Carmarthen Castle/ Castell Caerfyrddin

During the Easter break, we went on holiday to visit friends/family in Wales. My Dad had never been to Carmarthen Castle before, so I took him to visit it. He's an archaeological geophysicist, so he tends to spend more time concentrating on burried ruins than on those remainign more vertical. I took most of the photographs on my camera-phone. My new smartphone is pretty dire for indoor photography, but actually rather good for outdoor photographs; the only problem I have is that it is hard to hold it still, especially as it is so thin and light.

Gatehouse. Photograph by the HouseCat

This photograph was taken from the city centre side of the castle, looking up at the imposing and sturdy gatehouse. In its heyday, it would have been a true stronghold, well defended against attackers with vast walls and a garrison of knights and warriors. I'm not sure what sort of roof the gatehouse would have had, but I imagine it once loomed even taller. All the walls are hugely thick and very sturdy. Apparently, there are further remains of fortifications and associated buildings outwith the curtain wall (big perimeter walls of the castle compound) underneath parts of the city's central shopping district!

Large round tower, looking up. Photo by HouseCar

Carmarthen Castle is rich with Arthurian legend, and according to legend, the town is named after Merlin, or Myrddin (pronounced something akin to "Merthin" - I am not Welsh, and that is my attempt at writing how my Welsh-speaking friends pronounce it, in English phonics. Natively speaking and flluent Welsh speakers are free to correct me :) ), but actually, Myrddin was named after the town, as he was supposed to have been born near there, and the city was named after one of fortresses that have stood there, which overlooking the estuary, was called Moridunum by the Romans - a Latinisation of even older Brythonic, and basically, it meant 'Sea Fort'. The castle, being one fortification in a long history of fortifications there, is part of that history, and is situated on a prominence overlooking the river, and where the bridge now is. It would have once been guarding the way in from the sea. The road now runs directly below it, and beyond that the railway comes in.

Trefoil Gothic window. Photo by the HouseCat

Merlin is supposed to be trapped in a nearby hill, within which the Crystal Caves are supposed to be hidden. The shopping precinct there is called Merlin's Walk in English and Maes Myrddin in Welsh, and there's some interesting public sculpture in the city on an Arthurian theme. Considering the connection to Merlin, most famous of British mythological wizards, I am surprised there are not more local metaphysical shops and Neo-Pagan suppliers capitalising on that theme; perhaps this is a good thing as in other places with Arthurian connections such as Glastonbury, some of that can get a bit tacky and 'touristy'.

Part of castle keep. Photograph by the HouseCat

The road is significantly below the castle walls, and you have to walk up steps to reach even the bottom of them. This photograph is looking up from those steps, towards one of the towers. Until fairly recently, it was possible to walk up one of the original spiral staircases, but unfortunately it appears that there has been instability and partial collapse, so that staircase is now barred up. There is not much left of the castle above ground, but next door is a building that was once a prison, and is now council offices (and which was built in a style that certainly took aesthetic influence from the neighbouring castle) and what is now the carpark has a massive stone wall around it. Within that wall are still visible portions and traces of castle architecture, but it was hard to get a good photograph, and as the council carpark is private, I coul not just go down and take pictures. 

 Links/References:
::Carmarthen Castle at Castles of Wales:: - I recommend this link because it shows the extent of the remaining castle with large size photographs, clearer than mine. Includes picturess from the carpark.
::Carmarthen Wikipedia Page::
A lot of what I have learnt about the castle is from the signs there, and from talking with my friends and relations local to Carmarthen, especially Kate B. and Raven's father.