Waking up on a narrowboat surrounded by beautiful and historic countryside is superb as long as it’s not chucking it down with rain of course,which thankfully 😅this morning it isn’t.
There’s always chores to do with boatlife and this mornings was a walk down to the Llangollan Basin to throw out my garbage but as I looked up into the hills I saw the ruins of Castell Dinas Bran. A 12th Century Medieval Castle ruin. It didn’t look far so I thought ‘ bugger it why not!?’ And after I’d lobbed the garbage bags in the containers off I went. It was fairly well signposted so I should be ok.
After about ten minutes or so I really didn’t seem to be getting any closer and I was thinking ‘hmmm maybe should have gone back to the boat for water flask and maybe snacks’ ah well too late let’s crack on.
The castle didn’t look any closer but the signs seemed to indicate I was going in the right direction so I carried on but with a nagging doubt in my head as to how long this rather circuitous route actually was.
Ok so now there’s a bit of a crossroads with a weird looking wizrdy looking tree further up.
Not sure of which way to go I wanted a closer look at the tree as it loked cool and I wanted some photos of it.
As it happens it was the right way yayyyyy for meeeee
I trudged on, forever uphill, and still feeling it was taking me the longest most indirect way possible. Inwas getting a bit thirsty and out of breath by this point but felt like I had reached the point of no return. Well no return just yet. I wanted to get to the top.
A little further on and I cam to this vantage point and as much as the castle looked as far away as it did when I started the hike, it now looked like a direct(ish) shot now so onwatds…..and ughhh upwards.
Reminded me of Game of Thrones and the black watch this bit did.
Am I making any progress? Still seems as far away as ever!
Aha! Now we are talking but it now looks steeper but I am definitely nearly there…..I bloody hope!
The sun is now making an appearance as I climb and as I climb the views are becoming truly awesome and I am now feeling the exhilaration of achievement and satisfaction with a healthy dash of reward thrown into the mixture. Loving this now.
Even the steep little paths are now fun in the sunshine and it’s all making it feel a little more adventurous. This is way better than taking the trash out.
Ah a bench with a view but I don’t want to dilly dally I want to reach the summit, the goal, the ruins.
And then almost all at once, I am there.
Sometimes called the Fortess of Bran maybe after the nearby river and sometimes referred to as the Crows Fortess. There seems to be a few theories about the origins of its name. These ruins go back to around the year 1260 which is a loooong bloody time ago. A lot of fortifications were set up along the borders of Wales and England and much blood spilled in conflicts of yesterear.
In fact even further back, way back in 600 bc Celtic tribes had build a hill fort up in this same spot such was it’s strategic positioning and easy to defend location with a water source very close by.
I spent a happy hour soaking up the views and allowing my mind to wander in thought wondering of the things that must have taken place here for over 200 years.
I had some great fun with the look throughs of what must have been doorways or windows.
You’ll have to excuse me having fun with filters with these shots 😄
Too much fun, they all look pretty cool and evoke thoughts of the landscape and the history.
I know I am getting a bit carried away but I can’t help it.
There were only two other people up here that I actually didn’t even notice sat behind a wall until I nearly bumped into them, so taking shots people free was super easy.
I was thankful for this as it kind of spoils the mood you are trying to create when taking photos of very old structures. But thankfully today I had the place to myself, well almost.
One last wander around this ancient hilltop fortress.
And one last look back.
I was getting thirsty now and needed to head back down and make my way back to the boat. What a wonderful walk this was. I think I’d like to come back one more time before we leave the area. It’s so breathtaking.
I’ll be sure to bring water and snacks next time, maybe even a beer to drink at the top. Oh yeah I like that idea, I like it alot!
