Day 9 was a castle feast.  We started the day with an amazingly good breakfast at The Royal Crescent and a walk down and around the park in front of the crescent.  Eventually we tore ourselves away from the place, around 10ish, and made our way north towards Wales.  Like a bit of a nong I forgot to hand the room key in on checkout, and we got a bit of a way out of town before we stopped for petrol and I realised. So back we went, but it only added 15 minutes or so to the trip.  By and by we crossed the Severn Bridge and made our first incursion into Wales, and headed straight for Chepstow Castle. This is a gem that sits above the River Wye, and it contains the oldest surviving post-Roman fortifications in Britain.  It was begun in 1067, by William Fitzosbern, later to become the Earl of Hereford. You can still see parts of the original ornate arch in the great hall, and almost unbelievably, some original painted sections from that era.  It really is a classic castle in a great location.  

After we clambered all over it we set off for Tintern Abbey just 10 minutes up the road, and up the river.  It was  founded by Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow, on 9 May 1131 and was only the second Cistercian foundation in Britain, and the first in Wales.  We arrived in time for lunch and found a nice bench, which we moved into the shade of a big beautiful oak, which had a plaque saying it had been planted to commemorate the accession to the throne by George V, to have our cheese and crackers.  Afterwards we had a good wander through the site, which had an excellent haunting atmosphere.  

Then we lobbed back over the Severn Bridge into England and went to Berkeley Castle, an old favourite we had visited in 1995. It had hardly changed of course, though they had taken down the curious small portrait of Napoleon we saw in 95 and again once on a TV special about the place.  We were the only visitors there by that time in the afternoon, so we had a guide all to ourselves.  She gave a good rundown of the place as we went through, with a vivid account of Edward II’s grisly end, the castle’s main claim to fame.  It really is a fantastic place.  It was originally built by William Fitzosbern, the builder of Chepstow, but nothing of his original construction remains - the current keep was built in the 1150s. The Berkeleys were very much active all through the dramatic parts of English History, from Crecy to Culloden, from Bosworth Field to Balaclava.

Finally we made our way to Thornbury Castle, our lodgings for the night.  This stunning place was built by the 3rd Duke of Buckingham, Edward Stafford, in the 1510s, the same bloke associated with Penshurst Place who was executed by Henry VIII. Henry and Anne Boleyn actually stayed there for 10 days in 1535. There is enough authenticity in the place to make it very special. They also have lots of Tudor portrait prints and suits of armour and so on that really accentuate the history, and while you know they’re not all ‘of the era’ genuine, it’s not like Tudor-land, if you know what I mean.  It works.  Our room had a nice carafe of sherry!  We arrived early enough to have a good wander round and exploration of the place. We just loved it! Dinner was amazing.  First we had drinks in the great hall, then a sumptuous dinner, then it was back to the great hall for coffee and chocolates.  Just brilliant.  We slept soundly in our 500 year-old bedroom, one of the oldest we’ve ever stayed in.

Chepstow Castle wiki, Tintern Abbey wiki, Berkeley Castle wiki and Thornbury Castle wiki