Cotland Mill, Llawhaden

Explorer Tom Llawhaden Castle calls itself a castle, but its bishops clearly wanted good rooms as well as stout walls. The tall gatehouse has the manners of a fortress; the apartments behind it suggest someone soon asked where the comfortable chair was. That tension makes these Pembrokeshire ruins far more interesting than their quiet village setting first lets on. The site began as a defended earthwork near a frontier between Welsh and Norman-held lands. In the fourteenth century, Bishop David Martin rebuilt it as a fortified residence for the bishops of St Davids. It had private quarters, accommodation for guests and space for a permanent guard. The later gatehouse still rises nearly to its original height, while lower walls trace the rooms and courtyard around which the household worked. Follow the plan with your eyes and a bishop's castle begins to look like a busy home with an unusually serious front door. Cadw opens Llawhaden free, generally from 10 to 4 apart from listed holiday closures. Parking is limited, and a short rising path to the ruins can be uneven. There is plenty to see without climbing fragile walls. Walk into the courtyard, look back at the gatehouse and decide which side of the building would have made the better first impression. The bishop plainly had an answer, but the ruin lets you argue back.