BBC Wales/Crmyu (wink).

[@MostlyCastles]

We have been asked on occasion if we are from the telly. We are definitely not from the telly. 😀

[@beachamgroup2482]

Why!

[@dumpc]

@@MostlyCastles ahh you did a great job

[@Sargis-tq5hz]

Арарат великая Киликия