Castell y Bere

PricingFreeFree for all visitors

Free entry for everyone

Entry

Free for everyone

Pricing details

Free entry for everyone; no membership card is needed.

ParkingParking not known

The Trust's page does not say how parking is charged.

Parking details

Cadw names a small car park near the entrance to the site, with limited spaces in the designated area and a few along the route; no charge or free statement is published, so the status is recorded as unknown. Cadw asks visitors not to park on the narrow main road or on the neighbouring farm's property. From the car park a trail through secluded woodland, uneven and muddy in poor weather, leads in about five minutes to the castle's entrance steps. Reviewers describe a long, winding single-track lane in; the parking opposite the church in Llanfihangel-y-pennant, 500 m away, is the start of the national park's Cadair Idris path. Bike storage is available.

Driving pin: the gravel car park below the castle, 131 m from Cadw's marker on the rock. By road: near Llanfihangel-y-pennant, off the B4405, 6.5 miles north-east of Tywyn. By rail: Tywyn, 11.3 km. National Cycle Network route 8 passes 3.3 km away.

About

Castell y Bere is strung along a jagged rocky outcrop in the Dysynni Valley at the foot of Cader Idris, a native Welsh castle begun in 1221 by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, Llywelyn the Great, to protect Gwynedd's southern frontier. Its elongated D-shaped south tower is typical of the Welsh princes' castles, and its elaborate entrance of ditches and two gate-towers, each with a drawbridge and probably a portcullis, cannot be matched in any other Welsh castle. Edward I took it in 1283, but the castle was abandoned during the uprising of 1294 and never used again. Reviewers find it much bigger than expected with good information boards and stunning views across the valley. Tips from visitors: the lane in is long and single track with a small car park at the end, the five-minute path up is stony and muddy, and children need watching near the drops. Dogs on short leads may explore the ground level.

Open in daylightPick a day for times and prices

Today, Saturday 24 October

Open any reasonable time in daylight.

Free entry

Opening times may change at short notice.

Open all year during reasonable daylight hours; closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January. No admission charge. Cadw may close monuments at short notice in extreme weather.

Terrain level 4, strenuous: the woodland trail from the car park, then a monument set at various levels needing several steps and short climbs, with wooden bridges and historic steps that are slippery when wet; historic steps lead to upper wall sections that Cadw asks visitors not to explore further. Guardrails close the dangerous areas, including the well, which fills with water, and some side routes pass through low archways. No toilets or amenities. Drones are not permitted.

Dogs: Dogs on short leads are welcome on the ground level of the castle; the upper wall sections are for assistance dogs only.

Photo: The ruined towers and footbridges of Castell y Bere on their rocky ridge, with Bird's Rock rising across the Dysynni valley. Gareth James, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castell_y_Bere_and_Bird%27s_Rock.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.