Usk Castle in February

Wow, I have the same cannon at my gate!!
What a great blog!!! Am putting into fave's to be able to go back often!

what a lovely setting, i love the old stone.

An nteresting place, and nice views all around :o)

Lovely blog Kasy..there is always beautiful light in your pictures...

Lovely place! Oozing with atmosphere! :o)

Thank you all - such a lovely comments:) There is something special about this castle - have seen few others but don't have this feeling I would like to come back and see them again. With this one is really different. It changes with the seasons.

Good pics, Kasy .... thanks for the tour :o)

Beautiful.

Thank you Terra and Costas:)

that's an excellent tour Kasy, makes me want to go and see it too, very nice blog :-)

Thank you Surreylad:) Have been there few times already - always coming back and discovering something new:)

What are castles like in Poland?

Most of them in poor condition, falling apart - few of them restored and still used.
Here is a link:
http://www.google.pl/search?q=zamki+w+polsce&hl=pl&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ZrNhT8rxF4Kx0QW66uSgCA&sqi=2&ved=0CF0QsAQ&biw=1440&bih=781

Lovely blog, Kasy ... thankyou for sharing the tour ... :o)

Thank you Shirley:) Hope the wheater in June when it will be open to the public will be good:)

Will you be returning for a visit in June, Kasy? .....

oh, definitely - there is lovely private garden which is open only once a year - going there no matter sun or rain, lol.

Fingers crossed for a sunny day ... :o)

I checked that link Kasy. The pointed tower tops are something we don't have (surviving at least). Some of yours are very like French Chateaus and some look just mean and war weary. Very impressive.

Ss - I think the simplest explanation for tower tops could be an amount of snow we're getting during the winter, lol.
At some stage we were heavily infuenced by French culture, lol.
Mean and war weary - can explain that as well. My poor country was always a 'tasty piece' for hour neighbours. It's been invaded so many times, we lost and independence few times - there were times Poland was wiped off from the map of Europe. But although we are a nation of farmers - we were always fighting for our freedom. At the begining of II WW soldiers on horses armed just with swords were attacking German tanks...

I'm reading a novel based in Poland at the moment. It goes into the farming life quite extensively. The story is one that involves a lot of Poland's history.

Yes the castles are not just show pieces, though ours aren't for the most part either, bloody histories all. Maybe yours look more daunting because of the bleaker weather and, to us, foreign dark wars.

Yes, I've read a lot about Poland in WW2, things I couldn't possibly repeat here. In that we have no recent comparison, but when I see the young Polish girls and boys working here I wonder if they are the first generation to not bear it heavily and look only towards the present and the future.

We are the nation of farmers Ss.
It's a pity most of our castles are falling into a disrepair:(
I agree with you - WW2 is a lot of different stories - told and untold...
I think the generations born after war are coping with it ok.

Very interesting. I really like the "Snowdrops" very early spring bloomers.

Very beautiful setting and seems like a cozy place to live at one time.

I love the snowdrops time - then I know the spring is just around the corner.
This castle isn't big - but the owners really take good care of it and they restore it whenever they get some funds.

This is a very nice blog. It's interesting and educational with groovy pictures :)

It's my favourite castle here - it's got very nice English garden attached to it. It is private so there is no access to it except for open days. Managed to see it this summer.
Really glad you liked it:)

That's one thing that stand out from my visit to England - the meticulous English Gardens.

That's why I always say - it's Heaven on Earth for gardeners here, lol