The Flickr Castles Image Generatr

In the caves under Carreg Cennen Castle people have written their names and dates they were there over the rock walls, some go back as far as the 1800's. Really puts time into perspective and makes the history of the place feel alive.

The vegetation takes over.

The Old Wye Bridge taken from the ramparts of Chepstow Castle. The cast iron bridge built in 1816 spans the second highest tidal range in the world, reaching up to 46 feet (14m) in one day. The bridge crosses from Monmouthshire in Wales to Gloucestershire in England.

A trip to beautiful Arundel Castle and photo taken with my Canon DSLR camera.

Arundel Castle is a restored and remodelled medieval castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England. It was established by Roger de Montgomery in the 11th century. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War and then restored in the 18th and early 19th centuries by Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk. Further restoration and embellishment was undertaken from the 1890s by Charles Alban Buckler for the 15th Duke.

Since the 11th century, the castle has been the seat of the Earls of Arundel and the Dukes of Norfolk. It is a Grade I listed building.

The original structure was a motte-and-bailey castle. Roger de Montgomery was declared the first Earl of Arundel as the King granted him the property as part of a much larger package of hundreds of manors. Roger, who was a cousin of William the Conqueror, had stayed in Normandy to keep the peace there while William was away in England. He was rewarded for his loyalty with extensive lands in the Welsh Marches and across the country, together with one fifth of Sussex (Arundel Rape). He began work on Arundel Castle in around 1067.

Between 1101 and 1102 the castle was besieged by the forces of Henry I after its holder Robert of Bellême rebelled. The siege ended with the castle surrendering to the king. The castle then passed to Adeliza of Louvain (who had previously been married to Henry I) and her husband William d'Aubigny. Empress Matilda stayed in the castle, in 1139. It then passed down the d'Aubigny line until the death of Hugh d'Aubigny, Earl of Arundel in 1243. John Fitzalan then inherited jure matris the castle and honour of Arundel, by which, according to Henry VI's "admission" of 1433, he was later retrospectively held to have become de jure Earl of Arundel.

The FitzAlan male line ceased on the death of Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel, whose daughter and heiress Mary FitzAlan married Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk in 1555, to whose descendants the castle and earldom passed.

In 1643, during the First English Civil War, the castle was besieged.[8] The 800 royalists inside surrendered after 18 days. Afterwards in 1653 Parliament ordered the slighting of the castle; however "weather probably destroyed more"

Carbisdale Castle was built in 1907 for the Duchess of Sutherland on a hill across the Kyle of Sutherland from Invershin in the Scottish Highlands. From 1945 to 2011 it was used as a youth hostel, operated by the Scottish Youth Hostels Association. The castle is situated north of Culrain, and around 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north-west of Bonar Bridge. It lies within the civil parish of Kincardine and Community council of Ardgay and District.

The castle is in the Scottish baronial style, it has 365 windows, is 41,433 square feet (3,849.3 m2) and is protected as a category B listed building. The hostel closed for repair in 2011, and was put up for sale in 2014. Until its closure, the castle had a large collection of art, with some pieces dating back to 1680, as well as Italian marble statues. It was purchased in 2016 but offered for sale again in 2021; in 2022 it was again sold and is now a private residence. As of June 2025 it is again on the market.

The castle was built between 1905 and 1917 for Mary Caroline, Duchess of Sutherland, the second wife of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland, whom she married in 1889. She is better known as "Duchess Blair" because of her first marriage to Captain Arthur Kindersley Blair of the 71st Highland Light Infantry, who died in a hunting accident in 1883 near Pitlochry. The marriage was not well-liked in the Sutherland family. When the Duke died in 1892 his will, in favour of the Duchess, was contested by his son and heir Cromartie. In a court process that followed, the Duchess was found guilty of destroying documents and was imprisoned for six weeks in Holloway Prison.

Eventually, the Sutherland family came to an agreement giving Duchess Blair a substantial financial settlement. Furthermore, the family agreed to build a castle for the Duchess, as long as it was outside of the Sutherland lands. The Duchess employed a firm of Ayrshire builders and the castle was built between 1906 and 1917 just outside the Sutherland lands in Ross-shire. It was located on a hillside to be visible to a large part of Sutherland, especially the main road and rail line which the Sutherland family would have to use to travel south. Thus it became known as the "Castle of Spite" as it was widely considered that the Duchess located the castle there to spite her husband's family and the settlement agreement. The castle's tower only has clock faces on three of its four sides; the side facing Sutherland is blank, supposedly because the Duchess did not wish to give her former relatives the time of day.

Colonel Theodore Salvesen, a wealthy Scottish businessman of Norwegian extraction, bought the castle in 1933. He made it available as a refuge for King Haakon VII of Norway and Crown Prince Olav, who would later become King Olav V, during the Nazi occupation of Norway in World War II. During that time the castle was also used to hold important meetings; at the Carbisdale Conference on 22 June 1941 it was agreed that should Russian forces enter Norwegian territory, they would not stay there after the war. On 25 October 1944, the Red Army entered Norway and captured thirty towns, but the Russian forces later withdrew under the terms of the agreement. After the Colonel died his son, Captain Harold Salvesen, inherited the castle and gave its contents and estate to the Scottish Youth Hostels Association. Carbisdale Castle Youth Hostel opened to members on 2 June 1945.

Following frost damage, the hostel closed for repairs in February 2011. Further structural damage was discovered during repair work. Because of the cost of completing the repairs, the SYHA advertised the castle for sale in 2014, for £1.2 million. In addition they auctioned 17 marble sculptures and 36 paintings in May 2015, raising a further £1 million. In September 2016, the castle was purchased by FCFM Group Ltd, who planned to make it "a world-class private residence".

The castle was put up for sale again in April 2021, priced at £1.5 million. It was sold in October 2022 to the barrister Samantha Kane and has since undergone restoration. Kane, now known as Lady Carbisdale, uses the castle as her residence but intends to partially open it to the public. As of June 2025, it is again on the market, with a guide price of £3.5 million.

The castle is rumoured to be haunted by a ghost called Betty.

If you look carefully you can see Scarborough Castle! (The headland just left of centre and you can see the Keep)

There was a fire in the castle on December 31, 2023. The roof and the first floor burnt down. It was abandoned at the time, even though it had 40 owners. "Le grand château de Serquigny, protégé pour partie au titre des monuments historiques, a subi un incendie le 31 décembre 2023, provoquant d’importants dégâts sur le corps du logis principal et l’aile nord avec notamment la disparition de la toiture du château."

There was a fire in the castle on December 31, 2023. The roof and the first floor burnt down. It was abandoned at the time, even though it had 40 owners. "Le grand château de Serquigny, protégé pour partie au titre des monuments historiques, a subi un incendie le 31 décembre 2023, provoquant d’importants dégâts sur le corps du logis principal et l’aile nord avec notamment la disparition de la toiture du château."

Caverns underneath Carreg Cennen Castle. Used in medieval times as a dungeon, storage and safe place.

Carreg Cennen, Brecon Beacons.

Carreg Cennen, Brecon Beacons.