Wales is often called the Land of Castles, and it's not surprising, as it's home to some of Europe's finest surviving examples of medieval castle construction.  Perhaps none is quite so dramatic as Carreg Cennen in Brecon Beacons National Park, but we have many other fine examples for you to visit.

The Normans, having practiced their techniques in England and elsewhere, understood that the first rule of successful occupation was to make sure new territories were overrun. To this end, the Normans had developed the castle.

Castles did not exist anywhere in Wales before the Norman Conquest, but over the following two centuries many hundreds were built. First and by far the largest group of castles were those built by the Anglo-Norman lords of the March (from the French word marche meaning frontier).