Local Attractions

My sister and her family came up for a few days, so I got to plan a day out around local places of interest that would suit a seven year old - and for a change I wasn't limited to the bus routes!
One trip took us to Talgarth Mill, down to Tretower Court and finished up at Crickhowell.
I've been to Talgarth Mill before, of course, though on that occasion it was awful weather and we got soaked. This time, part of the guided tour took place on the pathway overlooking the water wheel (and there was a little grumble about water rates - is it fair for the Water Board to charge for extracting water when it all gets put back again?). Inside the mill, James and a little girl in the party got a chance to grind their own flour on a Victorian machine, and got it to take home in a little bag. James also got to be the volunteer to help the guide demonstrate how the hopper over the grinding stones worked. He also had great fun pointing out the stuffed rats in the rafters!
We had lunch in the cafe, which was full of people, and a little walk around the village - we saw a light aircraft towing a glider from the gliding school going right over the church.
Then we headed down the valley to Tretower.
Tretower Court is fantastic!
I knew it was going to be interesting, but I hadn't realised how much work CADW had put in to make it so enjoyable. I started off by dressing James up with my re-enactment dagger (which is specially blunted, so quite safe). It's just the right length to be a sword for him. I was impressed - he was careful with it, and he was holding it right straight away. He could even do some of the parrying moves. So we went up the steps of the gatehouse and along the wall walk, exploring the rooms as we went, and then downstairs to the kitchen, buttery and pantry, and through to the hall which was set out for a medieval meal. This is where I got more excited than James, who had just been having a go at the butter churner in the kitchen and finding where they had a cage for hens under one of the cupboards.
At the back of the high table is a mural of four panels, showing important events relating to the Vaughan family who lived at Tretower. The first is Agincourt - and I was especially pleased to find Davy Gam's coat of arms of three bloody spear points among the coats of arms around the pictures. He led a troop of Welsh archers at Agincourt, and was killed there. The other main coat of arms was three boys' heads with a spotted snake wrapped round each neck - a reference to a family legend about an ancestor who had been born with an adder round his neck! There were also lots of white roses - the Vaughans were staunch supporters of the Yorkists during the Wars of the Roses.
The second panel showed the Battle of Mortimer's Cross, where three suns appeared in the sky, which was interpreted as a good omen for the Yorkist side. Then there was one of the Vaughans being knighted by the king, and finally the siege of Harlech Castle, with Jasper Tudor (uncle of Henry VII) escaping by boat and shaking his fist at the besiegers!
After that we went out into the medieval herb garden and orchard, and walked across to the original castle. It is the great round tower of this castle that gives Tretower its name. Originally the village was called Stradewy. It's a complicated building to make sense of - originally it was a shell keep, and then was rebuilt to have the great round tower in the middle, but with the remains of the shell keep around it. There was a bread oven in one corner which was clearly not original, as it was surrounded by blocked up archways from the original shell keep.
Out in the bailey there's still a working farmyard with barns - we met a chicken pecking around the outside of the tower, and saw a black pig in one of the barns.

This really is the best castle I've been round in a very long time, and it's all on a quite domestic scale in the manor house part. It also has more garderobes than I have ever seen in a medieval castle before! We weren't entirely sure where they drained to originally - there must have been a cess pit somewhere! Peter was also impressed by some of the fireplaces that didn't have chimneys - the smoke went up a little way and then found its way out through gaps under the eaves of the house.
There was just time after that to head into Crickhowell and do a little bit of shopping. We also went round Webbs, which is immense. It starts off with kitchen goods, fridges and cookers - and then there are rooms of furniture, and garden supplies - it just goes on and on!
All that, and wonderful views of the local countryside - we all had a lovely time!