"I love castle's. An emblem of excitement and adventure. The shooting of arrows and defending the land against unwanted visitors from beyond the sea. However, can a castle be a place to suit the needs of the 21st century?

Castell Rock, a yearly Rock music festival, took place on Saturday 31 May in the Aberystwyth castle grounds. Starting at 1pm, Radio Luxembourg kick started the event and from then onwards an estimated fourteen bands and a couple of DJ's provided continuous entertainment, with the final act, The Mighty Fuod, a Welsh nine piece band, taking the stage at 9.15pm. This proved to be an action packed afternoon and evening. Action quite different to what a castle is used to.

In the early 12th Century, Llywelyn the Great chose a new site to build his castle, this time within Aberystwyth itself. The concentric fortress of Aberystwyth Castle started to decay in the 14th century. Large portions of the drawbridges and the main gateway were falling down by 1343, with the power of the sea contributing much towards this.

However, the sea was not the greatest force to have hit the castle because on Saturday 31 May, it was rock music that took the accolade. I have always wondered what makes rock music and castles come together to form a hybrid of excitement? One of my favourite films was A Knight's Tale, not because of the time period but because of the dramatic use of additional music. It was not a Bryan Adams 'special' here and there but a continuous use of Queen music, combining adventure with foot stomping sounds.

Radio Luxembourg were as reliable as ever with their easy going music and they started the Festival off in an upbeat and cheery way. One favourite band was The Winchester Four who provided an easy rock, beating sound that made the crowd shake their heads.

Unfortunately this was their last performance after only eighteen months together, quite a shame really. Stix were great, with a 'well built' guy at the front, singing his heart out to the rock classics along with his beautiful and talented co-vocalist, which lifted the crowd's spirits.

The Rolling Stone's 'Satisfaction' along with other favourites such as Blondie's 'One Way or Another' got the kids and teenagers jumping up and down with delight. 'Satisfaction' and 'One Way or Another' released in 1965 and 1979 respectively, appealed to the younger generation, which was quite astonishing.

Even more so when Thin Lizzy's 'Whiskey in the Jar' was sung with most of the crowd singing along to the words. This sugges! ts that the Rock genre never grows old.

Chuck Berry commented that 'Rock's so good to me. Rock is my child and my grandfather.' This mentioning of the generations could imply that rock might be appealing to everyone and this festival provided fun activities for children, keeping them entertained.

There was an Eco Art tent where children were supplied with materials including cardboard, paper and crayons in order to make whatever they wanted.

In addition, there was 'The Labyrinth', and no it was not a way to discard your child for the day (which seems a bit harsh). 'The Labyrinth' was a game commonly played in Wales whereby shepherd's cut into the turf in order to create a design in the form of a maze, with people racing to the centre and back, being timed in the process.

However, by about 1700 the custom had died out but in many countries, most notably Northern Europe, this design can still be found and dates back approximately 4000 years.

However, on 31 May, this tradition seemed to have been reborn with the timing of how quick it took for a child to run through the maze to the centre and then back to the entrance. In addition, the castle grounds were swamped with kids wearing Castell Rock memorabilia t shirts and were running round like rock roadies.

After a tiring search for a Castell Rock t shirt and holding a hot dog in one hand, I was very satisfied. The combination of the ruins of a 12th century castle along with the power of Rock music made for an entertaining day out for all and proved that the Castell Rock music festival, free entry, fought back against the sea."

Article by Rachel Moore