Rhayader Castle

What remains of Rhayader Castle sits on a mound just above the town, a jumble of stone that speaks more to abandonment than grandeur. It's not much - a few crumbled walls and earthworks mostly - but it tells the story of a Norman stronghold that once mattered. Built in the 12th century to control the Wye Valley, it was destroyed during Llywelyn the Last's campaign in 1262 and never properly rebuilt. These days you're looking at ruins that require a bit of imagination to piece together what stood here.

For history buffs with a taste for medieval Wales, it's worth the short walk up from Rhayader town centre. There's something rather moving about standing where Norman lords once surveyed their lands, even if the views are now half-obscured by trees and time. Kids might manage twenty minutes, though they won't find much to clamber on or interact with - it's genuinely fragmentary. Bring sturdy shoes; the ground gets boggy after rain.

The whole thing won't take more than an hour, tops, but Rhayader itself is a useful base for exploring mid-Wales properly. Staying at Wyeside Caravan & Camping Park, just a third of a mile away, gives you easy access to the castle alongside the Elan Valley reservoirs and walking trails that criss-cross this part of Powys. If the castle feels a bit underwhelming - which honestly, it might - the landscape around it absolutely isn't.