Swansea Castle

Urban remnants of a once-mighty fortress

Though what little remains of Swansea Castle is now hemmed in by the modern-day city centre, this was once a fortress of great strategic importance. Nowadays, it’s difficult to envisage its original location on a clifftop above where the River Tawe used to flow, controlling a harbour and important east–west route along southern Wales.

Though there has been a castle here since at least the early 12th century, the remains that stand today date from the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The most striking feature is the distinctive arcaded parapet on the south block, remarkably similar that of the bishops’ palaces at St Davids and Lamphey.

Local lad Dylan Thomas worked as a young reporter at newspaper offices (now demolished) on the castle site.

Opening times & prices

Opening times

1st April - 31st March	Can be viewed externally
Can be viewed externally during reasonable daylight hours

Visitor information

Dogs welcome

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

Walking difficulty

Terrain: Level 1 – Accessible

Drone policy

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

No smoking

Smoking is not permitted.

Health & Safety

Swansea Castle can be viewed at castle square gardens at Swansea’s city centre.

The upper levels are closed to the public.

Guardrails have been installed to prevent access to any areas of the site that we have deemed as dangerous or to prevent falls in specific areas. Please do not climb over or through any fixed installation.

Please do not climb upon the castle, naturally there are areas where there are hidden drops.

Climbing may result in serious injury.

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 and Safety

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