Sunday Times Where Was I? Holiday Competition

Near as I can figure it, the most likely answers this week, seem to me to be:

Q1. Picton Castle

Q2. Robert Recorde

[C]arew castle

Pi[c]to{n} castle

Ll<a>whade{n} castle

N<a>r(b)erth

Ten(b)y

The initial clues place us in the Pembrokeshire coast national park area, where lies the only restored tidal mill in Wales, 'Carew Tidal Mill'. It stands close to Carew castle, which according to Pembrokshire coast.org is of 13th century origin, though other references claim there was a timber and earth fortification there around the turn of the 11th/12th century.

Travelling six miles or so north north west from Carew castle brings us to Picton castle which some of the references say was owned by Sir John Wogan, who was a justiciar of Ireland c1295 to 1308, before he got a job on the radio. From looking at the photographs of it, Picton castle does seem to have six towers and the blurb on some of the sites about it claim that it is part castle, part fortified manor house.

Llawhaden castle lies around five miles north east of Picton castle and this was a fortified palace of the bishops of St David's, there seems to have been a fortified structure of one type or another in that location since at least the 12th century.

A village which lies to the south east of Llawhaden castle is Narberth and the castle here is though to be mentioned in a collection of stories called the Malbinogion, which was broken into two parts, the White book of Rhydderch and the Red book of Hergest. The castle was at one time, the court of Pwyll, price of Dyfed. A dramatised version of some of the Malbinogion was performed at the reopening of Narberth castle c2005.

A town to the south of Narberth, where a mathematician called Robert Recorde was born (c1510-1512), is Tenby. Some sources claim that Recorde introduced the equals and plus signs into the language of mathematics. Henry VII, is thought to have fled to France via Tenby. The national piers society web site says that Tenby pier was demolished between 1946 and 1953 and that a modern lifeboat station now sits on the site.

Link to the competition

Where Was I?