02/06/2025
Caerphilly Castle doesn’t mess around. Built in the late 1200s by Gilbert de Clare, it was meant to keep the Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in check. And it did just that.
It’s the second largest castle in the UK, right after Windsor, and it’s not just big. It’s clever. Massive artificial lakes surround it, part of a defensive system that made attacking nearly impossible. The design is concentric, meaning one wall inside another, with layers of defense that forced enemies to fight for every inch.
Then there’s the leaning tower. Thanks to centuries of subsidence, one of its corner towers tilts more than the one in Pisa. No one built it that way, but it’s now one of the castle’s most famous features.
Caerphilly is a reminder that medieval warfare was as much about engineering as it was about swords.
