Welsh castles

Welsh castles

Wales has more castles per head than anywhere else in the world.

Cardiff castle

Motte and bailey castles

Designed by Norman conquerors to secure areas of land quickly and cheaply.

Harlech castle - Crown Copyright: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wale

Concentric castles

Constructed to present as daunting a challenge to attackers as possible.

Caernarfon Castle

Linear castles

When concentric castles weren't possible, the Normans built linear structures.

Aberystwyth castle

Aberystwyth castle

An important Welsh strong hold and centre over the centuries - from mint to seat of government

Caerphilly Castle

Caerphilly castle

One of the biggest fortresses in Europe.

Caernarfon castle

Caernarfon castle

One of the 'iron ring' castles of north Wales.

Harlech castle

Harlech castle

Once a key outpost of Edward I's castle network.

Raglan castle

Raglan castle

Raglan castle

Pembroke castle

Pembroke castle


History blog

Explore the celebrated and lesser-known incidents in Welsh history, watch rare clips from BBC Wales' own archive, find out about history events in Wales.

James Roberts

The mystery of MC Jones' need for speed

For just over a century a 2.5 mile oval of tarmac, bricks ...

By: James Roberts

The Story of Wales

Image from Story of Wales

Your story. Our story.

Missed an episode? Catch up on the BBC iPlayer.

Family history

Tree

Getting started

Tracing your Welsh roots? Pick up some tips in our guides.

Migration

Argentine flag

The Welsh in Patagonia

In 1865, the Mimosa, a tea-clipper set sail for South America.

bbc.co.uk navigation

BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.