Denbigh Castle & Town Walls, (CADW)

Visitor Centre and toilets disabled car parking 25 yards from castle. Solid path as far as the Visitor Centre.
The castle itself is grassed with some slopes, but can be viewed with a helper.

Denbigh Castle and town walls rank among the principal fortresses of Wales. They are the most impressive of the baronial strongholds raised during the famous campaign of castle building which accompanied Edward I's Welsh conquests. Encircling a rocky outcrop overlooking the rich Vale of Clwyd, this huge fortress was begun in 1282 by Henry de Lacy, one of Edward's chief commanders. The influence of the king's architects is clearly stamped on the castle and its fortified town, the walls of which are nearly two thirds of a mile long.

After damage during a Welsh rising in 1294, the fortifications were continued on an even grander scale, culminating in a mighty triple towered gatehouse. Broken-hearted after his son drowned in the castle well, de Lacy never quite completed his stronghold. Yet it continued to dominate the Vale of Clwyd for centuries, including a six month Civil War siege.

Although not as widely known as both Caernarfon and Conwy, the extensive fortification of Denbigh are equally