About
Castell Coch, the Red Castle, rises from the ancient beech woods of Fforest Fawr above Tongwynlais like a vision from a fairy tale, its towers capped with conical roofs. The architect William Burges built it for the third Marquess of Bute from 1875 on the remains of a 13th-century castle used as a hunting lodge by Gilbert de Clare, and although Burges died in 1881 his craftsmen finished the highly decorated interiors, a dazzling masterpiece of the High Victorian age. Neither de Clare nor the Marquess spent much time here, yet the public regularly votes it their favourite building in Wales. Reviewers rave about the riot of colour in the Drawing Room and Lady Bute's palatial bedroom beside the Marquess's tiny one, find the audio guide helpful, and warn of steep spiral stairs; conservation scaffolding wraps the outside without closing any rooms, and the cafe is shut. Natural Resources Wales's waymarked trails through Fforest Fawr start from the castle car park.
Check today’s timesSee all times
- Castell Coch09:30 – 17:00last admission 16:30
Opening times may change at short notice.
Open daily all year: 1 March to 30 June 9.30am to 5pm; 1 July to 31 August 9.30am to 6pm; 1 September to 31 October 9.30am to 5pm; 1 November to 28 February 10am to 4pm. Last admission 30 minutes before closing. Closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January. Cadw may close monuments at short notice in extreme weather, and the castle may close in storms because of falling branches in the woodland. Groups of 15 or more should email CastellCoch@gov.wales before booking.
Conservation notice: water creeping through the walls and chimneys has damaged some of the interior decoration, so a large conservation project is under way with scaffolding around the outside and cabins at the entrance (reported by visitors in July 2026); no rooms are listed as closed. The cafe has been closed since 9 June 2025 until further notice.
Terrain level 3, moderate: the only way in is over a steep wooden drawbridge with slats, then tickets at the admissions hut in the cobbled courtyard and the gift shop down six steps; wheelchair access to the courtyard only, as every inner room is reached by steps, with steep spiral stairs and low, narrow doorways on one-way routes; the three decorated rooms are one straight flight up, and the keep is the tower to see if you can manage only one. Seating in almost every room. Toilets: a unisex toilet on the ground floor 25 m from the visitor centre, a ladies' toilet in the Well Tower and toilets with baby changing up 20 steps on the first floor; none is accessible. Audio guide included, portable induction loop, defibrillator, exhibition, free Wi-Fi, guidebook; no picnic tables. The path round the castle can be muddy with two sets of steps. Drones are not permitted.
Photo: Castell Coch's conical-roofed Keep and Well towers and the gatehouse with its wooden drawbridge, under a clear sky. Hchc2009, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castell_Coch_-_exterior.JPG. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
Reviews & Tips
No reviews yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to share your experience!
Walking routes3 routes
Burges' Way (Natural Resources Wales)(opens the full route on the National Trust site)
WalkmoderateDog access not confirmed1.8 km
