Cardigan Castle — Attraction in Cardigan

I write this review as a big thank you to the team at Cardigan Castle for helping make our wedding day such a wonderful experience.

When my fiancée’s sister let us know in February that she was coming back to the UK from New Zealand for a week in June, her first time back in 17 years, we had a narrow window of opportunity to arrange a wedding. Although not living in Ceredigion we consider ourselves practically locals as we’re there every few weeks and having considered other areas we decided that we wanted to get married there. There aren’t many places in Ceredigion licensed to marry, however having established with the Register Office in Aberystwyth of what dates a registrar was available we approached Cardigan Castle to see if they could fit us in. The phone was answered by Jac Davies, director of the Castle, and someone who I’d end up speaking to quite a lot over the coming months. He let me know that they had availability for a weekday wedding, and that coincidentally they had a wedding fair that coming weekend. We attended and picked up several contacts for wedding services. During the wedding fair Jac introduced us to Tom Holden, top man in the adjoining 1176 restaurant.

Over the next months we thrashed out the smaller details and sorted a wedding breakfast menu that catered for a number of dietary requirements. Having secured the services of various suppliers such as florist (Jen at Florist on the Farm), photographer (Vince at Whole Picture Weddings), harpist (Sarah-Jane Absalom), falconry handlers (Pembrokeshire Falconry), artist (Helen Elliott Art) and venue dressing (Bridget at Pretty Seats and Bows) it was fantastic that they all liaised with one another in order that they all knew where they needed to be and when.

As we were booking so close to the date it was always going to be difficult to secure the correct accommodation for our guests. We wanted my wife’s family to be contained within the Castle as they were unfamiliar with the area. Castle Co-ordinator, Sue Lewis, was brilliant over the days leading up to the wedding in arranging for people to be put into the most suitable room. She even arranged for our considerable luggage and wedding trinkets to be moved while we were out and about. We really appreciated that a lot.

We did have one hiccup along the way. When we arrived at the Castle we discovered that a big sound stage/arena had been erected on the front lawn ahead of the summer concert season. It was quite a shock and we feared that carefully planned photos might be ruined and the view out of 1176 towards the river would be compromised. However, I always feel that it’s not problems that should define the business but how they react and overcome them. We had a meeting with most members of the team, including Jac on the phone, and a proposal was put forward to open up the arena structure, so the walls were removed, and have the wedding breakfast in there instead. As it transpired the suggestion worked perfectly and dining outside on the Castle’s lawn was possibly even better than being inside 1176. It meant extra work for the catering team, but the dining experience was fantastic. The food presented by Tom’s team for both the wedding breakfast and the canapes on the lawn was utterly fabulous. As I say, it’s how you respond in a crisis where you find out the true character of people, and Cardigan Castle delivered.

Our wedding day was so much fun. Things just went along really nicely, and the Castle needs to take a lot of credit for that. The Tower Room as a ceremony venue is absolutely lovely. When dressed it really transforms into a wonderfully intimate setting. It really was a fantastic venue for our wedding and on reflection a week on I can’t think of many ways we could have made it better. I’m still smiling now. I can’t thank the staff at the Castle enough for bending over backwards in accommodating us all and making us feel truly welcome and conveying their own excitement at our big day....

Just got home from Cardigan Castle. I am a local and have visited with family several times before. This experience was a new one for me. Having Crohns disease is difficult and eating out is always a challenge. We were a party of 6 and had our morning cuppa in the restaurant. Everyone in my party had a cake. There were no allergen options for cake available, so I did without. We toured the grounds, house and garden and returned to the restaurant for lunch. Due to most foods giving me severe stomach pain and diarrhoea, I had opted to take a home made wrap, the rest of my party ordered food and we paid over £100 at this sitting. I asked the serving staff if they were happy with me eating my wrap due to my Crohns and they were lovely and welcoming, saying of course it was no problem. We had almost finished our meal when the chef walked past me, stopped looking directly at me in disgust and proceeded to ask the staff why I was eating my own food. The serving staff explained and he walked off, with no acknowledgement or apology to me for the way he looked at me. I finished my meal and headed to the toilet, where the same chef was sitting counting his money! I stopped and asked him what the issue was, he said he was surprised I was eating my own food and it's not something he would do in a restaurant. I explained that I had severe food allergies, to which he replied, so did his wife and she just carried an epi pen. His ignorance was astounding. Not every food allergy sufferer is anaphylactic. Those of us with bowel conditions are challenged not only with what we can eat but the severe side effects of eating one wrong food (that results in months of abdominal pain and basically passing bloody diarrhoea). The chef then proceeded to tell me, it wasn't my fault, I had been allowed to eat my own food, it was his staffs fault. I questioned this, stating that his staff had done absolutely nothing wrong (they were in fact more polite and accomodating than him) His side kick, a lady sitting at the table, very politely apologised to me with no sincerity at all and a sneer on her face, as the two of them exchanged looks about the annoying customer, who dared to challenge their small minded behaviour. My suggestion is that both to return to college to revisit their customer care training and for some bed time reading, research Crohns disease. The serving staff were amazing and polite and far more professional than their managers. I will not be going back to this restaurant. It needs to pull itself into the 21st century and provide proper food for allergen sufferers. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to eat your...

Just a few things after reading other reviews that need clarifying.......Admission may cost £6 per adult but as long as you keep your ticket,that initial £6 will then allow you admission for a year!!!! That's fantastic value. Dogs on leads are allowed for £1 per dog (max of 2 dogs per person) not sure if dogs are allowed inside the actual main house, but certainly ARE allowed elsewhere. The commentary on the video can be in Welsh or English, you can change it very easily, if you are unsure please ask a member of staff.

My review........My husband and I have been going to visit for years. We remember the Castle when it was in a very poor state, with steel supports necessary on the exterior of the wall. We followed the story of the Castle's purchase and subsequent restoration in the local newspapers. Finally, today on our 23rd Wedding Anniversary we visited Cardigan Castle. It is beautifully breathtaking, a real credit to all of the people who have worked so hard to get the Castle to where it is today. This is a living, breathing piece of our history where the first ever Eisteddfod was held......Visit, enjoy and immerse yourself in the enchanting story of this richly historic site. The true "cradle of culture". Diolch o'r galon 💜 1176 restaurant was outstanding. Beautiful contemporary building, delicious food, spotlessly clean, tentative, articulate, helpful staff and a really nice vibe to the place. Thank you to the entire site for a truly...