{"id":8349,"date":"2020-10-05T09:50:06","date_gmt":"2020-10-05T08:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=8349"},"modified":"2020-10-05T09:56:14","modified_gmt":"2020-10-05T08:56:14","slug":"draethen-and-ruperra-castle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=8349","title":{"rendered":"Footsteps – Draethen and Ruperra Castle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Draethen and Ruperra Castle <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

It was a hot day in early August when 4 of us parked in a woodland at Llwyn Hir, near Draethen and headed into the woods. We soon came across a tree with a large vertical hole in it where the trunk had split into two and then reformed.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Emerging from the woods we walked through Draethen, a pretty village with good views of the surrounding countryside. We crossed a river and entered a field of maize which proved difficult to navigate as the corn was tall with only a small space at the edge (the footpath was covered by maize). We turned towards the river walking along it. Dogs played in the water and there were plenty of picnic spots on the bank, with one family enjoying the shallows of the river. We spotted a church in the village of Lower Machen, St Michael and All Angels, which was possibly founded during the Celtic period in the 6<\/span>th <\/span>century, and Plas Machen in the distance. <\/span><\/p>\n

We entered Coed Craig Ruperra, an ancient woodland, originally part of the Ruperra castle estate and now managed by the Ruperra Conservation Trust. Here the river Rhymney is spanned by a 16- metre iron foot bridge. The Iron Bridge was constructed in 1829 as part of a carriage drive across the estate owned by the Morgan family. It linked Ruperra castle with Machen church and the 16thC Plas Machen farmhouse (a 16thC mansion house, seat of the Morgan family before their move to Tredegar House in the 1660s).<\/span><\/p>\n

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The bridge is a Grade II listed structure and its restoration was undertaken 2008-2010. Phase 1 involved stripping all the ironworks and repair of the riverbank and stone abutments. The work included searching the riverbank for missing pieces while protecting wildlife such as bats in the locality. During phase 2, winter of 2009\/10, the whole bridge was sent in sections to a foundry in Kent where missing and damaged pieces were recast and sections cleaned and painted. Phase 3 saw the bridge returned in 2010, it was secured in its original position, where hopefully it will last another 180 years. <\/span><\/p>\n

Crossing the bridge, we saw a large modern house on the bank of the river which we circumnavigated before climbing the field behind it. Looking back, we could see it was quite splendid. A pond in its grounds played host to 100 or more Canada geese and other wildfowl. <\/span><\/p>\n

We had enjoyed excellent shade throughout most of the walk but now we emerged into the sunshine to climb to the Ruperra Iron Age hill fort (200 BC). A motte and bailey castle (1200) was built on the site probably by the Normans, a 17thC 2-storey summerhouse replaced the motte and at the beginning of 20thC it became a thatched summerhouse. We rested here in the shade of a tree, for lunch \u2013 relaxed and cool. <\/span><\/p>\n

Continuing, we passed the ruins of Ruperra Castle, a Grade II listed building built in 1626. King Charles I stayed here after the battle of Naseby. It has twice been ravaged by fire. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now we had superb views of the Bristol Channel before turning north to return to the cars. <\/span><\/p>\n

Walk 6 miles. Map 152<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Draethen and Ruperra Castle It was a hot day in early August when 4 of us parked in a woodland at Llwyn Hir, near Draethen and headed into the woods. We soon came across a tree with a large vertical hole in it where the trunk had split into two and then reformed. Emerging from the woods we walked through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-2aF","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6227,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=6227","url_meta":{"origin":8349,"position":0},"title":"Castell Carreg Cennin","author":"Alan Williams","date":"30th July 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Castell Carreg Cennin Our destination was near Llandeilo so after a long drive we arrived at Castell Carreg Cennin and were soon booted up and on our way. We set off uphill, as usual, noting that a large barn had been converted into a tearoom and shop where we could\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/walk-1-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9019,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=9019","url_meta":{"origin":8349,"position":1},"title":"Ogmore by Sea Walk","author":"Alan Williams","date":"31st January 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Ogmore We walked in the Ogmore area several times last year, using the Vale Trails leaflet no.1 \u2018Ogmore by Sea Walk\u2019 as a basis for our routes and starting from St Brides Major. From here we walked past St Bridget\u2019s Church and were soon on footpaths leading onto Ogmore Down.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Picture2a.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14100,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14100","url_meta":{"origin":8349,"position":2},"title":"River Taff","author":"Alan Williams","date":"15th March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"River Taff January and the start of February have made life difficult for walkers with lots of rain and boggy countryside. This walk was mostly firm underfoot taking in the Taff trail and an old railway. We parked Northwest of Merthyr Tydfil in Cwm Taf Fechan. The beginning of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8003,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=8003","url_meta":{"origin":8349,"position":3},"title":"Peterston Super Ely","author":"Alan Williams","date":"11th August 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Footsteps Peterston Super Ely We parked in St Nicholas, within our 5-mile limit, to do a walk based on Valeways walk no. 37 Peterston super Ely (A ridge and valley walk). The main walk is 2 loops of 3 miles and 4 miles centred on Peterston Super Ely. From St\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Picture71-300x210.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4656,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=4656","url_meta":{"origin":8349,"position":4},"title":"Usk Walk","author":"Alan Williams","date":"26th May 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Parking in the main car park at Usk, site of the Rural Life museum, nine of us set off through the streets of Usk. We passed a small but delightful garden created by local Girl Guides. Soon we found ourselves turning left to climb a fairly steep slope. 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