Castell Pennard / Pennard Castle

Hello again people and pooches. Joe the Cocker here reporting on one of our days spent touring Wales in the early summer of 2024. We spent a couple of nights in a converted van close to Swansea University. On this day, we drove to the nearby Gower Peninsula. Specifically, we drove to a small village called Pennard where my human had read about a ruined castle that he wanted to visit.

We parked in the village and followed the footpath signs across the golf course. When I say across the golf course, I mean right through the middle of it. We waited a few times while some men whacked a little white ball at a flag stuck in the ground. My human wouldn’t let me chase the ball even though they had missed the flag by quite a distance. One man was swearing a lot while two others were laughing. I could see the ball quite clearly in the sand. The man seemed to be a bit miffed that it was in the sand. I would have picked it up for him if he wanted to play fetch, but I don’t think that he was in the mood for a game. It seems like a rubbish game to me, but, each to their own, I suppose!

We plodded on, risking life and limb, as those little white balls zoomed by to hide in the long grass.

As we crested one of the many hills on the golf course, we caught our first view of Three Cliffs Bay.

Our first view of the castle came as we topped a small hill on the golf course. It sits on Pennard Pill, overlooking Three Cliffs Bay and over a valley to Penmaen Burrows. The original small castle was built in the early 12th century, but the current structure dates from the early 14th century. It was abandoned later in that century due to sand encroachment.

My human said the castle is a do-er up-er! It just needs some tlc and a lick of paint. He is such a comedian. Considerable work has been carried out to make the remains safe.

The beach and the bay looked lovely from the hill, but my human said that was for another day.

A small settlement grew around the castle shortly after its construction, but no remains can be seen.

The castle is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs and with commanding views over the bay.

I received a yellow card for climbing on the ruins. I was being careful, but my human is a bit of a worrier.

That beach looked very inviting but my human insisted that we had other places to visit.

Legend says that the ruins are protected by a winged beast, Gwrach-y-rhibyn, who doesn’t allow mortals to sleep in the castle. She is reputed to attack intruders in their sleep with her sharp claws and black teeth. My dad said that it looked too exposed to be a good wild camping spot. Wimp!

A perspex display with a line drawing of the castle as it would have looked can be used to view the ruins. The view is of the grand gatehouse and its towers. My human loved it. I was more impressed with the number of rabbits I could see. Each to their own, I suppose.

After our short visit, we returned to the car through the golf course. Here’s a photo of me because, well, just because!

Till next time!