A day out at last
Visiting Caerphilly castle was my first long day out in a while, due to various factors. Including my wheelchair breaking down. Costing me £450 to fix!
I’ve had the chair over ten years now and it’s served me well. It’s showing it’s age now though and spare parts are very difficult to get.
It’s going to be a huge expense buying a new one, so I will probably have to put up a go fund me page soon. After I go through the whole NHS wheelchair services procedure of assessing me, then telling me they have nothing that will fit my specialised clinical and social needs.

Anyway back to the day out. I decided to visit Caerphilly castle in Wales. I had heard it was an amazing classic castle and I wasn’t disappointed.
Caerphilly Castle
Caerphilly castle was built in 1268 AD. It is the biggest castle in Wales, originally covering thirty acres!
There is a rich history and various legends about the castle. I’ll leave you to read up on them, as I’m no historian and would probably get it very wrong.

The car park was a short walk from the castle and reasonably priced, with blue badge holders getting an extra hour free.
You can see Caerphilly castle behind me in this picture, beyond the large moat. There are lots of geese and ducks around too. It’s a beautiful first view.

After this we walked around the moat to the bridge. There were some steep parts and the bridge is bumpy, but overall it’s pretty wheelchair friendly.
There is no charge for disabled visitors and their companions to visit the castle, which is something you don’t see back in England often.
The room in this video and the great hall have some very cool technology, telling the history of the castle.
After this we visited the garden at the back of the castle. They had made an accessible ramp to access it. A very calming place with great views, where we sat and relaxed for a bit.
We then continued exploring the castle for a while.
The turrets are impressive, and very dark, you can almost see the ghosts of this place when you are sitting inside. I quite enjoyed the darkness, my P.A. not so much.

Here you can see the castle behind me, I’m sitting next to huge catapults. I don’t think they ever succeeded in breaking through the thick stone walls though. Again impressive to see.
Although the sun was out, it was a very cold day. My hands became very stiff, until I could no longer physically take any photos. I decided to return to the van at this point and move on.

They have done a lot to make this castle accessible and I was very impressed. The only thing really missing is a spiral ramp to take you up to the parapets.
I can dream, can’t I?
Caerphilly castle is definitely worth a visit if you have limited mobility. It’s not perfectly flat by any means, but it’s the most impressive and accessible castle I’ve visited so far.
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