Google Maps: A hidden Normal Castle has been revealed on Street View
Google Maps Street View's team have trekked to a remote location, where the remains of a historic gem have been revealed. Cameras for the website have captured the stony remains of an 11th Century castle, nestled on top of sand dunes. The Norman ruins of Kenfig Castle, in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, can clearly be spotted on Street View in the midst of the grassy area. The building is believed to have been created by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, in the first half of the 12th century.
It is clearly marked with a pin on the map yet when snaps show a closer view, the mossy remains are almost camouflaged with the surrounding countryside.
The top of the keep of the castle is now the only thing that can still be half-spotted on the Google cameras.
It peeks out from the undulating dudes of the Kenfig Burrows yet, sadly, is the only architectural remain left.
In the 1920's, the site was filled with architects who investigated a section of dunes.
No sooner had they left, the dunes came back to fill the space.
Although in its heyday the surrounding village formally boasted 11,00 inhabitants, now there are none.
The structure, four miles from the city of Bridgend, was abandoned in the 1500s as the impact of the sand dunes advanced.
In completely different Google Maps Street View scenes, the website has tracked a Devon coastal town, which previously boasted a thriving fishing industry, with a marker on the map.
Hallsands, in the south of Devon, was partially destroyed by tidal waves after authorities removed shingle barriers protecting the village from the sea in 1897.
When a vicious storm followed 20 years later, in 1917, it wreaked havoc on the pretty coastal resort leaving only a single house, owned by Elizabeth Prettyjohn, standing.
Yet users of Google Maps Street View can still pinpoint the location on the website, despite the ruins of the village no longer being accessible.
So while Britons cannot walk the precarious coastal paths, they can view them - and the surrounding ruins - online.
The maps shows Hallsands’ location between Beesands to the north and Start Point to the south.
The Visit Devon website classes Hallsands as originating from around the 17th century.
Talking of its fate, it stated: “The atmospheric ruined fishing village of Hallsands stands as testament to the power of the sea and the danger of over exploiting natural resources.”