Cardiff Castle’s Animal Wall

Fame is fleeting. Remember, 110,000,000,000ish people people have ever lived, and of that number, we only know of an insanely small number of them. I was reminded of this fact upon seeing the animal wall along Cardiff Castle, with over a dozen beautifully sculpted stone animals with glass eyes which apparently tie back to a series of wildly popular children’s books from over 100 years ago.
Can’t you just imagine tourists from 2150 confronting a faded statue of a giant yellow sponge with trousers, looking at each other, shrugging, and moving on?
Regardless, the craftsmanship and care of these eccentric animal statues along the wall are very intriguing and well worth a close-​up stroll. I must say, I’ve rarely had more unexpected fun experiences than during my time in Cardiff, and this is yet another great example. Well worth going a little out of your way from the main entrance (I want to say southwest? Let’s go with southwest) to Cardiff Castle.

This wall next to Cardiff Castle is an oft-​forgotten part of the city centre. You just have to head a bit further down the road and you’ll see a fantastic set of various animals like lions and racoons and leopards and baboons clammering over the castle wall. They’re only just above head height so you can get a proper look at them.
An exciting revelation occurred recently where the aardvark whose nose had been stolen got a brand new one. Sources say he is delighted.
The reason I love this wall is because it inspired a lot of ideas that end up in ‘Griffin’s Castle’, a book I remember reading when I was younger by Jenny Nimmo. In this book these stone statues all come to life, and it’s an idea that’s stuck with me every time I pass the animals on the wall. I swear sometimes I pass by and they’re in different positions, but that’s almost certainly my imagination.

This wall has become something of folklore outside Cardiff. My friend visited recently from London and one of her main aims during the visit was to see the animal wall. I explained that they weren’t real animals but she was still dead keen.
The animals make the castle wall much less menacing, presumably they weren’t there in the centuries when intimidation was the name of the game.
Beautifully carved, they have also remained relatively unspoilt, which is impressive considering how much of a clubbing town Cardiff has become. I imagine a fair few drunk rugby lads have attempted to gnaw the face of the Leopard in a desperate moment of stupidity, none so far seem to have made a mark.
I’m a little confused about the range of animals; Lioness, sure. Wolf, sure. Bear, okay. Apes, getting a bit weird now. Seal, hang on a minute…
Still, it all looks rather nice and guarantees to turn your head each time you walk past.

This wall has always fascinated me, as not only is it unusual and different, but the range of animals seems completely random and bizarre to me.
Around the wall there are the following 15 animals:
hyena, wolf, apes, seal, bear, lioness, lynx, 2 lions, pelican, ant-​eater, racoons, leopard, beaver, vulture.
I can’t work out the pattern, or any connection between them, particularly the big cats and the pelican, seal and ant-​eater. It makes sense to have lions and bears on a castle wall, but raccoons? A seal? An ant-​eater? I don’t know what that’s all about, and I’ve yet to find out.
The wall was actually located outside of the castle until 1922 when it was moved to Bute Park, and the pelican, ant-​eater, racoons, leopard, beaver and vulture were added after the move. The other, original animals are much more fitting to guard a castle (although I’m still confused about that seal) and I have no idea why the other animals were chose, though I’m sure there was a reason.
Regardless of my confusion, this is a truly lovely wall and the animals are beautiful. It really adds something special and interesting to the castle, Bute Park and to Cardiff as a whole.

Fifteen stone animals with glassy eyes slumped over a wall pose ready to pounce…
Whether new to Cardiff or just never knew it was there before, this special wall needs to be seen. But be quick these curious creatures look suspiciously as though they are trying to escape Bute park and find a spot of lunch in the Hayes!
The animals were originally crafted by Victorian artisan Thomas Nicholls. They were painted, although the paint has since faded and the stone work is currently being cleaned and restored.
This wall needs to be seriously bigged up because although connected to Cardiff Castle many visitors won’t venture this far to the castles right and so will never see this curious site.