Castle Crash Course

10 Mighty Ways To Kick-start Your Castle Adventure!

If you’re about to set off on your next historic adventure at one of our captivating sites, look no further for a list of stimulating ideas and creative inspiration for your visit.

Here’s a handpicked selection of our favourite castle experiences to help you make the most of your trip.

  1. Catch the mighty medieval siege engines in action at Caerphilly Castle. Watch with awe as shots are fired over the castle walls and into the surrounding moat!
  2. Enjoy a picnic on King Charles I’s bowling green. It might surprise you to know that at this particular spot at Raglan Castle, you can munch on your favourite sandwiches in front of an enormous volcano…! (Not really… But lots of our little castle explorers seem to mistake the neighbouring Sugar Loaf for Mount Fuji!)
  3. Take a picture-perfect selfie in front of the iconic leaning tower at Wales’s largest castle. Did you know that the learning tower at Caerphilly Castle in south Wales out leans the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
  4. Search for mythical creatures at Wales’s fairy-tale castle. Using augmented reality technology, follow an enchanting trail around Castell Coch and spot ten different species of magical fairies hidden around the castle — each with a traditional Welsh name. 
  5. Visit ‘The Mighty Four’. Beaumaris Castle, Castell Caernarfon, Castell Conwy and Castell Harlech in north Wales collectively form an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit all four to experience world class heritage!
  6. Let Laugharne Castle be your muse. Pick up a pen and follow in the footsteps of Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas, as you channel your inner bard in the heart of the picturesque monument.
  7. Become a chess piece on a life-size chess board. Head to Castell Caernarfon to play ‘Game of Crowns’ — a life-size chess board that explains the origins of the Welsh princes, from the Pillar of Eliseg to the present day.
  8. Search for virtual baby dragons hidden around seven medieval castles. Using augmented-reality technology, search for 70 baby dragons across Caerphilly, Harlech, Beaumaris, Conwy, Caernarfon, Raglan and Chepstow castles using your (magic) phone. Download the existing Cadw app to begin your hunt.
  9. Look out from the lofty Eagle Tower at Castell Caernarfon. Caernarfon’s Eagle Tower is so impressive it could almost pass as a castle in its own right! Standing proudly on the banks of the Menai Strait, its mighty roof boasts an additional three turrets, which tower over Caernarfon’s 17th-century cobbled streets.
  10. Visit Europe’s oldest existing castle doors. Chepstow Castle is the proud home of the oldest castle doors in Europe. Can you guess their age? Solve this riddle to find out: derdnuh thgie