Coast & Countryside

Dryslwyn Castle

Only fragments of this 13th Century castle on the banks of the River Tywi survive but it’s still worth the steep climb up from the car park below as the views are magnificent.

Dryslwyn was probably built in the 1220s by the princes of Deheubarth and was, with its near neighbour at Dinefwr, for a long time central to the security of the kingdom.

After the death of the last native Prince of Wales, Dafydd ap Gruffudd in 1283, the castle was one of the few remaining substantial stone castles in Wales to be held by a Welshman, the most prominent surviving Welsh lord, Rhys ap Maredudd until he was captured and executed in 1292.

Excavations funded by the Welsh historic monuments body, Cadw were undertaken between 1980 and 1995 at Dryslwyn Castle. Among the fascinating discoveries unearthed were the whole of the inner ward of the castle and, through its waterlogged deposits, preservation of crucial evidence of food consumed by the Welsh lord Rhys ap Maredudd and his household.
cadw.wales.gov.uk

• Free entry
• Parking

(Castles Map »)