Last Monday, having spent the weekend at home we decided a day out was needed so we made a picnic lunch and were off early to drive up to Flint to visit the castle before crossing the Flintshire bridge to Connah's Quay and driving round to the RSPB Burton Mere Nature Reserve which is on the opposite side of the Dee estuary and which I featured on day fifteen of my 30 Days Wild blog.
There is a good car park close to the walk up to the castle and there was just us, a couple of local people and a Dutch family visiting the castle. We had it almost to ourselves to discover and explore. It is quite well maintained but there was a bit of litter about which seemed a shame. Entry is free during opening hours.
The ruins are quite extensive with what remains of the four towers around the inner bailey. Begun in 1277 it was one of the first of the castles to be built in Wales by Edward I. It is often overshadowed by its fellow castles along this north west coastline namely Caernarfon, Conwy, Harlech and Beaumaris.
In view is the North-East tower and you can just see the estuary behind the great tower to the right of the photo above.
This is the main entrance with a bridge over the moat.
A view of the Dee estuary from the bridge over to the main gate
Looking upwards you can see how thick the walls are
Another view of the North-East Tower
Views up and down the estuary from the castle walls above the Connah's Quay power station and the Flintshire Bridge.
The tower to the right of the main entrance is the Great or Donjon tower. This is back across the moat by another bridge and cut off from the rest of the castle interior.
This is two stories high and was built as a final stronghold if the castle should be besieged. It has galleries running around the central open area with two walls each 6ft in thickness with an open area or corridor about 20ft in diameter running in between the walls.
You can see these corridors in between the walls above and below
Below is a view across the inner bailey of the castle towards the North West Tower. You can see the well in the centre.
Down in the moat beside the north east and north west towers
On the photo below you can see the modern lifeboat station behind the castle ruins.
We had a walk across the salt marshes on the estuary.
You could imagine the boats coming into the side of the castle
You can see the layout of the castle on the drawing below which I photographed on one of the information panels
From the castle is was just a short drive over the Flintshire Bridge to the south end of the Wirral and our second stop which was the RSPB Nature Reserve at Burton Mere. I think I took this photo as we drove across the bridge on our way back home.
Much more information on Flint Castle can be found - here
I'm pretty sure we've visited Flint, your pictures brought back good memories.
ReplyDeleteThere are quite a few castles along the estuary and coast. Glad to have brought back memories:)
DeleteIt's good to see a picture of the layout of the castle to see the proximity of things to each other. The layout of the castle seems vast and the well situated so far away too x!
ReplyDeleteI guess there might have been wooden structures in the middle - the layout does bring it more to life doesn't it?:)
DeleteI've never done Flint (Denbigh is as close as I've been in castle terms) Looks like an interesting spot. It must be good to be able to do Wales for the day. We have to make it at least a weekend to give enough time to look round.
ReplyDeleteIt is great to be able to get to Wales for a day - Llandudno or Llangollen being the favourites. We can get to Chester quite easily and Flint isn't much further along from there:)
DeleteIt's an impressive site. It's amazing that it's possible to wander around for free and that there's no-one to oversee visitors. It was interesting to see the channels and imagine how the different areas of the castle would have been surrounded by water.
ReplyDeleteThe free access does give rise to some vandalism and litter but it seems to be fairly well maintained. I love the estuary and the salt marshes:)
DeleteIt looks great! I've never been to Flint I don't think.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see much of the town centre as the castle was sort of off the ring road from an information panel we saw it looks quite interesting:)
DeleteSome excellent photos, it definitely looks as though it would be interesting to visit, I love looking round castles.
ReplyDeleteIt is worth a visit if combined with something else in that area perhaps - it isn't an area I know well but looks quite interesting with the castles and the industries around there:)
DeleteGreat tour/photos - definitely one for the 'to visit' list.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mike it is worth a visit and there are a couple of other castle ruins not far away too:)
DeleteYou make me feel ashamed.I only live 6 miles from Flint Castle and have never been.Shame on me'!
ReplyDeleteIt's usually the case though that we all tend to travel further afield and not visit things on our own doorstep:)
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