Caerphilly Castle, built in the late 13th and early14th century, is a castle within a castle, protected by a double moat and covers over 30 acres of land and water.

Caerphilly was built to a concentric design with successive lines of defence set one inside the other. The attacker first had to cross the moat, with a great curtain wall and gatehouse. There was then an inner moat and a gatehouse for the second line of defence. Finally, the inner ward, a large quadrangle surrounded by four curtain walls, with massive round towers at each corner and yet more gatehouses. The gatehouses were each castles in their own right, and could be separately defended.

Despite several sieges and attempts to demolish it after the Civil War, most of the castle has survived. The Castle has been restored in places and it's now one of the most spectacular military ruins in Europe, if not the world.

Photograph © Pat Richmonds