Wales had well over 600 castles throughout history, and more than 100 are still standing as ruins or restored buildings today.
Many of the most beautiful castles in Wales were built by Welsh Royal dynasties, and the biggest ones were erected by Normans following their invasion of 1066.
Data analysis from Google searches of over 120 castles has revealed the country's most popular one.
Research from the Welsh handmade gifts marketplace Made In Cymru has found that Gwrych Castle in North Wales is the most googled castle in Wales.
Built in 1812, internet users searched for the castle 90,500 times in the last month on Google. It has become more popular recently due to the ITV programme “I'm a celebrity” relocating there again for this year’s series.
The castle itself is a Grade 1 listed country house, and its design was one of the first attempts to recreate medieval architecture in Europe. It stands in 250 acres of gardens and grounds and has extensive views over former parkland including a deer park and the Irish Sea.
The second most searched for castle is located in the same county. Conwy Castle was searched a total of 33,100 times.
The castle sits on the north coast of Wales, close to the mouth of the river Conwy, yet it is enclosed by the Great Orme peninsula and boasts a backdrop of the mountains of Snowdonia.
South Wales's most popular castle is located in the country's capital, Cardiff with 22,200 monthly searches on Google.
Cardiff Castle is one of Wales’ leading heritage attractions and a site of international significance. Located within beautiful parklands, the Castle has nearly 2,000 years of history just waiting to be explored.
The least popular castles in Wales, with no Google searches at all last month, include: Bettws Newydd, Castell Arnold, Dingestow Castle, Llanfair Kilgeddin Castle, Castell Troggy, Llanvair Discoed Castle, Pen y Clawdd Castle, and Trellech Castle.
The counties of Wales with the most castles searched on Google include: Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Gwynedd, Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire, and Powys.
A spokesperson for Made In Cymru said:
"Covid restrictions have meant that the UK population has needed to look closer to home for their holiday fixes over the last year and as a whole, staycations in Wales have become more popular with the search term ‘Wales holidays’ experiencing a huge 70% increase in searches over the last five years. With a vast array of castles across the country, holiday makers will not be disappointed with the views.”
To learn more about Wale's fantastic castles, visit our good friends over at Discover Cymru — they are all about everything that makes Wales great.
