Taken on a day with huge skies, so an ideal opportunity to have some fun with HDR. Building work on the first of Edward I's ring of castles to oppress the Welsh began in 1277. The castle and its earthworks were built by 1,800 laborers and masons using local Millstone Grit ashlar and sandstone. Flint Castle had an inner ward and an outer bailey, separated by a tidal moat and connected by a gatehouse and drawbridge. A plantation town was also laid out beyond the outer bailey so that Edward had a secure base for his conquest of Wales. The inner ward had three large towers and a detached keep. This isolated tower protected the inner gatehouse and outer bailey. In total expenditure, Edward I spent £6068.7.5d. creating the fortress and the town (£4.9 million as of 2008). Flint, which was sited on the western shore of the River Dee estuary, could be supplied by river or sea. Its harbour was protected by a defensive wall. The castle lies opposite to the English shore and Shotwick Castle in England. Before the river's course was drastically changed in the 18th century, passage across the estuary at this point could be made directly by boat at high tide or by fording at low tide. In 1399 as Henry Bollingbroke returned from exile to claim his inheritance, Richard II resigned the crown while resident in the castle. After the Civil War, Oliver Cromwell ordered the destruction of the castle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint_Castle
