"The Big Cheese" Caerphilly by M0B1US

The first thing I ever knew about Caerphilly was its eponymous cheese, which is a salty but tangy and crumbly cheese - very tasty it is too!

The other thing Caerphilly is famous for is its huge castle, which is the second largest in the UK after Windsor and dominates the centre of town.

The town of Caerphilly is a small sized and reasonably prosperous dormitory town of Cardiff with all the usual amenities that has to offer.

The area around the castle is the most attractive with a large park enclosing the grounds of the castle affording spectacular views.

It is a great place to come for a short day trip to see the castle and relax in one of the pubs for a pub lunch.

The best time to come is for the recently inaugurated 'Big Cheese' festival launched by the local council to highlight the town's heritage. It is held in and around the castle and was held between 23-25 July this year (2004). It is FREE and makes for an excellent day out and is expecting to attract around 100,000 people this year - included is FREE entry to the castle! Yaaay!

Oh and it is also the birthplace of Tommy Cooper, Britain's funniest magician - apparently... "Just like that" ;-)

View from the Court House Pub

VISIT THE CASTLE!!! After all, that's probably why you're here...;-)

Come to the Big Cheese festival and try some Caerphilly Cheese (Caws Caerffili), it's very tasty!

Also during the festival there are a variety of displays including mediaeval siege demonstrations, archery, falconry, live music, a craft fayre and a food market.

Why not also check out The Court House pub at the foot of the High Street with an expansive beer garden overlooking the castle - probably one of the best views in town...

Strange but true...

Caerphilly is home to one of the largest and best equipped indoor climbing walls in the World - seriously! :-D

View from the Western Island

The easiest way to get around once you have arrived is by walking as Caerphilly town centre is such a small area.

If you are coming by train, all you have to do is walk down the high street to get to the centre which takes less than 10 minutes. The journey from Cardiff itself takes no more than 20 minutes and should cost no more than £4.20 return.

Buses also stop outside the train station.

Caerphilly also seems easy to get around by car, which can be useful as a number of Caerphilly's attractions are out of town...

• Pros:One of the most impressive castles in Europe! Oh and the cheese is nice too...
• Cons:Not much else - unless you're into indoor climbing...
• In a nutshell:A Bloody Great Big Huge Castle!