your comments
Bob Abell from Manchester
Anybody remember the bullet riddled German car that was on display at the castle about 1948?
Tue Sep 1 12:27:54 2009
Paul, Liverpool
Amy from Liverpool, I've just come back from the campsite that you mentioned and it still has the original owner. She is 93!
Tue Aug 11 13:41:16 2009
Elle Q from Warrington
I am so glad Gwrych is going to be restored. I stayed in the castle around 1968 when you could rent apartments. It was magical, I remember the marble staircase with the red carpet, the railway behind the castle and the little animal farm. I remember a couple who worked there letting us see the newly hatched chicks and rabbits. Running around the upper floors in & out of the private corridors feeling very special that the normal day trippers could not go beyond the private signs (I was only young).
Mon Aug 3 09:33:25 2009
Amy, Liverpool
I went to the campsite located on the site a few years ago and really enjoyed it.Just wondering if anybody knows if the campsite is still there?
Wed Jul 8 14:51:00 2009
Steve, Sydney, Australia
I remember the castle as it is, just being able to lark around within its walls and rooms. It is great that something is being done, I always thought it would make a great hotel or apartment complex.
Mon Jun 29 09:36:35 2009
Dave Jacobs, Llandudno
I must applaud attempts by all to regenerate this site, but can't help feeling that the sight of one of the largest offshore windfarms in the world (Gwynt y Mor) will be off-putting to many visitors. Donald Trump insisted that his Scottish golf resort would only get funding when plans to build an offshore windfarm within view were modified. Why doesn't the developer of Gwrych do the same I wonder and secure the hotel`s future even more perhaps?
Mon May 11 10:10:43 2009
Tony Whitehead
When me and my sister were growing up we used to go to Towyn every year. We used to stay on Winkups caravan site and walk to Gwrych Castle and sneak in the back way. The first time I set eyes on the place I was only about 5 or 6 and it took my breath away and has done ever since.
Wed Feb 25 09:47:29 2009
Jacqui Lambert
Hi, can anyone give me any info on Lady Emily and the tower. I was told she painted there. Where are her pics now?
Mon Jan 26 09:40:43 2009
Gwenda Jones, Abergele
I am so thankful to see all of the hard work initiated and sustained by young Mark Baker for the benefit of those of us who adore Gwrych Castle in Abergele. This castle has a chance of rescue due to the fact that this young man had the determination to set up a Buildings Preservation Trust. After all of this hard work, effort and dedication, this trust will see the castle restored and remain as friends of the castle, we have so much to look forward to if we can succeed to get Gwrych Castle restored. Thank you to Mark Baker and to the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust, I keep a close eye on your website and hope that you will soon publish more photographs since I am grateful to the website for keeping us informed.
Tue Oct 14 09:21:09 2008
Shelley Taylor from Brisbane australia
My family and I lived in Manchester, but we used to holiday at my grandparents house, who lived in Rhyl. As children we often visited gwrych castle. The memories are just magical for me. The jousting was terrific. I still remember perfectly, riding on the train, my brothers were pulling blades of grass from the side to make whistles, I tried this and fell off the train....as the train turned a corner with me sitting on the track, both fear & excitement enveloped me thinking I was lost and gone forever, I can remember thinking what would my life be like now having to live in%! 20a castle...wow(I was only 7) until my dad ran back and scooped me up and we both jumped back on the moving train. I live in Australia now, but would love to take my children and show them 1 of mum's magical memories. I'm so happy it has been bought, I just pray they do our castle (as it's memory belongs to many)justice.
Wed Aug 27 09:32:51 2008
nat jones-llysfaen
i am the daughter of graham jones who use to do the jousting in gwrych castle through the 70's & 80's.... all of our family is so happy that the castle has been bought by claydon hotels. we had so many happy days there. We stopped the jousting there as we were offered a contract in camelot theme park-it was never the same as the castle.
Tue Aug 26 10:56:27 2008
Iris Bruffel Bootle Merseyside
Glad to know the old castle is to be turned into a hotel i spent many happy times on holiday in Abergele as a child and remember the lovely Marble staircase in the Castle. I also remember seeing Minnie Caldwell & Martha Longhurst {coronation street }visit the Castle .I also took my children in later years to see the jousting a great family day out. I hope the Castle in the future will give lots of happy memories to very many people
Mon Jun 16 10:48:09 2008
Frankie Flintstone, Merseyside
I have fond memories of Gwrych Caslte, it was used as a training camp for a boxer, I think it was Randloph Turpin also the empty picture frame with a claim that a valuable masterpiece had been stolen, I stayed at Howisons Camp at Abercele in a large tent / marquee and used to get milk straight from the cow at the farm along the road.
Wed Apr 9 11:31:08 2008
Ian Phillips from Old Saybrook, USA
My parents owned the Dulas Arms hotel in Llandulas from 1945 until 1949. They purchased the Quarry and converted the quarry's smithy into a residence. I attended The King Arthur School for boys in Colwyn Bay. I don't know when, but the school was closed after I left. I believe the son of the then owner of Gwrych went to school with me, although I'm not certain. We emigrated from N. Wales in 1952, went to Montreal, and then moved to the US in 1956. I still have the original Guest Book from the Dulas Arms! I wonder where the son lives now
Mon Nov 26 10:35:17 2007
paul owen from Dorset
We had a holiday there in the early sixties.It's a place I never have forgot, to actually be staying in a real castle with dungeons was amazing. It is a beautiful place in a beautiful country.I am shocked that the welsh assembly or whoever is in charge cannot renovate it as a prime tourist attraction. Letting modern builders in there would be a total disaster.The masters of renovation in these matters are the National Trust.Please don't let them destroy one of your most amazing castles.It must be inspected by your most trusted renovation experts to make sure the hotel business does not take all the revenue from your area, whilst creaming all its profits to its shareholders. A beautiful area, a beautiful castle, a beautiful country. Let's keep it that way.
Tue Jul 31 12:21:25 2007
Patrick morris
I used to be in the jousting at Gwrych Castle with Ronnie, Loz and Richard. We had some ace times there.
Mon Jul 23 09:24:32 2007
Cllr Kevin Brown, Abergele
Good news for Abergele - Gwrych Castle, which has been of much concern to the residents for some time now, has been sold and the Yorkshire-based company who have made the purchase [Clayton Homes] plan to develop a 5 star hotel there. They have also said that they will tastefully restore the castle and welcome contributions from the community.
Wed Jul 4 16:54:39 2007
Tony Law Abergele
Gwrych castel is just down the road from my house. I have very good memories of lovely food served in the main hall, cool beer etc, the motorcyclist and car clubs that used the castle as their meeting place. I was a member of the caravan club and got a weekend caravan site going in Septebmer many years ago and it is still going to this day. it brings trade into the town, you never know we may even get our new sregery.I am a Yorkshire man but this is my HOME. The best.
Mon Jun 25 10:48:06 2007
Helen from Hoylake, Wirral
I spent a magical summer in '73 aged 19- living & working at the castle. My friend Lesley ran the jousting troupe, & I was a barmaid, serving wench at the banquets & occasionally even the 'distressed' princess in the show.I've just found out Gwrych has finally been sold & will be re incarnated as 5* Country House Hotel. This reduces the people who will be able to visit in future, but whatever saves it has to be right.
Mon Jun 4 09:45:40 2007
Lloyd Jones - Llanfairfechan
I had a summer holiday job at Gwrych in the mid 1960s when I was a teenager. The house itself was the main attraction as a sort of mini stately home. In the cellar there was a chamber of horrors with really naff dummies but it was cold and spooky down there and I copped off with a lot of girls who were 'frightened' and wanted me to escort them round. There was a miniature railway on the upper side of the house, a bit like the one at Betws-y-Coed nowadays. There was a small selection of vintage cars and a large white piano advertised as 'the biggest grand piano in the world'. In the field below the house there were a number of small wooden cabins with electrically operated models inside them, a sort of miniature scene which came to life when you pressed a button. For instance, one of them had a bunch of rabbits inside, and when the button was pressed the rabbits would jig about and a song, 'When a bunny meets a bunny, walking through the rye' was transmitted through a loudspeaker. Another scene showed a dog I think because the accompanying song was 'I do want that dog in the window.' In charge of the day to day operations was a grizzled old policeman called Inspector Moss.
Thu May 24 10:44:00 2007
bobby
The castle was my home for 3 to 4 years, i was employed by Nona Donald, then the owner, to caretake the castle. i had visited the castle and made friends with the then caretaker yozza and friend wayne. they were great lads, we boarded up windows, fixed holes in the roof, and generally tried to keep people from coming up and smashing things. i remember when in the middle of one night there was a big bang, and we went down to the front door to find that the roof in the bar lounge had gone, that was the first roof to go. i think yozza had parked his motorbike in there at the time - amazingly, it wasn't like a pancake! the owner also had a property called plas coch in anglesey. we used to play things like volleyball in the banqueting hall; we sometimes stayed up all night playing games (hey, i was 18) on the main staircase - we'd slide from the top to the bottom. there was marble to the sides of the staircase, and the tiled floor was the most wonderful design, i think it is still there under 5 tons of crap. summer days we'd spend on the roof or the east lawn...yozza moved back to liverpool, and i stayed to hold the fort, spent a christmas there with trusty ben the great dog who was the longest member of the castle crew and came with the job. less than a year later i too was moving out to live in chester, and go to college; another guy moved in, i think he was too scared to stay there by himself and left after a week, then another moved in and when i returned to get my things, to move to my new house, he had thrown all my things out of the front window and wouldn't let me in. i was also coming back for ben the wonder dog, as we had got very close, i wanted to make sure he was looked after. he wasn't about when i went back, and the lad said he'd run off - ben was shot in llanddulas by a farmer, trying to kill sheep. i had walked and camped in fields with sheep before and he wasn't interested in them. i can only think that he was starving. when we lived there we weren't interested in ripping off and selling anything we could, just innocent kids really, happy kings of the castle. now, nearly 20 years later, I stand looking at the place where so many dreams and thoughts were made, tears rolling. i hope that in not so many new moons i will return with my 3 great kids and partner along with kola dog and the magic will have returned, hope you breath again gwrych, and your walls echo laughter. Peace, love, and good vibrations!
Mon May 14 10:37:36 2007
karen savoy - stoneycroft
i was part of the jousting at gwrych castle -we lived in the castle for many months; although not in a good state it was livable.gwrych is one of the places in my life were i was happiest. i am so saddened by its decay, breaks my heart. i have just a few pics now of the jousting and an oil painting of gwrych; i am doing a scrapbook of my life for my children.
Mon Apr 30 10:40:37 2007
margaret braidwood fleetwood lancs.
I, like so many, have happy memories of this wonderful castle - the jousting, the little train and the wonderful marble staircase, and randolph turpin. we always went to the castle when on holiday at Ty Mawr farm, now a holiday camp. i still look at footage taken by my late mother of the castle. good luck for the future.
Thu Feb 1 09:18:23 2007
Alfie Fox , Ottawa , Canada
I remember as a young teen passing Gwrych Castle, (thinking of England's fame with Randy Turpin), through out the 50's as the family tried new and different Holiday places along what was a wonderful "country" and coast line. Staying at Ty Coch, a farm above Bangor ,a Cottage at Gronant, a Farm House on Anglesey, and those amazing Castles and camps, and swing Billy Butlins and all the other places whose names I can't remember ... but I have the pictures in my mind .... Oh! to go back 50 years.
Fri Jun 30 09:46:41 2006
