Manorbier Castle sits above a sandy bay on the south Pembrokeshire coast. Gerald of Wales, the twelfth century churchman and writer whose Journey Through Wales is one of the great sources for medieval Welsh life, was born there around 1146, into the de Barri family who held it. He described Manorbier with open love, as the most delightful spot in the whole of Wales, with its fishponds, orchard, mill and sea views.
It is not surprising, then, that some people say he never left. The idea that Gerald's ghost still occupies his birthplace is repeated on the landoflegends.wales site, and a small number of visitors report hearing footsteps inside the towers and doors that move on their own.
There is no historical record of any haunting, and the stories are thin. It is a gentle tradition rather than a frightening one, a way of saying that the man who loved the place most is still there.
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