A Chapel, Two Castles, and a Glimpse of the Sea

The Swan

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We’d taken the A458 out of Rhyl and almost missed the sharp left turn up to the small village of Llanfair Talhaiarin. Just up from the river Elwy the tiny village square is where we found the Swan Inn. Parking was extremely restricted and we ended up outside someone’s front door (there’s a row of terraced house with access directly onto the square) opposite to the pub’s front entrance.The Swan is a small country pub with two rooms; one with television and one more suitable to eating. Although the television can still be heard through the pub (it is fairly compact after all) and the bar serves both of the rooms.A variety of food is served throughout the day ranging from sandwiches ...Read More

We’d taken the A458 out of Rhyl and almost missed the sharp left turn up to the small village of Llanfair Talhaiarin. Just up from the river Elwy the tiny village square is where we found the Swan Inn. Parking was extremely restricted and we ended up outside someone’s front door (there’s a row of terraced house with access directly onto the square) opposite to the pub’s front entrance.

The Swan is a small country pub with two rooms; one with television and one more suitable to eating. Although the television can still be heard through the pub (it is fairly compact after all) and the bar serves both of the rooms.

A variety of food is served throughout the day ranging from sandwiches and baguettes right through to full meals with additional daily specials, which are listed on a small board resting on the bar.

The small room we chose to eat in is quite dark, although not oppressively so and I guess is totally in keeping with the character and age of the place. There are paintings on the wall, some watercolours that are for sale, and, with relevance to the establishment’s name, there are ornamental swans dotted around on the window ledge, fire mantel, and behind the bar. In any other setting you’d see them as cheap and tacky but somehow they seem to get away with it (well just about) in this pub.

The service is what you might expect from a small country pub – almost shambolic but still responsive and friendly. The menu isn’t extensive, but we didn’t really expect haut cuisine and we opted for the very safe option of fish, chips and “mushy peas”. Well, you can’t go too wrong with that and I was supping a pint of mild - a beer that has somewhat gone out of fashion and I haven’t seen in pubs for at least 20 years. It was as bitter as I remembered it and was a good beer to have with my meal.

We could see the petite kitchen from the bar and heard the fish enter the fryer with a high-pitched sizzle. This certainly was going to be a freshly cooked meal and that was to be proved when our piping hot meals were delivered to the table. Condiments and the tartar sauce were slower to arrive but as we were tucking into the meal regardless of their presence it really didn’t matter too much. They did arrive – eventually – and their added flavour enhanced our delicious meal. Now I guess you wouldn’t normally rave over an ordinary plate of fish and chips but we were starving and the meal just touched the right spot.

This is a straightforward country pub with nothing pretentious about it. They'll feed you well for an honest price and I'm sure that you'll get the same no-nonsense welcome that we received. They seemed genuinally happy to see us, despite the fact that we didn't spend a fortune. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on January 2, 2008

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Denbigh Castle

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Denbigh castle Photo - Denbigh Castle, Wales, United Kingdom

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Denbigh Castle sits way above the town at thee top of an exceptionally steep hill with superb views over the lush greenery of the Clwyd valley. There’s a small car park just at the side of the castle and we parked near to the only other visitor’s car. The car parking is free and it’s only £2.90 for adults to get into the castle (we’d purchased a 3-day explorer pass whilst at Caernarfon so our admission was free) and although it’s not the most intact of castles it still seemed to worthy of a visit. If only for those breathtaking views.Denbigh was built as part of Edward I’s offensive against the Welsh and was commissioned by Henry de Lacy one of Edward’s chief commanders. Alongside the castle...Read More

Denbigh Castle sits way above the town at thee top of an exceptionally steep hill with superb views over the lush greenery of the Clwyd valley. There’s a small car park just at the side of the castle and we parked near to the only other visitor’s car. The car parking is free and it’s only £2.90 for adults to get into the castle (we’d purchased a 3-day explorer pass whilst at Caernarfon so our admission was free) and although it’s not the most intact of castles it still seemed to worthy of a visit. If only for those breathtaking views.

Denbigh was built as part of Edward I’s offensive against the Welsh and was commissioned by Henry de Lacy one of Edward’s chief commanders. Alongside the castle de Lacy established the new walled township of Denbigh occupied by English trusties looking to establish a new life over the border. Indeed initially in 1282 the township was fully integrated with the castle. Not until 1295 was the massive wall with it angular towers built to divide the fortress and the town and to strengthen the castle’s defenses. Like Caenarfon this was added after the uprising in 1294, and the thicker walls and more defendable towers are clear evidence that the English were determined not to be beaten again.

The inner wall seems absolutely huge but initially it included a great hall, a couple of chapels, a suite of extravagant private apartments, a kitchen block, a well, stables and workshops. None of these are evident today but the informative wall plan helped us identify them. Towards the centre of the castle, however, there is still evidence of the pigeon house – a feature included in most Norman castles.

There are a total of ten towers including the impressive trio built into the “Great Gate House”. This main entrance is perhaps the castle’s finest feature (other than the stupendous views) and would have served to un-nerve any rebels fancying their chances of taking on the might of the garrisoned troops. One of the towers is fascinatingly named the “Badness Tower” and it is possible, with care, to partially ascend it. Just outside the main gate is the remains of the town’s old lime kiln.

I find the names attached to towers interesting and at Denbigh there’s the Countess Tower, Goblin Tower, Bishops Tower and Red Tower. Next to the Postern Tower there are the original steps leading to Postern gate and the entrance to the town. You can still climb them but the end view was somewhat disappointing with only a partial view from the gate through piles of discarded beer cans and general rubble. You really would think that the castle authority would ensure that this is prevented or at least cleared up.

We were lucky to be visiting on a bright, clear day so could fully appreciate the views and understand the real importance of this site in the domination of the Welsh by the English overlords. A great place.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on January 1, 2008

Denbigh Castle

Denbigh, United Kingdom

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Rhuddlan Castle

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Rhuddlan castle Photo - Rhuddlan Castle, Wales, United Kingdom

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We made it to Rhuddlan Castle, from Denbigh, in around 25 minutes, just in time to get in before closing time. Rhuddlan looks absolutely spectacular from the banks of the river and like all of Edward’s “iron ring” was said to be no more than a day’s march away from the nearest of Edward’s other castles (making our car journey even more stunning). Once again the king had found a charming spot with views stretching into the distance and towards the end of a sightseeing day this castle is absolutely stunning. “Small but perfectly formed” is an expression that springs to mind.Admission is normally just short of £3.00 but with our 3-day explorer pass we get in free and there’s ample free car park...Read More

We made it to Rhuddlan Castle, from Denbigh, in around 25 minutes, just in time to get in before closing time. Rhuddlan looks absolutely spectacular from the banks of the river and like all of Edward’s “iron ring” was said to be no more than a day’s march away from the nearest of Edward’s other castles (making our car journey even more stunning). Once again the king had found a charming spot with views stretching into the distance and towards the end of a sightseeing day this castle is absolutely stunning. “Small but perfectly formed” is an expression that springs to mind.

Admission is normally just short of £3.00 but with our 3-day explorer pass we get in free and there’s ample free car parking at the side of the castle. Having got there late on in the day we were able to explore without hoards of visitors, indeed other than a couple from America we were the only people there.

It’s a real tranquil spot and we could only try to imagine the uproar that must have been caused when the announcement was made, in 1284, that a new statute was to be entered into law. This groundbreaking law, referred to thereafter as the Statute of Rhuddlan ensured that the counties of Anglesey, Meirionnydd, and Caernarfon were staffed with local sheriffs to collect taxes and English style justice using English Common Law. The supporting roles, clearly defined by the statute In addition, of the offices of justice and chamberlain were created and over time this Statute ensured that English Law became the “law of the land” with only local Welsh by-laws being allowed. This statute remained in force for 250 years until the “act of Union”.

So that’s the historical importance of this beautifully constructed castle, but it was also impressive at the time because the lazy river that passes next to the castle was created. The river Clwyd was re-routed to ensure that the castle was accessible by water and over 1500 men were involved in digging out the canal into which the waters of the River would be run. What a testimonial to that work that the river continues to take the course prescribed by Edward and his architects!

The mighty twin towers of the gatehouse are the first feature that caught our eye (impossible for them not to have done!) and these together with the 9-foot thick walls made the castle phenomenally strong. Indeed the fact that the normal troop allocation was around 30 outlines the confidence that the army had in Rhuddlan’s invincibility. It was never overthrown and it was not until the English civil war that it was partially demolished.

In its heyday Queen Eleanor had the central area turfed and a small fishpond with seats around the covered well in the centre of the castle (pace it out – it’s right dead centre!)

Rhuddlan is well worth a visit and the views from the towers are unsurprisingly spectacular. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on January 2, 2008

Rhuddlan Castle

Rhuddlan, United Kingdom

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Rhyl

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hey there is life here! Photo - Wales, United Kingdom

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Rhyl is perhaps the saddest of any seaside resort that I’ve ever visited. In its day this Victorian resort would have been popular with local townsfolk. I have a distant memory of coming here for a day trip from Liverpool and so I was hoping to re-kindle some of those memories. Indeed we both had expectations that the town would have a certain charm. How wrong could we be!We parked the car on the main street (it was almost empty) in an hour restricted zone. As it turned out the hour was plenty time to “hit the town”. I can best describe it as a ghost town and although you expect seaside resorts to be quiet out of season it was hard to detect anything to suggest that this was a thriving, bus...Read More

Rhyl is perhaps the saddest of any seaside resort that I’ve ever visited. In its day this Victorian resort would have been popular with local townsfolk. I have a distant memory of coming here for a day trip from Liverpool and so I was hoping to re-kindle some of those memories. Indeed we both had expectations that the town would have a certain charm. How wrong could we be!

We parked the car on the main street (it was almost empty) in an hour restricted zone. As it turned out the hour was plenty time to “hit the town”. I can best describe it as a ghost town and although you expect seaside resorts to be quiet out of season it was hard to detect anything to suggest that this was a thriving, bustling town in the height of the summer. It’s not to say that the townsfolk aren’t trying to preserve their town, but once a place looks run down, it must be real hard to recover.

We walked through the depressed shopping area with it’s uninspiring gift shops, tattoo parlours and run down shop facades and headed for the seafront. Standing proudly in front of us was the entertainment “park” (I use the term advisedly) fully resplendent in its glory of former days. Now it just looked like a bleak outpost of an unwanted facility. But we soldiered on and walking through the deserted arcade we reached the sea front. Well the beach because the sea was at low tide and seemed miles away – certainly we weren’t going to get our feet wet, but in the far distance was a lone figure clearly intent on getting to the edge of the sea (or perhaps he was just taking his dog for a walk!)

Apparently Rhyl’s claim to fame is that it has the country’s oldest miniature railway. Established in 1911it offers rides at a mere £1.50 a head. Needless to say when we visited it was closed!!

The sad thing about Rhyl is that even the town website can say much about the place and I have struggled to whet my appetite for healthy facts about the place. Indeed when I tried to refresh my memory of our family visit my father’s only unkind words were that “it was a bit of a dump”. Sounds like nothing has changed over the forty odd years since my first visit and you can rest assured that I won’t be rushing back.

Steer clear is my advice, unless you want to see how depressing and run down a British seaside resort can be. Read Less

Member Rating 1 out of 5 on January 2, 2008

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Rug Chapel

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Nice etching!! Photo - Wales, United Kingdom

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This small chapel of the Holy Trinity at Rug was built just across the gardens of the estate cottage (now a CADW shop) of Colonel William Salisbury. William built this chapel for private use in 1637. He was a flamboyant an interesting individual who spent part of his youth as a pirate on the high seas and became a reformed character later in life.Thankfully despite the reformation and the nationwide intention to destroy the integrity of the existing church the odd isolated one survived intact. Rug Chapel was one of them. Its size belies its interest as this small and compact church is just crammed with detail and each glance requires closer inspection. At the end of the north wall...Read More

This small chapel of the Holy Trinity at Rug was built just across the gardens of the estate cottage (now a CADW shop) of Colonel William Salisbury. William built this chapel for private use in 1637. He was a flamboyant an interesting individual who spent part of his youth as a pirate on the high seas and became a reformed character later in life.

Thankfully despite the reformation and the nationwide intention to destroy the integrity of the existing church the odd isolated one survived intact. Rug Chapel was one of them. Its size belies its interest as this small and compact church is just crammed with detail and each glance requires closer inspection.

At the end of the north wall is a singular wall painting representing the transient nature of life and the inevitability of death. It’s a naive and somewhat bizarre depiction and in all honesty looks as if it would be more comfortable in a pagan site. The guide notes state that the “artist clearly displays a lack of knowledge of human physiology”, but at the end of the day the message is very clear. The wall below the painting looks remarkably bare and hostile (perhaps that was the intention) but it does seem that something is missing and perhaps there once was a significant piece of furniture underneath it. Maybe one of those real high-backed pews?

Of course the Victorians had a good dabble in the church and many alterations by Robert Vaughn include the installation of the brightly coloured Victorian stain glass windows, the carved wooden screen, which separates the chancel from the nave (mock Jacobean style), the addition of backs onto the original bench seats and the floor tiling

Take the opportunity to climb the narrow stairs to the upstairs balcony. Take your time because it does feel a wee bit precarious and at the end of the short climb I was able to take in the view from the tiny and almost claustrophobic gallery. You can almost touch the rafters from here and it is certainly an ideal place from which to examine the intricate carvings and spot a few that were more likely to have been added by bored children rather than devout members of the congregation. You can get real close to some of the delicate painted carvings and check out the care and precision that was taken to create them.

Colonel Salisbury’s initials and insignia are given pride of place throughout the church and an amazing wooden chandelier hangs in the middle of the church over the Victorian tiled floor. We were there on the prefect day to see the inside of the church flooded with a rainbow of colours through the brash and boldly painted stained glass windows.

This church looks nothing special from the outside but make the short walk to its entrance and you, like us, will be entranced by the tiny Rug Chapel. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on January 5, 2008

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