Castles and Books, AKA The Perfect Day for Me



    
Brick chicken with chimichurri sauce and a deconstructed cheesecake type dessert from our dinner that night at the hotel restaraunt...carry on for more castle pictures. 
 
We finally had a sunny day in Wales! And it would be packed, with a first stop at Raglan Castle, a fortress-palace surrounded by a moat. It was built between the 15th and 17th centuries and Henry Tudor (Henry VII) was brought up there. We arrived right when the gates opened and had it almost to ourselves.




  
 
    

    

  

 

  

  

   

 
 
After Raglan, we headed to Hay-on-Wye, one of my favorite places we visited on the trip. It's world renowned for its number of bookshops--more than twenty--and it's truly magical if you're a booklover.

    
 
Me at Murder and Mayhem, a store selling only mysteries, thrillers, and horror novels. There's also a store that only sells books by or with LGBTQIA characters; a poetry bookshop; and so many other wonderful places, including a book alley and a wall of used books where you make a purchase and leave the cash in the honesty box. Really to fully explore and appreciate the town, I think you'd need an overnight--especially since it gets so crowded. We had to park almost a mile away, and navigating through the town was a little stressful (code: there was some yelling).
 
    



  
 

      

    
 
     

    


  
 
 
 
Elowen's first copy of Wuthering Heights, which by the way she picked up ON HER OWN. This is probably 100% because it was a small and adorable copy with rainbow colors, but still...all her. 
 
 

  

We did have a quick meal in the town, but nothing of note as it was getting later in the day and we were in a hurry. (Even the little cafe had used books for sale, though). Next up we went to White Castle, a sister castle to Skenfrith and built at the same time as a fortification system. We got there about 10 minutes before the gates shut and had it all to ourselves.

 



 

A large part of the reason we got to White Castle so late and almost missed it is because we did a hard and sudden turn off the road to visit a cidery--Gwatkin. I was lured in at first by the baby sheep (they are so soft) and then held hostage by the strawberry cider, which so sweet and light it tasted more like juice than alcohol. Gwatkin has 35 ciders and perries, in addition to a menu that made me wish I hadn't already eaten lunch. Also, the sheep were escape artists and kept slipping out of the fence and then acting panicked they were apart from their bleating brethren...they're a very stupid animal. 

Overall, absolutely a five-star day and I wish I could re-live it!

  
 

   
 
The little church at our hotel
 

Elowen being adorable


 

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