Le Fay Series - Research Travel: Dinas Bran

Today I'm sharing photos of Castell Dinas Bran (name means crow castle) that I took during my trip to Wales. (Part of the 2013 research travel!) In GRAIL, I feature a castle named Corbenic. This castle was based on the ancient castle Dinas Bran, which according to some sources, may be a candidate for Corbenic if such a thing existed. Dinas Bran was our first stop on our epic road trip.

As soon as I got out of the car and saw the sprawling landscape I was instantly hit with a sense of wonder. Hiking up to Dinas Bran was one of the highlights of the entire trip! It wasn't touristy so it made it all the more special. We were alone for the most part for the hike portion. It did feel like I was back in time on some kind of journey.

For Corbenic in GRAIL, I made it more of a dark place, but took a lot of inspiration from the unique stone structures. (As you'll see Dinas Bran is a rather cheery looking place for the castle of crows!)

Afterwards, we wanted to go to Snowdonia (Merlin's hometown area), but didn't have time. It was still nice to get a sense of his home area and where he came from. We stayed at a rustic inn and ate Welsh food in the pub downstairs that was built with stone and lit up with candles--very cool atmosphere! I had locally made Black Dragon Cider which was delicious.

Now, onto photos!

Dinas Bran seen from the bottom of the mountain:


I loved these amazing stone structures!

 

The view of the Welsh countryside was amazing!


Here's the crow!


Sheep surround the hills of Dinas Bran:


Stay tuned for more photos! The rest will be shared with the release of the 4th book, coming out in a few months. Details to follow.


--Realm

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