Coach tour taking in Castle Coch, Caerphilly Castle and Cardiff Castle.

Castell Coch, or the ‘Red Castle’, rises up from the ancient beech woods of Fforest Fawr like a vision from a fairy tale. The highly decorated interiors and rich furnishings of Castell Coch make it a dazzling masterpiece of the High Victorian era. Underneath the mock-medieval trappings you can still trace the impressive remains of a 13th-century castle, once used as a hunting lodge by the ruthless Marcher lord Gilbert de Clare. It remains a magnificent vision of an imaginary medieval world – regularly voted by the public as their favourite building in Wales.

Caerphilly Castle was inspired by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and is the mightiest medieval castle in Wales, second only to Windsor in the whole of Britain. Massive walls, towers and gatehouses are combined with sprawling water defences to cover a total of 30 acres. On the death of Llywelyn this frontline fortress was transformed into a palatial home with a hunting park and northern lake. It passed into the hands of Edward II’s ruthless and greedy favourite Hugh Despenser, who revamped the great hall in ornate style. By then Caerphilly must have appeared like some mythical castle floating in an enchanted lake. An effect oddly enhanced by the Civil War gunpowder that left the south-east tower at a precarious angle. In fact Wales’s very own Leaning Tower — even wonkier than that of Pisa — is probably the castle’s best-loved feature.

Our visit to Cardiff Castle will include a guided tour of the Castle Apartments, following which you can also explore the Norman Keep, WW2 air raid shelters, Roman Wall and military museum in your own time.

Price includes return coach travel, entry to all three castles and the guided tour of Cardiff Castle. The coach will leave promptly at 9:30 and should get back by 16:30