chartley -- thank you for the correction! I did mean south EAST.

tahl -- At Chepstow there's an exhibit (on the right when you walk in, upstairs I think) that shows different Welsh knights through time. We have photos of my son trying on different helmets! I wonder if maybe the exhibit was closed when you were there?

Berkeley Castle is worth a visit. We went there one morning when it was too muddy for the walk we had planned, and really enjoyed it. It's on the Great British Heritage Pass too.

Lee Ann

I forgot to include a link to our Picasa album, which has pictures from Warwick and Berkeley, if it will help you make up your mind. :-)

picasaweb.google.com/ElendilPickle/RoundabouttheUKMay2007

Lee Ann

Berkeley Castle is worth a visit.>>>

Edward II didn't think so.

BKP -- Aha, you've just explained a mystery.

The CADW page for Chepstow Castle says (and said even this past summer) "The exhibition is temporarily closed due to essential maintenance and improvement works," and I didn't understand what that meant since the Castle was clearly open. But now I realize that the page must be referring to the exhibits you're describing, because nothing like that was on offer when I was there. (There may have been a few things in the entrance room where we bought tickets, but really not much.)

My wife and i did a similar trip last summer. We purchased the Great British Heritage Pass also, but i would suggest waiting until after the new year to do it. I waited and watched the website and they had a buy 1 get 1 free sale on the passes. I believe it was sometime in February or March. All of the castles we went to accepted the pass except Windsor. We saw the following castles:

Windsor - Plan plenty time here, saw the changing of the guard
Chepstow - Great setting along the Wye River (see Tintern Abbey also)
Coch - Small but decorated with period furniture, etc
Harlech - Must see, great wall walk and setting by the sea
Caernarfon - Another must see, climb to the top of the turrets
Conwy - Another great climb, the town is inside the walls
Carew - smaller castle and millhouse
Beumaris - smaller, never finished, nice moat with swans

Overall we had an amazing trip, Wales is simply a beautiful country, and the castles are all amazing. Have a great time!

One that hasn't been mentioned is Caerphilly Castle. It's well worth seeing.

To quote from the Cadw site "One of the largest medieval fortresses in Britain, begun in 1268 by the Anglo-Norman marcher lord, Gilbert de Clare. Concentrically planned, the rings of stone and water defences are formidable even today. Famous for its 'leaning tower'. Impressive great hall, now used for various functions."

And if you are in that area, don't forget the Roman fortress at Caerleon, just outside Newport. There are some impressive Roman baths, and an ampitheatre and barracks. We were there one Sunday and saw a very gory re-enactment of gladiatorial combat.

Cardiff Castle is totally different, but the work done on it by the Marquesses of Bute in their heyday is fascinating. Details are at www.cardiffcastle.com.

Berkeley Castle is worth a visit.>>>

>>Edward II didn't think so.<<

No, he met with a rather painful end.

Lee Ann

We saw this type of thing at Blenheim last summer - people and horses in medieval dress with jousting, birds of prey etc. It was on the massive lawn at the rear of the house so you don't have to pay to go into the house, you can just pay to see the grounds. It was fun and very colourful.

Kay

WARWICK CASTLE IS OTT! and there are certainly any number of other castles to choose from....Scotland, Wales the Cinque ports..etc etc....but if you have kids, they should like it and you get to see/do loads of stuff. There are still beautiful quiet gardens etc and if it's not raining go inside 0 if it rains everyone goes inside!

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...omment-6167715

...there's a bit about the castle in this.....

Khun, I laughed my way through your trip report only yesterday, and made a mental note to check to see if you had done one for Thailand as well. (I was thinking of going to Thailand in April of next year, but maybe not anymore!)

Based on most of the comments above, I decided to go to Warwick Castle and bought a 15 day GBHP Pass for the family. We will have the opportunity to check out a number of castles and ruins that way. Unfortunately, I don't see that they have jousting or birds of prey at Warwick outside of school holidays anymore, which for the UK won't be until after I return home. I will have to get my falcon fix elsewhere.

No falcons, but my Great Uncle George. Seems a fair swap.

I took my nephews to England when they were 10 and 12. They loved Warwick. We saw a medieval joust at Chepstow on a July weekend (first or second) and there was quite a gathering of recreators and we wandered among the tents and there were archery demonstrations and all sorts of interesting things to see. We went to a meieval banquet at Caldecott Castle and spent the afternoon before wandering around the castle precincts. Also heartily endorse Goodrich, Raglan, Berkely, Caerphilly, Coch castles, Tintern Abbey, Roman ruins at Caerlon which the boys and I also visited in our 5 days at Chepstow.

I should have said Warwick was not part of the Chepstow visit. Two other castles we visited on that trip were Arundel and Bodiam. Arundel was ok but was not our favorite. Bodiam was also fun.

I prefer the ruined castles - they have more atmosphere than those in pristine condition. Don't forget - you have to visit when it's raining for maximum medieval grimness.

Here's a link for Welsh castles, inc one of my favourites, Cilgerran :-

http://www.castlewales.com/listings.html

I went to Warwick castle last year - it was a bit of a shock....

Trip report here....


http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...omment-6167715

If you want ruined - Kenilworth Castle is only 30 minutes away....complete contrast.