Ogmore Castle (Cadw)

Overlooking a picturesque river crossing still marked by a series of ancient stepping stones, Ogmore (along with Coity and Newcastle) is part of a trio of fortresses built to guard Glamorgan against attacks from the Welsh-held west. Beginning as a castle of earth and wood in the early 12th century, it was quickly fortified in stone before being further strengthened with a curtain wall in the early 13th century.

Unusually, the later additions have not obscured the castle’s earliest defensive features, with the banks and ditches built at Ogmore’s birth still clearly visible. Another original feature is the deep ditch around the inner ward, designed to fill with sea water at high tide.