GREAT BRITISH CASTLES

Looking for a castle to visit? You could do no better than to add these spectacular structures to your checklist

- SPENCER MIZEN

HARLECH

GWYNEDD

A Welsh landmark bravery and the site of in the face of terrible odds

The song 'Men of Harlech' is as synonymous with Welsh culture as 'Bread of Heaven' and 'The Green, Green Grass of Home'. And at the heart of this rousing regimental march a tale of heroism and defiance - and one spectacular castle.

Sitting on a rocky crag in Gwynedd, Harlech is arguably the most spectacular of all the fortifications that Edward I built in north Wales during his campaign to subdue the country. The castle took just six years to build (in the 1280s) and is a classic example of the 'walls within walls' design.

The Men of Harlech referred to in the famous song are believed to be the Lancastrian defenders who, in the 1460s, held out against a massive Yorkist army during the Wars of the Roses before succumbing to overwhelming odds, the defenders (in the words of one poet) "shattered by the sound of guns".

Yet this was far from the first time that the castle had come under attack. In 1404, Owain Glyndŵr, iconic leader of the resistance to the English occupation of Wales, captured Harlech and made it his main residence and court. This was too much for the English to endure, and in 1409 Henry of Monmouth (later to be Henry V) laid siege to the castle. This time, Harlech's defenders were forced into surrender by a punishing bombardment. The castle fell under English control again but Glyndŵr escaped to fight another day.

KENILWORTH

WARWICKSHIRE 

Later owned by Elizabeth I's favourite, the fortress was once at the centre of a huge rebellion