One of the things I love about moving to the UK, from Dubai, and originally from New York, is the sheer volume of castles. They are everywhere. I thought it might be nice to highlight one of the lesser visited castles with my Virtual.
Logging Requirement
As this is a virtual, the only requirement is to take a picture of yourself, your group or your GPS with the castle ruins in the background. You definitely do not have to show your face in any photo.
There are a number of caches around, including two Lab caches. A good chance to make a day of it!
Caergwrle Castle (Welsh: Castell Caergwrle), also known as Queen's Hope in scholarly texts, is located in the town of Caergwrle, in Flintshire, Wales. It was built by the Welsh under Dafydd ap Gruffydd in service to Edward I of England. When Dafydd's forces rebelled against the English, Edward sent Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Wilton to take the castle in June 1282, but Dafydd had retreated and sabotaged the structure. Rebuilding works began, and it was given to Edward's wife, Eleanor of Castile. A town was planned at the base of the castle, but this was abandoned after a fire broke out in September 1283 when both Edward and Eleanor were present. It was passed down the royal line, but was never rebuilt. In 1823, a workman discovered the Caergwrle Bowl near the castle; it is a unique Bronze Age bowl. Source: Wikipedia
Caergwrle Castle is Cadw’s most recent acquisition through Guardianship although the wider site remains in the ownership of Hope Community Council. Built between 1278–83 by Dafydd ap Gruffudd (d. 1283), half-brother of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, on lands given to him by Edward I and taken from Powys, it was the last castle to be built by a native Welsh prince.
The castle provided the base for Dafydd’s attack on the English garrison at Hawarden in 1282, which sparked Edward’s second Welsh campaign.
Work on the castle continued under the Crown, but it was probably incomplete when it was abandoned after a fire and was ruinous by 1335. There is a waymarked path from the junction of Wrexham Road and Castle Street in the centre of the village.
A five-year programme of improvement to the wider castle grounds has been agreed with the community council and is being delivered by Flintshire Countryside Services.
Opening times
Daily 10am–4pm, Last admission 30 minutes before closing
Closed 24, 25, 26 December and 1 January
Source: cadw.gov.wales
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.