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All over Britain there are ruins of castles that reflect their entire past. Each castle represents the hardships of those who fought for the lands and those who suffered while building them so many centuries ago. Each castle has stood up to wars, the power of past kings, weather, and much more as time has passed through Britain.

Over the years, legends and myths have focused on these castles. Each legend and myth makes the castles come more alive to those who believe in them.

Castell1) Coch

This castle was built in the 1870's and is located near South Wales and Cardiff2). Lfor Bach was once the owner of this castle many decades ago, and it is told that he hid a treasure in the nearby tunnel which leads to Cardiff Castle. Rumors say that it is guarded by three eagles waiting for Lfor to return to collect his treasure.

Luffness Castle

In the basement of this castle is a massive door leading to a chamber3) with a vault4) lock and no windows that was once used as a simple cloakroom5). The family kept this door open at all times, but one day the door was found locked and the key was missing. The whole family was surprised, as no one admitted locking the door. The door was so massive that it could not be broken down without major upheaval6), so it was left locked. One day the son of the family thought of shining a torch through the loop7) of the door. As the light lit up the room, he discovered that the key was on the inside of the room. There was nothing else in the room, except for the old table where coats were put. To this day the door remains locked from the inside without any knowledge of how it was done.

Toddington Castle

This castle is located just west of Luton8) and was built during the 13th century. This castle has a local legend that tells about a witch who was imprisoned within the castle mound and died. It is told that her spirit remains within the castle and if you put your ear to the floor on Easter you can hear her cooking below.

Castell Gwynionydd

A legend rests on this castle that states the devil was the one who built it. It is said the devil had a problem with Teifi9) and had planned on drowning them and throwing them under a shoveling of dirt to keep them locked away. On his way, the devil met a cobbler10) with worn shoes. They talked, and after learning of the devil's plan, the cobbler pointed out that it was still a reasonable distance until he would reach his destination. The cobbler displayed his shoes as evidence of how many he had worn out on this great distance. Listening to him, the devil did not think his plan was worth so much effort and threw down his spade11). Doing so, he formed the mound that later was named Castell.

众多的城堡遗迹遍布英伦，毫无保留地述说着他们的过去。每座古堡都显示出多个世纪以前守卫领地和修筑城堡的人们的艰辛。随着英伦三岛物换星移，每座城堡都经历了战火纷飞、君主更替、日晒雨淋以及其他各种洗礼。

年复一年，传说和神话都紧紧围绕这些城堡展开。对于信众而言，每个传说和神话都使得这些古堡更具有生命力。

寇克城堡

该城堡建于19世纪70年代，毗邻南威尔士和加的夫。数十年前，艾弗·巴赫曾是这座城堡的主人，传说他将一批珍宝藏在了附近通往加的夫城堡的地道里。更有流言说宝藏由三只鹰守卫，等待着艾弗取回他的宝藏。

拉夫尼斯城堡

在该城堡的地下室里有一扇巨大的门，这扇门通往一间装有保险锁却没有窗户的房间，该房间曾经被用作简易衣帽间。城堡的主人一直开着这扇门，但是有一天，这家人突然发现门被锁上了，钥匙也找不到了。全家人都感到十分惊奇，因为没有人承认自己锁过门。这扇门如此结实，不大动干戈一番根本就打不开，所以这家人就任其锁着。一天，这家人的儿子突发奇想，拿来火把通过门上的洞往房间里照。当房间被照亮时，他发现钥匙在房间里。除了用于放置衣物的旧桌子外，房间里空空如也。直到今日，这扇门仍然从里面锁着，但它究竟是如何锁上的却无人知晓。

托丁顿古堡

该城堡坐落于卢顿市的正西方，建于13世纪。关于这座城堡有一个当地的传说：有一个女巫被囚并死于城堡的土堆中。据说她的灵魂仍在城堡内，如果你在复活节那一天把耳朵贴在地板上，就能听到她在下面烹饪。

格温尼阿尼德城堡

关于这座城堡的传说称，它的建造者是魔鬼。据说，这个魔鬼与泰菲发生了过节，所以他计划溺死那里的人们，并把他们扔到一铲泥土下，把他们永远困起来。在路上，魔鬼遇到了一个脚穿破鞋子的修鞋匠。他们交谈起来，在知道了魔鬼的计划后，修鞋匠指出，他离目的地还有很长一段距离。修鞋匠展示了他磨损严重的鞋子来证明这段距离有多遥远。听了修鞋匠的这番话，魔鬼觉得他的计划并不值得花费这么多的工夫，于是就把铁锹扔到了一边。铁锹丢落之处形成了一个土堆，后来它就被称为“城堡”。

Vocabulary

1. castell: 威尔士语，意同英语中的castle一词。

2. Cardiff [5kB:dIf] n. 加的夫[英国威尔士东南部港市](威尔士首府)

3. chamber [5tFeImbE(r)] n. 室

4. vault [vC:lt] n. 储藏室；(银行等存放贵重物品的)金库，保险库

5. cloakroom [5klEJkrum] n. 衣帽间

6. upheaval [Qp5hi:vEl] n. 激变，剧变；动乱

7. loop [lu:p] n. (墙上的)观察孔；透光孔；狭孔

8. Luton [5lU:tEn] n. 卢顿[英国英格兰中南部城市]

9. Teifi: 泰菲，位于威尔士地区，该地区湖泊、溪流众多，以其丰产的渔业而闻名。

10. cobbler [5kCblE] n. 补鞋匠，制鞋匠

11. spade [speId] n. 铲；锹