Plas Brondanw is the former family home of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, creator of Portmeirion. The house is a small mansion built by John ap Hywel in about 1550. Clough Williams-Ellis inherited it in a run-down state from his father in 1908. He lived there with his wife, Amabel, from their marriage in 1915 until their
The multivallate Iron Age hillfort of Garn Fawr on the Pencaer/Strumble Head peninsula dominates the surrounding landscape, which is peppered with prehistoric remains. At 699 feet (213m), Garn Fawr is the highest point on the peninsula and there are spectacular views from the top – arguably the fort’s best feature. The craggy terrain was formed
Beyond some village cottages on a rocky promontory, overlooking the Teifi Gorge is Cilgerran Castle. It is a strategic position, fortified by at least 1108 by the Norman, Gerald of Windsor. It was captured by the Welsh in 1164, retaken by William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, in 1204, recaptured by the Welsh during Llywelyn the
Whitesands Bay is a rock-flanked wide, sandy, blue-flag beach popular with families, surfers, canoeists and body-boarders – particularly the northern end closest to St David’s Head. At very low tides, the remains of an ancient forest have been seen, and bones of deer, aurich and brown bear have been found. Traces of a 6th century
Castell Henllys is a reconstructed Iron Age village, or fort, but the only one in Britain built on an original Celtic site. So the idea is that you walk in the footsteps of the Demetae tribe that lived there 2,000 or so years ago. It is very much geared to schoolchildren, but it is fascinating
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is the longest aqueduct in Britain, its highest navigable aqueduct and part of a World Heritage Site. It was designed by Thomas Telford (1757-1834) and carries the Llangollen Canal 126 feet (38 m) over the valley of the River Dee. The Aqueduct was built between 1795 and 1805 is 1,008 yards (307
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It is believed that St Winefride’s Shrine has been a place of pilgrimage for 1300 years, following the decapitation of a young, devout, girl by a brutal chieftain in the 7th century. Where Winefride’s head came to rest, a well sprung up. On the site now is a visitor complex that includes an architecturally unique
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Eliseg’s Pillar is the broken shaft of a 9th century inscribed stone that was probably originally topped with a cross. It gives the valley and nearby Valle Crucis Abbey their names. The stone was erected by Cyngen, prince of Powys, in memory of his great-grandfather, Eliseg. Illegible now, Eliseg’s Pillar once documented the family tree
Mwnt is a stretch of coastline, a beach in a secluded sandy bay, a hill, a church. A few miles north of Cardigan on the Wales Coast Path, Mwnt is a sheltered cove, popular with families and one of the best places in Ceredigion to spot dolphins, porpoises and seals. There are easy steps to
St Dogmael’s Abbey was founded by the Norman lord Robert Fitz-Martin and his wife, Maud Peverel, in 1120. It is reputedly on the site of a Celtic monastery founded by Dogmael, a now obscure 6th-century saint said to have been the son of Ithel ap Ceredig ap Cunedda Wledig and also the cousin of St
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Cardigan Castle (Castell Aberteifi) began as an earth and timber Norman fortress in the early 12th century. It was captured by The Lord Rhys ap Gruffydd in 1171 and rebuilt in stone – the first stone castle built by a Welshman. To mark the achievement, he held the first national Eisteddfod there in 1176. The
Conwy Castle, one of King Edward I’s great fortifications built to subdue the Welsh, dominates the approach to the town across the Conwy Estuary. It is, along with Beaumaris, Caernarfon, and Harlech Castles, and their town walls, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
