Enjoyed this video. We recently visited Flint Castle but there was a lot of kids hanging about when we visited. Never seen or heard of Ewloe castle before. Great video. Love the history. ❤😊👍
@MattandBecExplores-lt9vf I hadn't heard of either and I even worked in Flint for a while 😁😁 Fancy no-one mentioning the castle... I was lucky. Couple of other visitors but they didn't stay long.
Wepre Park, (said as Weper locally) is a beautiful and very well managed park for both humans and wildlife. While most of the trees are relatively young you did walk through some rather special ancient woodland, home to some rare species. I worked there a time or two, lovely place. Ewloe castle (Yew-low) is fascinating because it doesn't look like what people expect. It was built as a home as well as a fortification. Flint is where I grew up, we had some fun playing in the castle. Not sure how we survived as falls were quite common, fortunately we always managed to land away from some of the great chunks of sandstone and limestone that lie buried in the marsh. I wouldn't call the Dee Estuary a nice bit of water though - it looks pretty at times but it's bloody lethal! Many people have been fooled into thinking they can just walk across to the English side at very low tide. Kudos to the hardworking and dedicated Lifeboat crew based there who are kept fairly busy up and down the estuary and coast. Nice video, thanks for showing the beauty of the area. You might like to check out Greenfield a little further along the A548. With the Greenfield Valley Museum of buildings brought from other sites and rebuilt to show the history of farming life and industry. There's also the remains of Basingwerk Abbey to explore which, as significant player in the Industrial Revolution, the Valley has old factory sites and man made pools for powering machinery (you can see a working steam powered bottling plant several times a year) and grim links to the slave trade. Then there's St Winefride's, Well, known as the Lourdes of Wales for it's supposed healing powers. And, of course, another lovely well managed woodland to walk through along a disused railway line with it's own pocket history). All within the relatively small area of 70 acres (Wepre is 160). You could easily fill a whole day there. Or just pop in for a wander on your way to another castle! Really lovely video, thanks again.
@madoldbatwoman @madoldbatwoman thank you for this. A special place indeed. Flint Castle must have been a great place to grow up, near death experiences aside. You're right about the Dee being more than a useful stretch of water for castle logistics. We have the same issue with Hilbre Island, tides, people getting stuck and the involvement of the RNLI. It was a lovely day to explore the area, which helps, but thank you so much for the suggestions of other places to explore along with the additional information regarding Wepre Park. There's so much to see in the UK, with plenty being forgotten or overlooked. Thanks again.
@@marchingwithmike2234 Oh yes, you'll know all about the Dee! Little Hilbre with it's seals and glimpses of whales is a special place indeed. It's not surprising that so many foreign tourists are amazed by everything we've got all over the big island! Happy Wanderings to you.
Very interesting Mike....enjoyed that.
Every day is a school day Steve. Both castles pretty much on my doorstep.... Never been. Never knew about them!!
Enjoyed this video. We recently visited Flint Castle but there was a lot of kids hanging about when we visited. Never seen or heard of Ewloe castle before. Great video. Love the history. ❤😊👍
@MattandBecExplores-lt9vf I hadn't heard of either and I even worked in Flint for a while 😁😁 Fancy no-one mentioning the castle... I was lucky. Couple of other visitors but they didn't stay long.
Wepre Park, (said as Weper locally) is a beautiful and very well managed park for both humans and wildlife. While most of the trees are relatively young you did walk through some rather special ancient woodland, home to some rare species. I worked there a time or two, lovely place. Ewloe castle (Yew-low) is fascinating because it doesn't look like what people expect. It was built as a home as well as a fortification. Flint is where I grew up, we had some fun playing in the castle. Not sure how we survived as falls were quite common, fortunately we always managed to land away from some of the great chunks of sandstone and limestone that lie buried in the marsh. I wouldn't call the Dee Estuary a nice bit of water though - it looks pretty at times but it's bloody lethal! Many people have been fooled into thinking they can just walk across to the English side at very low tide. Kudos to the hardworking and dedicated Lifeboat crew based there who are kept fairly busy up and down the estuary and coast.
Nice video, thanks for showing the beauty of the area. You might like to check out Greenfield a little further along the A548. With the Greenfield Valley Museum of buildings brought from other sites and rebuilt to show the history of farming life and industry. There's also the remains of Basingwerk Abbey to explore which, as significant player in the Industrial Revolution, the Valley has old factory sites and man made pools for powering machinery (you can see a working steam powered bottling plant several times a year) and grim links to the slave trade. Then there's St Winefride's, Well, known as the Lourdes of Wales for it's supposed healing powers. And, of course, another lovely well managed woodland to walk through along a disused railway line with it's own pocket history). All within the relatively small area of 70 acres (Wepre is 160). You could easily fill a whole day there. Or just pop in for a wander on your way to another castle!
Really lovely video, thanks again.
@madoldbatwoman @madoldbatwoman thank you for this. A special place indeed. Flint Castle must have been a great place to grow up, near death experiences aside. You're right about the Dee being more than a useful stretch of water for castle logistics. We have the same issue with Hilbre Island, tides, people getting stuck and the involvement of the RNLI. It was a lovely day to explore the area, which helps, but thank you so much for the suggestions of other places to explore along with the additional information regarding Wepre Park. There's so much to see in the UK, with plenty being forgotten or overlooked. Thanks again.
@@marchingwithmike2234 Oh yes, you'll know all about the Dee! Little Hilbre with it's seals and glimpses of whales is a special place indeed. It's not surprising that so many foreign tourists are amazed by everything we've got all over the big island! Happy Wanderings to you.