The Drawing Room
A two-storey ribbed vault lined with 58 painted panels of plants and Aesop's fables, among the finest Victorian interiors in Britain.
You catch it first from the M4: three conical-roofed towers rising out of a wooded hillside above the village of Tongwynlais, as if someone had lifted a castle out of a German fairy tale and set it down in south Wales. Castell Coch, Welsh for the Red Castle, is medieval only in its 13th-century footings. Everything above ground went up between 1875 and 1891 to the designs of William Burges for the 3rd Marquess of Bute, the same pair behind the gilded apartments at Cardiff Castle. Here they had a secluded hill and an unlimited imagination, and the result is the most beguiling fake castle in Britain. The surprise is inside. The two-storey Drawing Room, under a ribbed vault, is lined with 58 painted panels of plants crowned by scenes from Aesop's fables, with birds and butterflies climbing the ribs towards a golden sunburst, and Lady Bute's Bedroom at the top of the keep has a double-domed ceiling with unmistakably Moorish leanings, plus a gilded bed that was hardly ever slept in; the family scarcely used the place once it was finished. Do not expect a treasure house: there are only a few rooms and they sit close together, but every inch is decorated, and tight spiral stairs thread between them. From Cardiff it is easiest by car: about 10 km north-west of the centre via junction 32 of the M4 and the A470, a 15 to 20 minute drive, with a free car park at the gate. Without a car, take bus 26 or 132 to Tongwynlais and walk a kilometre uphill through the woods, or the train to Taffs Well and a steeper 2.5 km climb. An hour to ninety minutes is ample, which makes it a perfect half day to pair with Cardiff Castle or with the road north to the Brecon Beacons. For families: children love the working drawbridge and portcullis, but leave the pushchair in the car; the entrance is by steps and the rooms are visited up and down spiral stairs. The castle is midway through a long conservation project tackling damp creeping through the walls and chimneys, so you may find scaffolding on parts of the exterior; the interiors stay open. The café is closed until further notice, so bring water. In winter the doors shut at 16:00, and the castle among bare trees and drizzle has a different charm and far fewer visitors than July and August.
A two-storey ribbed vault lined with 58 painted panels of plants and Aesop's fables, among the finest Victorian interiors in Britain.
A double dome with Moorish leanings above a gilded bed that was hardly ever slept in, at the top of the keep after a spiral climb.
Approach on foot from Tongwynlais to watch the conical roofs appear through the trees, then cross the working drawbridge and portcullis.
Castle Road, Tongwynlais, Cardiff CF15 7JS
If you liked Burges's apartments at Cardiff Castle, yes without hesitation: here the same idea is more complete and far quieter, and the setting above the woods is half the pleasure. If Victorian decoration leaves you cold and you have a single day in Cardiff, it is an hour of ornate rooms and a pretty exterior, and you can skip it without regret.
Children from about five enjoy the drawbridge, the towers and the spiral stairs, and the castle is small enough that they do not get bored. Pushchairs simply do not work: the entrance is by steps and the rooms are on different floors, so carry toddlers or use a sling, and note the café is currently closed.