St. Fagan's Castle

Sunday was a beautiful day and of course a beautiful day deserves a trip to a castle and I must say St. Fagan's is my new favorite!

Not so much for the castle itself, which was grand, but I must say was more of a manor house, but for the exquisite grounds which lay on 100 acres and included stunning gardens, fountains and even an entire village! 

To start, here is the impressive entrance to the castle, I just love those tree lined drives!

however Ben and I actually started at the back of the castle, which is even more impressive than the front with multiple stone stairs, waterways, gardens and sculptures all the way up the back:

beginning the ascent:

admiring the view:

taking a rest from the climb:

Once we finally made our way to the top, St. Fagan's Castle awaited our exploration:

Here are the rooms we discovered inside, please excuse the darkness, as all historic home explorers know, flash photography is strictly forbidden!

Butler's pantry:

Gentleman's study, that chair was made from a tree off St. Fagan's own property:

Ditto with the rabbit ;)

Entertainment room:

Impressive tapestries:

impressive fireplace (though not nearly as elaborate as Cardiff Castle's):

Stately bed:

View of the gardens from the bedroom:

Sitting room/Library:

Another bedroom:

Women's sitting room:

Impressive bed, wish it were lighter so you could see the details of the carvings!

Light, airy and huge kitchen! The window looking down on the kitchen is where the cook lived:

After we thoroughly explored the castle, we moved onto the gardens surrounding the castle.

Sheep!

The former stables:

Walls outside the stables, I loved the colors of the leaves coming down the walls:

Gardens currently in the process of replanting, hence all the soil and lack of flowers, I'm sure it's stunning in the springtime!

Vine covered walkway:

More gardens in bloom, it was if each garden had it's own private room:

Garden gates:

Another garden filled with shapes:

Ben relaxing:

View of the shapes garden from above:

front yard of St. Fagan's taken from a secret gate outside the garden:

the first palm tree I've seen in Wales!

beautiful flowers in bloom:

Ben contemplating life:

and figuring it out:

more flowers:

another separate 'garden room' consisting of a huge topiary surrounded by it's own little moat filled with floating lily pads:

pub right outside the castle walls:

forests surrounding the castle:

carriage house;

Mill room:

another separate garden room containing a fountain:

Ben strolling down the forest paths:

river running through the castle grounds:

Boat house:

Outside view of the boathouses:

Barn dating back to 1508!

more beautiful forest trees:

Secret garden wall:

The village located within the castle grounds, it came complete with individual houses and general store:

more sheep!

There is no better way to celebrate another successful castle exploration than a cold drink:

CHEERS!!!