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You don’t have to look too far to find a castle in Wales: with over 600 castles spread around the world, it has more castles per square mile than anywhere else in the world.
But while Hogwarts-style monuments such as Caernarfon endure on the world heritage scene, why don’t we know as much about all the others?
On our visit to Denbigh it quickly becomes apparent that the lack of recognition of its castle is not something that particularly worries the locals.
“It’s our castle, that’s all that matters,” a guy tells us as we climb the hill to visit these weather-beaten ruins.
This sense of warmth is evident throughout our visit to this tranquil corner of North Wales, in the green valley and heather-covered fields of the Vale of Clwyd.
Heritage: On a visit to Denbigh, North Wales, Angela Epstein visits the ruins of the town’s 13th-century castle (pictured)
Angela writes that the castle and its thick walls once kept out the “marauding hordes”
While for hundreds of years the castle and the thick walls surrounding the city were able to keep out the marauding hordes, now any passing tourist (or barbarian) can open it all with a key found in the library.
For just a £5 deposit (the library is located in the 16th-century old town hall) your key unlocks access to this 13th-century fortress that remains an inscrutable presence in Denbigh.
Meanwhile, in the center of Denbigh we also find history around every corner: there are more listed buildings here than in any other town in Wales.
Angela reveals that Denbigh has more listed buildings than any other town in Wales. Above is its urban center.
As Denbighshire has so much to offer, we decided to stay a 40 minute drive from the city and booked into the privately owned Palé Hall Hotel on the edge of the Berwyn Mountains.
Closer to Denbigh is the market town of Ruthin, whose castle, even more modest in its ruined remains, now stands in the grounds of the aptly named Ruthin Castle And Spa Hotel.
But that’s the appeal of this part of Wales: old and new mix easily.
Size and style don’t matter, and it’s a feeling that makes you feel at home.
Angela checks into the Palé Hall Hotel (pictured), which is a 40-minute drive from the city.
Palé Hall is one of the few five star hotels in North Wales. Upstairs is the large main hall.
Where to stay: Elegantly nestled among 50 acres of the Dee Valley, Palé Hall (palehall.es) is one of the few five star hotels in North Wales.
But it’s the sense of history that draws us in, especially since it has remained largely unchanged since its construction around 1869.
The style is partly rudely Jacobean and partly modestly aristocratic. The ceilings are huge, the fireplaces are large and the atmosphere is pure drama at Sunday tea time.