Blaenporth Castle

Castell Gwithian stands near Blaenporth in Ceredigion, a ruined Norman motte-and-bailey castle built in 1110 by Gilbert Fitz Richard, Earl of Striguil. The site overlooks the Irish Sea and the coastal path from Aberporth to New Quay. It was burned to the ground in 1116 by Gruffudd ap Rhys, prince of Deheubarth, during a Welsh counter-attack. Most of the Norman defenders were killed, yet only one of Gruffudd’s soldiers died. After that raid the castle disappears from written records. The earthworks remain impressive, with a steep mound rising about twenty metres above the surrounding land. Cadw recognises the site as Scheduled Ancient Monument CD070, part of Wales’s national heritage programme. Its design fits the pattern of Norman frontier forts built across the Welsh Marches in the 12th century. The cluster of such mottes is densest in Shropshire, Cheshire, Herefordshire, Powys and Flintshire. Visitors walk a short farm track to reach the castle from the minor road. The mound offers wide views over Cardigan Bay and the Ceredigion coastline. Sheep graze the grassy slopes, and skylarks rise from the rough pasture. The site is quiet, with no modern buildings nearby, only the sound of the wind and the sea.