The birthplace of Henry VII, a huge Norman stronghold above the river with a great round keep and a cavern in the rock beneath
Open to visitorscheck opening times and admission before you go
Substantial ruinsruined, but plenty survives above ground
Set on a rocky ridge above the Pembroke River, this is one of the largest castles in Wales, and the round keep at its heart is what you notice first — a great cylindrical tower, four storeys tall, still capped by a stone dome. Norman lords began the castle in stone under William Marshal in the early 1200s, on a site fortified since the 1090s. In 1457 Henry Tudor was born within the walls; he later took the throne as Henry VII and founded the Tudor line. Beneath the castle a large natural cave known as the Wogan opens onto the water, reached by a stair from the courtyard and handy for landing supplies when the place was under threat. Parliament’s forces besieged and damaged the castle during the Civil War, and much of what you see was repaired in the twentieth century. A charitable trust runs it now. The Wales Coast Path passes the walls, and Carew Castle makes an easy second stop a few miles east.
