Castles & Forts in North Wales

North Wales castles and forts are some of the finest in the world.

When people think of North Wales, the first thing that comes to mind is either mountains or for the most part castles! Ask anyone!! Our castles are famous!   

Along with the medieval castles and follies of the 18^th century that still stand today, Wales is also home to over 1000 Iron Age hill forts, some you would barely even notice whilst walking the hills. In North East Wales, however, the hill forts of the Clwydian Range provide a fantastic example of defended enclosures. Above the town of Llangollen, you will find some of the most famous hill forts in North Wales, Dinas Bran and Moel Arthur. Overlooking the town of Corwen you will find Cae Drewyn Hill Fort with its magnificent stone walls. These hillforts are wonderful examples of North Wales’ rich Iron Age history and if you are visiting, it is definitely worth taking a walk up the hills to discover some of these wonderful ancient sites.

Castles are a huge part of Welsh heritage, and in medieval times there were around 600 castles across Wales. Today around 100 of these castles still stand. 

North Wales in particular is probably best known for its range of medieval castles. King Edward 1^st built his castles throughout North Wales during his reign from 1272 – 1307, some of these castles still stand tall over the regions most well-loved towns. The Castles at Conwy, Caernarfon, Beaumaris, and Harlech are some of the most well-preserved medieval monuments and with that became UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1986.   

Along with the castles of Edward 1^st, North Wales is also home to the ruins of the castles once occupied by the Princes of Wales. As the English Kings and the Norman lords built their castles to assert their control in Wales, the legendary princes of Wales such as Llywelyn ap Iorwerth built Welsh round towers. An example of these is Dolbadarn Castle, which sits overlooking Llyn Padarn in Llanberis. Dolbardarn Castle was once an ancient link in the defence of the kingdom of Gwynedd.   

While the medieval towers stand tall, several folly castles were built in the late 18^th century – one of these castles is Gwrych Castle which this year will host the 20^th series of I’m a celebrity get me out of here!!   

The castles across Wales bring in world-wide visitors each year, and provide North Wales with its rich historical landscape that it’s famous for!    

Gwrych Castle

Gwrych Castle is a 19th-century country house in North Wales. The castle is situated in the small town of Abergele where the castle sits high above the town. If you have ever travelled along the A55 past Abergele, you will have seen the castle as it looks down over the village from the hillside.   

The castle was built by Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh between 1812 and 1822. The castle was built as a memorial to his mother’s ancestors. Over the years Gwrych Castle has taken on several different roles from being part of operation kindertransport during World War 2 and becoming a medieval entertainment center during the 1980s. Today the castle is owned and run by The Gwrych Castle Preservation fund, the trust run the castle as an attraction, whilst carefully restoring sections of the castle to its former glory.   

In the Castle’s biggest challenge to date, it has been announced that Gwrych Castle in Abergele will be home to this year’s I’m a Celebrity, Get me Out of Here!!! The celebrities will be swapping the Australian Jungle, for a castle ruin in North Wales. Although we think this is amazing, we think the celebrities may be shocked by the change in climate!! We're not sure if the celebrities are aware but the castle is said to be haunted! Instead of snakes and spiders being their companions at night, they may be in for a ghostly encounter. 

The 20^th anniversary of the series will see the celebrities tackle the elements in this wonderful castle. We can’t wait to see what the producers have in store for them! 

Tags: Castles in North Wales