Conwy Castle

The moment you walk through Conwy's town gates, you're confronted by eight massive stone towers looming above the medieval streets. This isn't a ruined shell - it's a proper fortress, built by Edward I in the 1280s as part of his iron ring of Welsh castles, and it still dominates the little town like it's annoyed everyone hasn't left yet.

Walking the battlements is the whole point. You can actually do it - climbing narrow spiral stairs to patrol the top, where views stretch across the estuary toward Colwyn Bay and right down the Conwy Valley. The towers are linked by a high wall-walk that feels genuinely precarious in places, which keeps it interesting. Inside, the courtyard is mostly open ground now, but the curtain walls are thick enough to remind you this was serious military architecture.

It's free to explore the exterior and town walls, though access to the castle itself does cost. Allow a good hour if you're walking the full circuit and climbing towers. Winter afternoons are quieter than summer mornings, and the light's often better.

For families, it depends on age and stamina. Young children will manage the streets and maybe one tower, but the constant climbing gets tedious. Teenagers and adults find it genuinely worth the effort - the 360-degree views justify the huffing and puffing.

Stay at Conwy Valley Touring Park six miles away and you've got this sorted as a half-day activity before exploring the town itself or heading into Snowdonia. It's the kind of place that rewards actually going up rather than just looking from outside.