Help improve walking routes around Ruperra Castle

You can make a difference by donating to the Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust to raise £4,000 to help improve walking routes to enjoy views of Ruperra Castle.

You can’t visit Ruperra Castle as it is privately owned and a dangerous ruin but there are public footpaths which allow good views of the Castle. We are often told that people are unsure which paths are rights of way and get lost trying to find the Castle. We want to improve sustainable access so that everyone can enjoy our heritage and countryside, which can have a positive impact on wellbeing.

 

Ruperra Castle is a grade 2* listed building in South East Wales, one of the only Pageant Castles in the UK, built for show not defence, a stylish renaissance home built in 1626 by Sir Thomas Morgan, whose main family home later became nearby Tredegar House.

 

The Castle has a colourful history; it has played host to Charles 1st and the military in WWII, been a family home and hunting lodge, and provided employment for local families. The derelict gardens still retain echoes of the past including the remains of a magnificent MacKenzie and Moncur glasshouse, one of the largest and finest in Wales.

 

The Castle was gutted by fire in 1941 and now stands as a romantic ruin and a building at risk of collapse. The unique surrounding listed buildings include Stables, Bothy and Generator House, which is home to a rare Greater Horseshoe bat maternity colony.

 

Please help us raise £4,000 so that we can:

• produce a new map of the area showing sustainable access routes on public rights of way

• share the map with the community, making it available to download from our website and by giving away 5,000 new map leaflets for those that need a physical map to follow and keep

• put up map signage in local carparks

• create an information panel about the Castle at a good viewing point and, if permission allows, create steps in a bank to help people enjoy views of it safely

• introduce Ruperra Castle waymarkers on some walking routes.

 

We will deliver the project in stages as we raise funds. We will keep the community updated with our progress through the news section on our website, and on our social media channels. Follow us to keep updated:

• www.facebook.com/ruperracastle

• www.twitter.com/ruperra_castle

• www.ruperracastle.wales/news-and-events

 

Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust is a registered charity, campaigning to save Ruperra Castle and surrounding buildings and gardens to ensure a better future for our precious local heritage.