Castell Cilgerran

Guided Tours

Visit this historic site as part of our summer guided tours programme.

Tours available on selected dates from May to August at 11am and 2pm.

Members £10 / Non-member £12

Visitor Notice

The castle towers may be closed at short notice due to adverse weather conditions / Health & Safety concerns. We apologise in advance if you do visit and they are locked.

Spectacular castle that wasn’t quite as secure as the Normans hoped

Cilgerran is one of the most spectacularly sited castles in Wales. Its two great round towers loom high above the deep gorge of the River Teifi and the fast-flowing stream of the Plysog.

The perfect spot, you might have thought, from which the invading Anglo-Normans could defend their newly conquered lands. Take the thrilling wall-walk from the east tower to understand just what a daunting obstacle it must have presented to the rulers of the ancient kingdom of Deheubarth.

But it wasn’t quite impregnable enough. Probably first built as a ‘ringwork’ castle in 1108 by the Norman adventurer Gerald of Windsor, Cilgerran changed hands many times over the next century or more.

It was only in 1223 when the dashing earl of Pembroke, William Marshal, built ‘an ornate castle of mortar and stones’ on top of the original site that Norman control stood firm. Despite the best efforts of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and Owain Glyndŵr, Cilgerran never again fell to the Welsh.

More about Castell Cilgerran

Opening times & prices

Opening times

1st April - 31st March	10am–4pm
Last admission 30 minutes before closing Closed 24, 25, 26 December and 1 January Open and unstaffed with no admission charge

Visitor information

Access guide

Please read our accessibility guidance for information on how to plan your visit.

Castell Cilgerran — Access Guide

Dogs welcome

Dogs on short leads welcome to access ground floor levels of the site.

Bike storage

Bike storage area available in car park or close to the monument.

Walking difficulty

Terrain: Level 2 – Easy

Venue hire

This site is available to hire for events, filming and exhibitions.

Drone policy

Please read our policy information about flying drones at Cadw monuments: read the guidance

No smoking

Smoking is not permitted.

Health & Safety

Surrounded by a great dry moat, access around the grounds is moderately accessible, although there is opportunity to access the upper walk walks, inner sections of the castle and down into the moat.

The bridge includes a series of anti-slip inserts, running across the bridge is discouraged. Please supervise children when using the bridge.

Access into the moat is via the path at the rear of the site.

Please do not directly climb up or down into the moat from the moat bank edge. Always supervise children when using the picnic area.

Access onto the wall walk is achieved through the internal towers of the castle. The towers consist of the original stone steps, these can be slippery and uneven.
Watch for low walkways when accessing some of the tower steps.

Guardrails have been installed to prevent access to any areas of the site that we have deemed as dangerous or prevent falls in specific areas.

Climbing may result in serious injury. Please do not climb over or through any fixed installation.

As with all ancient monuments there is always a risk of stones being dislodged in bad weather, however, we manage this through extensive monitoring.

There are several wild plants and flowers, although these are great pollinators, they may be poisonous to visitors and animals, we strongly advise you not to touch or allow dogs to eat any vegetation.

Please watch our health & safety film before visiting Cadw sites.

Iechyd a Diogelwch / Health & Safety

Please report any anti-social behaviour such as climbing, setting fires, graffiti etc. to CadwAccidentsReports@gov.wales