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Browse this list of castles to visit in Wales by Region (click
here for a regional map) or alphabetically
(start on this page).
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Deganwy Castle
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The twin hills above Deganwy show signs of occupation as far back as the 6th century. Legend says that Maelgwyn Gwynedd, one of the most powerful men in post-Roman Wales, held his court here. In 1080 the Norman lord Robert of Rhuddlan built a motte and bailey at Deganwy. This castle was rebuilt by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth around 1213, but his sons later destroyed it rather than allow it to fall to the English under Henry III.
Henry rebuilt the castle and strengthened it again, only to see it fall to Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in 1263. Llewelyn once more destroyed Deganwy, and it was left to molder away since that date. Rumour has it that Edward I used the stones of Deganwy to build his new fortress of Conwy. The paltry ruins which can be seen today are mostly from Henry III's fortification, and include the foundations of the gatehouse towers, traces of Edward I's curtain wall, and the bailey ditches and banks.
Deganwy,
Gwynedd,
Wales
Attraction Type:
Castle
Location: on A546
OS SH783 792
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Denbigh Castle
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Denbigh Castle was begun in 1282 by Henry de Lacy for Edward I during Edward's great push to subdue Wales. De Lacy, perhaps symbolically, built his fortress on top of an earlier Welsh castle occupied by Dafydd ap Grufudd. Every trace of the Welsh castle was destroyed, and walls of the new Norman English building were extended to include a new English settlement.
The Welsh temporarily took the castle during the uprising of 1294. When the Normans resumed work after retaking Denbigh, they used a different coloured stone and built more substantial walls, so that the later work is easily distinguished from the earlier foundations at Denbigh.
Denbigh's most striking feature is the Great Gatehouse, comprised of no less than three towers. The gatehouse is probably the work of Edward's master builder, James of St. George. Long sections of the town walls also remain.
Denbigh,
Clwyd,
Wales
Attraction Type:
Castle
Location: off A543
Website: Denbigh Castle
Phone: 01745 813385
Cadw
OS SJ051 657
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Deudraeth Castle
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The original Deudraeth Castle was built by Gruffydd ap Cynan beginning about 1175, making it one of the earliest Welsh castles to be built in stone. That castle is mentioned by Geraldus de Cambrensis in his "Journeys through Wales". Little of that earlier castle remained in the mid 19th century when the property was aquired by David Williams. Williams, a wealthy attorney, built a fanciful villa in mock-Gothic style on a high promontory overlooking Portmeiron village.
Portmeirion,
Gwynedd,
Wales
Attraction Type:
Castle
Location: in Portmeirion, off A487
OS SH588 372
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Dinas Castle
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A hillfort here was inhabited in the 5th century, and there is speculation that it may have been the residence of Vortigern. Later legends associate the place with Merlin the Magician and the Arthurian legends. In the 9th century, Nennius told the tale that two dragons fought beneath the hill of Dinas Emrys. One dragon was white, representing the Saxons, and one dragon was red, representing the Britons (Welsh Celts). In the 13th century a stone keep, possibly erected by Llewelyn ap Iorwerth, was built atop the hill.
Beddgelert,
Gwynedd,
Wales
Attraction Type:
Castle
Location: on A498 1 m NE Beddgelert. Visitors should first contact the National Trust warden at Beddgelert.
OS SH606 492
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Dinas Powys
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There are remains of earthwork fortifications at Dinas Powys dating as far back as the Iron Age. A bank and ditch were erected in the post-Roman period, and a more extensive bank was shored up with stone in the 11th century to create a defensible position for a timber and earth fortress. Still more earthworks were added in the 12th or 13th century.
Dinas Powys,
Glamorgan,
Wales
Attraction Type:
Castle
Location: off A4055
OS ST152 716
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Dinefwr Castle
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The castle is sited on a hilltop overlooking the Tywi valley, providing wonderful views. Legend tells that the first castle at Dinefwr was built by Rhopdri Mawr in the 9th century. That early fortress may have been dismantled at the orders of Llewelyn the Great and the present stone castle built in the early 13th century. Dinefwr passed to the English crown in 1276. A large round keep stands within a curtain wall, and a round tower in the north-west of the inner ward also survives relatively intact, while some of the residential buildings within the inner ward have been partly restored.
Llandeilo,
Dyfed,
Wales
Attraction Type:
Castle
Location: 1 m SW Llandeilo
OS SN611 217
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WALES TRAVEL GUIDE
ATTRACTIONS IN WALES BY REGION
Map of Regions
Anglesey and Snowdonia | North
Wales Coast and Borderlands | Mid Wales and
Brecon Beacons | Ceredigion |
Pembrokeshire | Carmarthenshire
| Swansea, Gower and the Vale of Neath
| Cardiff, Coast, & Valleys of South
Wales | Wye Valley and Vale of Usk
ATTRACTIONS IN WALES BY
TYPE OF ATTRACTION
Abbeys & Monasteries | Ancient
Sites | Castles | Gardens
| Historic Churches & Religious Sites
| Historic Houses | Museums
| Roman Remains
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