Castell Coch has been used as a filming location since 1954’s “The Black Knight”. In this first instalment of “Castell Coch on Screen” I’m going to feature some recent television shows that you may have seen.
Dr Who
Nightmare in Silver
Season 7 – Episode 12
Episode aired May 11, 2013
Castell Coch was used as “Natty Longshoe’s Comical Castle”, an attraction in “Hedgewick’s World of Wonders” extraterrestrial theme park.
The Doctor plays a game of chess against the “Cyber-Planner”, while his friends defend themselves against a new and advanced army of Cybermen.
Filming at Castell Coch took place in early November 2012. Dr Who returned to Tongwynlais in 2014 when they filmed “Robot of Sherwood” in Fforest Fawr. I went up to forest after hearing about the filming but I didn’t manage to get any photos.
Merlin
The Changeling
Season 3 – Episode 6
Episode aired Oct 16, 2010
Castell Coch features very briefly at the beginning of this episode of Merlin. It’s the fairytale home of Elena, a clumsy Princess who loves horse-riding. After a short scene at the entrance of the castle, she travels to Camelot with her nanny and father.
I absolutely love the use of Castell Coch for a sprawling castle with dozens of conical roofs.
Da Vinci’s Demons
The Devil
Season 1 – Episode 6
Episode aired May 17, 2013
Castell Coch is used for the home of Vlad Dracula in this episode of Da Vinci’s Demons. The characters spot a castle in the distance that’s much larger than Castell Coch. The next scene shows a meeting with Dracula in the grounds outside the castle.
There’s a brief view of the castle that adds an extra tower to resemble the fictional castle and adds a misty background and full moon. This leads into a scene with Leonardo and Dracula on the Keep balcony.
The courtyard of Castell Coch is used later in the episode for some dialog scenes and for the characters’ escape on horseback.
I did manage to visit the set for the filming of series 3. The location manager I spoke to was really friendly and even got some extras to pose for me!
i was a little boy aged 3, i was born in taffs well. my dad took me up to castell coch to watch some of the filming.