The Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust

Guest book

This is a moderated Guest book

All messages will be read, but we reserve the right to edit messages before displaying them on the site. We welcome all messages so please get in touch!

Go the the contact page to email us.

Please include ‘Gwrych Castle’ in the subject line of any correspondence.

A Selection of Messages

Jo and Ste Kotas, from Prescot, Merseyside, write:

Hi, My name is Ste and my wife's name is joanne, we are from Prescot Merseyside, My wife used to visit Gwyrch castle when she was younger and regales in her tales of the marble staircase and the jousting out the front, and the banqueting table where she had dinner on many occasions, this is our third time hoping to get into the guest book, we now visit whenever we can, recently we went and saw the workmen making the castle inaccessible, to keep it safe from vandals, I hope that anyone who goes to the castle treats it with the respect it deserves, I even took a brush with me and brushed part of the marble staircase, I hid my brush so that I could continue but the next time I went my brush had mysteriously disappeared yet the staircase had been brushed clean all the way down, someone after my own heart I hope, please everyone who goes take some of the rubbish away with you, if we each do that then someday it will all be gone. I might even take some shears with me next time to clear away some of the weeds.

Jo Kotas at top of Main Staircase 2010

Angela Smithers writes:

I visited Gwrych Castle countless times when young. My family used to take our annual holiday not too far away and a visit to Gwrych was always the highlight. Sometimes my father could be prevailed upon to take us more than once. When my own daughter expressed interest in historic castles, I immediately offered to take her to Gwrych, sharing the joys it had brought to my sisters and I. I was saddened to learn of its demise, and am pleased to learn that the trust is dedicated to saving it. It was a proud building and should stand to remind us of our former glories.

Wendy writes:

I am happy to hear that the wonderful Castle is being restored to its former glory.. It hold such happy memories for me. My son was adopted in the 60s and moved to Canada with his adoptive parents. he contacted me many years later wanting to meet me. He came to England and we spent very happy times together. I took him to Gwrych Castle and we walked up as far as we could. He asked me a lot of questions about it which I could not answer. I did not know a thing about this beautiful building not even its name, so we called it Cliffs castle and it will always be that to us. Now I am a silver surfer i have looked it up on the internet and found out all about it. Look forward to seeing it in all its glory. Wendy

Andrea from Bury, Lancs writes:

We recently visited Abergele and the first thing we saw on the way in was the glorious castle in the hillside. Not knowing anything about it we wanted to visit to see more of this wonderful piece of history. We drove round for ages trying to find a road that would take us near, but we then finally found a road with a sign that the castle wasn't open to the public. Feeling we had been done out of something, as soon as i got home I looked up the castle on the internet and am intrigued by its history and the haunting stories surrounding it. I hope the restoration work is still going on and i vow to keep track of what the future has in store for this lovely historical building. I will certainly visit again and make time to walk up to and round the grounds and who knows, maybe I will see some of the ghosts everybody talks about.

Tony from Wilmslow, Cheshire writes:

Hello, we recently purchased a static caravan up near the Penrefail crossroads, Abergele. I notice a few pieces of high quality marble around the base of the van as well as beach stones. I believe this may be from the Castle staircase. The amount of vandalism has been quite alarming as I do remember the Castle being in tact in the 1950s when on holiday with my parents at Llanddulas. I appreciate the Castle is a folly and only has recent history but I hope to see it fully restored one day. PS: if ever there is a voluntary repatriation of original materials then I'll be in the queue.

Shoshi Sigler from Jerusalem, Israel writes:

Dear Mark As promised, I send you hereby, the printed photos from the screened photos. I hope you can use them and make the most out of it. You are right. The picture is of the dining room and not a classroom. My mistake and was corrected by my mother. The name you mentioned, John Edelnand, rings a bell to her but he was not called John then and she does not know anything about him. She is still in touch with some “children” but unfortunately and sadly, a lot of them are not with us any more. Take care and please let me know once you receive this letter and what you think of it. Best regards, Shoshi Webmaster’s note: See the Operation Kinder transport Page for the photos.

Catriona Merrill from Harborne, Birmingham writes:

I hope you will continue with your excellent work. As a long-term member I am grateful for all information provided both on the web site and I also hope you will continue to send out information by post. Thank you again.

Linda Smith from Chicago, United States writes:

On a vacation to the UK last year I was touring Scotland, Wales and England. From all of the Castles that I saw, Gwrych Castle has been the one that I remember the most. I was totally taken with the sight of this fantastic building from the road and wondered what the place was like to visit. I was shocked to see what had been allowed to happen to this listed building. Having followed the work of the Trust I am so pleased to know that people are taking care of your heritage and working to protect these tremendous buildings. I do hope that you will succeed in restoration and if this does happen, I would love to attend any of your Trust events at Gwrych Castle.

Sandra Donnelly from Lancaster writes:

Having taken many past trips to Gwrych Castle I am always devastated to see the current state of this amazing building. I spent many happy times at the Castle as a child, but sadly I have been unable to share this jewel with my own young children. I hope that something will be done and soon. Certainly, without the setting up of a Building Preservation Trust this building would have been forgotten.

Liz and Tony Jameson from Edinburgh writes:

We have camped near to the Castle on many occasions and always dreamed of holding our wedding at this beautiful place. It may well be a reality thanks to the efforts of the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust, you will all be invited!

Kim Frances from Loughborough writes:

My parents were frequent visitors to Gwrych and we adored the place. On a recent trip down memory lane we went back to the castle and we were horrified to find the neglect and demise of the entire site. How can this have happened and where would this building have been without a preservation Trust to assist. I am longing for the day when I can revisit the Marble Staircase and enjoy the splendour of the place again with my family.

Daniel Forshaw from Birmingham writes:

We would as a family, very much like to join the Friends of Gwrych Castle and hope that the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust will remain if the Castle does get restored. The reason why I would like to see continuity of the ‘Friends of the Castle’ is because the Castle was a huge part of our lives as children and part of our upbringing. It has always been close in mind and never forgotten and that makes this Castle very special indeed. Despite visiting hundreds of other places, it is Gwrych that remains in our hearts and minds and we would like that memory to continue throughout our lives. The Castle should be restored and the Trust should evolve. I am impressed by all of the dedication to the restoration and please don’t give up until this is completed.

Maggie Daly, born and bred in Abergele and now living in South Oxfordshire (but still have the Hiraeth!) writes:

It was lovely, Mark, to put a face to the name on the recent programme which I have recorded and watched many times. Lovely, happy memories flooding back as I watch and I am delighted at the progress. Well done - especially all you founder trustees. It just shows what can be achieved with the great tenacity you have all shown.

Mr. W. Owen writes:

We managed to get Gwrych Castle on BBC iPlayer, as living in Bolton we don’t get BBC Wales. We had to hunt for it but it was worth it. We had a caravan on Pensarn beach, I had never heard of Gwrych Castle before, but my wife told me all about it, as she went in when it was a growing concern. She was most upset to see it in ruins. It seems it has now found a savior.

Vi Bell writes:

Thanks for your entire thoughtful organisation on Saturday at the Gwrych Castle Annual Dinner at the Golf Club, everything went according to plan. We did enjoy ourselves, the food was very nice and the company good. We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas.

Ann & Family write:

Thank you for a wonderful candlelit evening at the Golf Club, Christmas 2008. This gathering is the absolute highlight of my Christmas and I hope for the day when we will be holding our meetings at Gwrych Castle. I have already booked up for next year and look forward to Forthcoming events in 2009. Merry Christmas to all.

George Hapworth, Ontario writes:

I do hope that all plans for the Castle run smoothly. Given the sad decline of Gwrych I am fully supportive of the Trust until the last brick is in place, since the Castle has needed so much support to get to this stage and it has been thanks to the Trust that there have been any developments. Long may this continue with other buildings at risk. Thank you again and I look forward to visiting Gwrych with my family and hope to stay there one day.

Cllr Brian Bertolla writes:

Having taken a trip to view Gwrych Castle during the first week of December 2008, I am very impressed by the clearance work and progress thus far at Gwrych Castle. I look forward very much to attending the Gwrych Trust Annual Christmas Dinner at the Golf Club and support the Trust, we are looking forward to the completion of this project.

John Jones, family and friends write:

We had a great time at the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust Annual Christmas Dinner on the 6th December 2008. Our party enjoy this event every year and have booked again for next year and thank the Trust for organising a magnificent event. Certainly the highlight of our Christmas. We thoroughly enjoyed the classical Christmas carols medley and the Cardiff students performed beautifully. The harpist and singer were excellent too. A great night and so pleased to see Idris Davies, his presentation was well deserved and Pam Jenkins gave a wonderful speech. Thank you again and a Merry Christmas to all. We look forward to next years events and support the restoration of the Castle until the end.

Dave Mitchell, Scarthin Books, Derbyshire writes:

Great photos and an excellent web site; will check I've linked to it - the Marble Staircase looks quite intact, if now an outdoor feature; good to see that SOMETHING is happening to clear, and hopefully stabilise the building.