On our last day together of our week long train tour of Wales, SH and I walked to Dolwyddelen to see a castle which Llwelwyn the Great built to oversee and control the valley.

We began our walk in a soft rain, not quite rain but not quite mist. The hills were wreathed in clouds and the air was cool. We followed the road for a while and then a footpath veered off to the right and we starting climbing. Our path took us through a lane roofed by trees whose branches and roots were covered in moss. Trees only look like that when the sun never shines down to kill the moss. We emerged from the trees and came to the somewhat steep hill after walking by some sheep who ambled away from the strangers.

To get into the castle, we had to climb the stone stairs clinging to the outside — steep and uneven. Once up, we entered into the hall maybe 30 feet by 20 feet and certainly not much bigger than our own living room at home. The hall had a huge shallow stone fireplace and two deeply recessed window seats.

Imagine how cold it would be in that room in the winter — no glass on the windows, only one huge fire.

Imagine too the lack of privacy — everyone crowded together to eat, drink, sleep, piss, talk. And forget about sitting down. Only the nobility would have chairs. Only privileged folks would sit in the window recesses where you could have light and a view but at the price of freezing in the wind and cold coming in through the windows.

Before having our picnic lunch in a window seat, we climbed the narrow stairway to the battlements of the tower and looked out over the entire valley. One the one side we could see Tomen Castell, a round mound covered in grass and trees. Archeologists believe this once was another smaller wooden citadel and might even be the place Llewellyn the Great was born in 1173. He died in 1240 after a lifetime spent trying with some success to keep the English out of Wales.

If you ever want to read a good novel about Llewellyn, I would recommend starting with Sharon Kay Penman’s book Here Be Dragons.