You don’t have to look too far to spot a castle in Wales – with more than 600 scattered around it boasts more per square mile than anywhere else in the world.
But while Hogwarts-style landmarks such as Caernarfon endure on the world heritage scene, why don’t we know as much about all the others?
It quickly becomes apparent on our visit to Denbigh that a lack of recognition for its castle isn’t something the locals are especially hung up about.
‘It’s our castle, that’s all that matters,’ one chap tells us as we crest the hill to visit this weather-beaten ruin.
This sense of warmth is in evidence throughout our visit to this quiet corner of North Wales, in the green valley and heather-sprigged fields of the Vale of Clwyd.
Heritage: On a visit to Denbigh in North Wales, Angela Epstein visits the town's 13th Century castle ruins (pictured)
Angela writes that the castle and its thick walls once kept out 'marauding hordes'
While, for hundreds of years, the castle and the thick walls that surrounded the town were able to keep out marauding hordes, now any passing tourist – or barbarian – can open it all up with a key picked up from the library.
For just a £5 deposit – the library is located in the 16th Century former county hall – your key unlocks access to this 13th Century fortress which remains an inscrutable presence in Denbigh.
Meanwhile, in the centre of Denbigh itself we also find history on every corner – there are more listed buildings here than in any other town in Wales.
Angela reveals that Denbigh has more listed buildings than in any other town in Wales. Above is its town centre
Given that Denbighshire has so much to offer, we decide to stay a 40-minute drive away from the town, booking into the privately owned Palé Hall Hotel on the edge of the Berwyn Mountains.
Closer to Denbigh itself is the market town of Ruthin whose castle, even more modest in its crumbling remains, now sits in the grounds of the aptly named Ruthin Castle And Spa Hotel.
But that’s the draw of this portion of Wales – old and new rub alongside each other with ease.
Size and style don’t matter, and it’s a sentiment that makes you feel at home.
Angela checks into Palé Hall Hotel (pictured), which is a 40-minute drive away from the town
Palé Hall is one of North Wales’ few five-star hotels. Above is the grand main hall
Where to stay: Elegantly positioned among 50 acres of the Dee Valley, Palé Hall (palehall.co.uk) is one of North Wales’ few five-star hotels.
But it’s the sense of history that draws us in – not least since it has remained largely unchanged since being built around 1869.
The style is part blowsily Jacobean, part unassumingly aristocratic. The ceilings are huge, the fireplaces expansive, the atmosphere pure Sunday teatime drama.
Fed's preferred inflation gauge shows price pressures stayed elevated last month
Windows 11 users Start Menu will soon have ADVERTS
New York to require internet providers to charge low
Devout Christian doctor, 68, who punched dementia
Antiques Roadshow guest receives SHOCKING appraisal after learning the secret history of her grandma
Starting QBs return for SEC's top 4 from last season as other teams turn to backups, transfers
Judge upholds disqualification of challenger to judge in Trump’s Georgia election interference case
Iran helicopter crash that killed President Raisi could reverberate across the Middle East
Bairstow's unbeaten century leads Punjab to highest run chase in IPL history
Who is Jacob Zuma, the former South African president disqualified from next week's election?
Military veteran charged with attempting to make ricin to remain jailed