Fortress Wales

About the Book

'Fortress Wales' is a well researched book featuring selected castles throughout Mid, South and West Wales.  As well as being a handy companion, 'Fortress Wales' is also an all encompassing guide to anyone wanting to find out more about Welsh history during the time when castles were very much in use.  For Wales is the land of castles, where per square mile, its soil hosts more fortresses than anywhere else in Europe.

Written by an enthusiast who encapsulates everything one could wish to know about each castle, 'Fortress Wales' encourages the reader to rediscover the history and experience first hand, the magnificence that is the 'castle.'

From Abergavenny Castle to Swansea Castle, 'Fortress Wales' is an ideal guide for both the tourist and history buff, not to mention the castle connoisseur, and delivers a concise and digestible account of the history of every castle featured, in a refreshing read.

Beginning with the construction of each castle, its inhabitants, to the many battles that were fought at or near it, the depth of this book is vast, leaving the reader with the end result of having pieced together the extensive history that in some form, links all the castles. 

From the introduction onto Welsh soil of the castle, to its later demise, 'Fortress Wales' delivers the facts, from basic terminology and understanding, to more profound and in-depth analysis, thus giving both the amateur and seasoned historian alike, a well balanced read. 'Fortress Wales' extensively informs the visitor on how to find and reach each castle; when it is open to the visitor; who to contact for further information; what other historical sites are nearby, thus offering a comprehensive guide to any visitor, castle buff, or just the plain curious.

About the Author

Jonathan is a freelance broadcaster/writer working out of Abergavenny.  The freelance worked is carried out alongside his daytime job as auditor for a global company. 

He wrote for the BAFTA award winning comedy 'The Fast Show' in 1997 and later for another comedy production, for regional HTV television in Wales.  He also worked on a pilot comedy show for television called 'Yes Sir I Can Boogie,' which was produced by Ash Atalla, the man who went on to produce 'The Office.' He has broadcast on BBC Radio Wales; BBC Radio Gwent; GTFM 106.9; Valleys Radio; BRFM; and NHSound, covering a wide range of topics both as a presenter and interviewee. Jonathan has also received a writers credit on the BBC Radio Two long running show 'The New Huddlines'.

Apart from castles, his other passion is astronomy.  He has written several pieces for the national magazine 'Astronomy Now' and currently writes a monthly column for the Monmouthshire Beacon newspaper, having written a similar column for another newspaper for some 7 years previous.

Jonathan is GTFM 106.9's weatherman, broadcasting to a potential audience of 200,000 in South Wales on a weekday, and also writes a weather column for 14 newspapers, spanning Cinderford right down to Port Talbot.

He has a weekly TV Preview column in one of the South Wales Argus' regional newspapers, the Free Press. Other work has included working in the newsroom at BBC Wales; a one-off column in the Daily Star, and a long running series of articles on castles for Country Quest magazine.

His love of castles has seen a near three year affair with Country Quest magazine, who published his articles on castles.  He has had a feature on castles published in a regional newspaper, running throughout the Summer months and aimed not just at the local readership, but for visitors to the area.  A member of a historical society, Jonathan has a deep passion for castles and loves to visit them.

'Fortress Wales' is something a little bit special, and Jonathan hopes you enjoy reading it, as much as he did writing it.