Immerse yourself in the history and legends of North Wales as you discover the Welsh castles, ruins, great homes and amazing landscapes.
Conwy Castle
Whilst not being the largest of all the great Welsh keeps commissioned by Edward I in the 13th Century, this Conwy is none the less one of the easiest to access and most fun for kids. It’ll seem giant enough for them when they’re bombing around the ramparts, plenty safety bars are in place to stop any falls but are still kept to a minimum to reduce unnecessary intrusion. With five fully explorable towers over several levels, the cheap price of £21.50 for a family is not to be sniffed at (£8 for individual adults).
Conwy Castle, Conwy
Penrhyn Castle
Despite its misleading name, Penrhyn is technically speaking not a castle. Built during the mid-19th Century, it celebrates the grandeur of its century old predecessors in a decidedly pre-Victorian fashion. Restraint was never going to be the order of the day in this case, so it makes a perfect place for the National Trust to impose their brand of hospitality. The usual trappings of serviceable cafe and helpful volunteers make this is a decent shout, with kids helpfully catered to with an outdoor adventure playground (£28.50 for families, £11.30 for adults).
Errdig Hall, Marchwiel, Wrexham
Caernafon Castle
Often described as the more brutish domineering brother of all of Edward I’s Welsh strongholds, Caernafon asserts its presence over the entire town with its, colour-coded, muscular towers. Easily the biggest on this list, it earns the title of Castle more than any other. With bags of space to spare, its halls are packed full of interesting contextual detail concerning the history of the English and Welsh monarchy. Run by the local council, prices are cheaper than its National Trust counter parts at £8 per head.
Erddig Hall
For a change of class and style, this fine country home set on a whopping 12’000 acre estate will be sure to please any fans of Downton Abbey. With its ‘upstairs-downstairs’ divide clearly evident, there’s ample room for role-play in the luxurious tea rooms and plenty of mementos to buy in the obligatory gift shop. National Trust once more reign supreme, so the prices are a little much at £31.25 for a family, but there’s so much content and space here that you can’t help but feel that its worth it.
Britain’s Smallest House
With the kids bemoaning the visit of yet another stately home, why not hit the whole family with a surprise novelty? At only a £1 for adults, and half that for kids, there many not be much to see but that’s kind of the point. The Guinness Book of World Records sanctioned this Britain’s Smallest Home, and its hard to see its title being taken any time soon. Its a cute, side-show of an attraction and makes for some ironically silly family photos.