King Charles I stayed here

Although only a few miles away from home, I’d never visited Ruperra Castle until today. What a find. I walked through quiet woodland to reach the derelict castle. A short distance further, I climbed up the wooded hill to reach a Motte and site of an iron age hill fort with commanding views across Cardiff, Newport and the Bristol Channel. One extra shows Flat and Steep Holm and the other is the view north towards Mynydd Machen.
Ruperra “mock” Castle was built in 1626 and King Charles apparently took sanction there after the Battle of Naseby. It was destroyed by fire in 1785 and rebuilt. Effectively abandoned in the 1930s, it was used by the army during WWII but was again ravaged by fire in 1941. Today, the building is completely derelict, unsafe and closed off to the public.