Enjoy a fascinating
day out on the Wales Coast Path with Cadw and find out about Wales'
turbulent past.
Cadw, which means 'to keep' or 'to protect' in Welsh, is the
Welsh Government's historic environment service working for an
accessible and well-protected historic environment. They conserve
our heritage and help sustain the distinctive character of Wales.
They also help to people understand and care about the history of
Wales. There are a wide range of Cadw sites to be explored and
enjoyed along the Wales Coast Path, so why not come for a wander
and try some time travel.
Flint Castle
Begun in 1277, Flint was one of the first castles to be built in
Wales by King Edward I. Its most impressive feature is the Great
Tower, isolated from the rest of the inner ward by a moat and
drawbridge. It features in Shakespeare's Richard II.
Click to
visit Cadw site for more information about Flint Castle.
Conwy Castle & Town Walls
Conwy Castle and the town’s walls are amongst the finest
surviving medieval fortifications to be seen anywhere in Britain. No
wonder they are a World Heritage site. It’s hard to believe that
they were built together at breakneck speed in four short building
seasons between 1283 and 1287. Climb the towers and turrets and
follow the trail to find out how the Welsh captured the castle in
the fifteenth century.
Click
to visit Cadw site for more information about Conwy Castle &
Town Walls.
Plas Mawr, Conwy
The Elizabethan era. A golden age? Think Renaissance and
Shakespeare. Think Plas Mawr. This Elizabethan gem is the finest
town house of its period in Britain.
Click to visit
Cadw site for more information about Plas Mawr.
Bryn Celli Ddu Burial Chamber
One of Britain’s most evocative archaeological sites, Bryn Celli
Ddu — the Mound of the Dark Grove — is a Neolithic passage grave
built on the site of an earlier henge monument. The partially
restored mound hints at the tomb’s impressive scale.
Click to visit Cadw site for more information about Bryn Celli Ddu
Burial Chamber.
Barclodiad y Gawres Burial Chamber
Standing on a spectacular cliffside location, this Neolithic
passage grave contains several stones decorated by the prehistoric
builders. Entry to the tomb by appointment from 12pm to 4pm every
Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday between 1 April until 31
October — call into the Wayside Stores in Llanfaelog, one mile
north of the chamber, and a member of staff will accompany you to
the site.
Click to visit Cadw site for more information about Barclodiad y
Gawres Burial Chamber.
Caer Gybi Roman Fortlet
The well-preserved walls of this rectangular late Roman coastal
fort stand up to 4m (13 ft) tall in places.
Click to visit Cadw site for more information about Caer Gybi Roman
Fortlet.
Penmon Priory and Dovecote and St Seiriol’s Well
The holy well at Penmon bears the name of Saint Seiriol, who is
said to have founded a monastery here in the sixth century. The
existing priory buildings, however, date from the thirteenth
century. The square dovecote nearby was built around 1600 and
contains around 1,000 nest boxes.
Click
to visit Cadw site for more information about Penmon Priory and
Dovecote and St Seiriol's Well.
Beaumaris Castle
Dare we say it, an absolute cracker of a castle with classic
proportions and perfect symmetry. The last hurrah of Edward I’s
massive building programme in north Wales… just a shame he never
got round to finishing it!
Click
to visit Cadw site for more information about Beaumaris
Castle.
Caernarfon Castle & Town Walls
Caernarfon Castle, with its banded stonework and angular towers,
is one of the most striking medieval buildings in Britain. The
castle and adjoining town walls were conceived as a single entity
from the beginning of construction in 1283 and together they have
been recognised as a World Heritage site.
Click
to visit Cadw site for more information about Caernarfon Castle
& Town Walls.
Criccieth Castle
What a picture, what a view! Perched on a headland with the sea
as its constant bedfellow. Built originally by Llywelyn the Great,
this very Welsh prince included a very English style of
twin-towered gatehouse. Edward I’s forces took the castle some 50
years later, undertook their own improvements and remodelled a
tower for stone-throwing engines.
Click
to visit Cadw site for more information about Criccieth
Castle.
Harlech Castle
‘Men of Harlech’ — the nation’s unofficial anthem, loved by
rugby fans and regimental bands alike — is said to describe the
longest siege in British history (1461–68), which took place here
during the Wars of the Roses. Edward I’s tried and tested ‘walls
within walls’ model was put together in super-fast time between
1283 and 1295 by an army of nearly a thousand skilled craftsmen and
labourers.
Click to
visit Cadw site for more information about Harlech Castle.
Dyfi Furnace
This charcoal-burning blast furnace was built in the
mid-eighteenth century for iron smelting. Its waterwheel originally
drove a pair of bellows that provided the draught for the
furnace.
Click to
visit Cadw site for more information about Dyfi Furnace.
St Dogmaels Abbey
A spiritual and cultural powerhouse on the banks of the river
Teifi, St Dogmaels Abbey was once famed for its impressive library.
One of its literary gems, a thirteenth-century manuscript of
Eusebius’s Historia Ecclesiastica, survives to this day in St
John’s College, Cambridge.
Click to visit Cadw site for more information about St Dogmaels
Abbey.
Carreg Coetan Arthur Burial Chamber
The large capstone of this Neolithic burial chamber rests on
only two of the four surviving upright stones. The tomb was built
was built around 3500 B.C.
Click to visit Cadw site for more information about Carreg Coetan
Arthur Burial Chamber.
St Non’s Chapel
This small chapel — dedicated to the Blessed Non, mother of St
David — was the most important of the many pilgrimage chapels
scattered around St Davids during the Middle Ages. According to
tradition, it marks the birthplace of St David.
Click to
visit Cadw site for more information about St Non's Chapel.
Laugharne Castle
Built in the thirteenth century by the de Brian family and
looking out over the estuary of the river Taf, like an eagle
nesting on its eyrie, this impressive relic of ancient times
demands you stand and stare. It will simply take your breath
away.
Click
to visit Cadw site for more information about Laugharne
Castle.
Llansteffan Castle
Llansteffan Castle stands on a headland overlooking the
sand-flats of the mouth of the river Tywi. The natural strength and
strategic importance of this stunning location were recognised by
the Norman invaders of Wales who established an earth-and-timber
enclosure, or 'ringwork', within the ancient defences of an Iron
Age fort.
Click
to visit Cadw site for more information about Llansteffan
Castle.
Kidwelly Castle
Kidwelly is everything a castle should be — steep earthworks,
high towers, tall walls and an imposing great gatehouse. Peel back
the centuries to the earliest earth-and-timber castle built by the
Normans. You can trace its distinctive half-moon shape by walking
along the later stone walls of the outer ward. Don’t leave without
exploring the great gatehouse or the beautiful little chapel
overlooking the river.
Click to
visit Cadw site for more information about Kidwelly Castle.
Loughor Castle
This small castle overlooks a crossing of the river Llwchwr on
the main east–west route across south Wales. A Norman earthwork
castle was planted here, in the corner of a Roman fort, in the
early twelfth century. The surviving stone tower dates from around
1300.
Click to
visit Cadw site for more information about Loughor Castle.
Weobley Castle
Weobley was the proud home of the de la Bere family until the
fifteenth century. There aren’t many places left where you can
stand at the same window as someone did half a millennium ago and
look out on the same unspoilt view. Weobley is one such rare place,
offering a vista of the north Gower marshlands and mudflats.
Click to
visit Cadw site for more information about Weobley Castle.
Oxwich Castle
Gower is a marvel. Heritage buffs and beach bums alike love this
beautiful peninsula. In years gone by, the wealthy built wherever
the view suited. The Mansel family chose a lovely spot on a wooded
headland above Oxwich Bay to build their dream home during the
sixteenth century.
Click to
visit Cadw site for more information about Oxwich Castle.
Ogmore Castle
Step back in time to the Middle Ages, when the Normans ruled the
land and built castles to ensure their command. Ogmore Castle was
probably established by the Norman lord, William de Londres, soon
after 1100 as an earth-and-timber fortress, but the first stone
buildings soon followed. Built close to the river for easy access
and safe supply routes, you can still hop and skip across the
distinctive stepping stones leading to the castle.
Click to
visit Cadw site for more information about Ogmore Castle.
Chepstow Bulwarks Camp
This small double-banked promontory fort perched above the river
Wye was built in the late Iron Age by the Silures, the tribe that
controlled south-east Wales at the time of the arrival of the
Romans.
Click
to visit Cadw site for more information about Chepstow Bulwarks
Camp.
Chepstow Castle & Port Wall
The whole site is a lesson in longevity. From around 1067
through to 1690, the castle, almost chameleon-like, changed its
appearance as fashions changed in military architecture. Century
after century, the castle grew and grew along its narrow cliff-top
ridge. The oldest building is the Norman great tower but building
work continued well into the seventeenth century as medieval
battlements were replaced by stronger musket-friendly parapets.
Click
to visit Cadw site for more information about Chepstow Castle &
Port Wall.