Over an early summer weekend, three writer friends trek through the hills of Monmouthshire, mapping the medieval lordship of Three Castles
lie west of the border. Just. For a millennium they’ve hunkered in that hinterland where England shoulders up against Wales. As we set off uphill from Grosmont there’s nothing more aggressive going on than a little haymaking, the hum of a distant tractor is masked by a brisk wind through oak leaves; but in the past there have been tensions. Building a castle – building three – is not, after all, an act of friendship.
Today we hack west, deeper into Cymru. The rich red earth of Hereford fades fast into the dust and stone of Monmouth, a stark reminder that here, as so often, the border is geological: where the soil thins, there begins Wales. The frontier is simultaneously sharp as a blade, yet soft and baggy too. These gentle hills look both ways, but mostly they look down, quiet and contemplative, a law unto themselves.
White Castle was named after the colour of its render, gleaming in the moonlight and casting the whole district under its spell. Today, the render is gone, trees shield the view and my promised finale has to wait. Pam and Annie are still reassuringly impressed. It is the fortress from a children’s storybook, hulking great towers and growling power sat snug within a proper moat. Unlike the other castles, White was never domesticated as part of a village. There are no soft edges.
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