Merlin's Cross

Explorer Tom Pembroke Castle rises over its town with walls substantial enough to make Tom lower his voice for almost a whole minute. Inside are great towers, passages and a story that runs from Norman frontier politics to the birth of a Tudor king. The castle has been broken and rebuilt, so its stones are a better guide than anyone claiming to see one perfect medieval moment. Tom, naturally, claims to have spotted three. The site grew into one of Wales's great strongholds. In 1457 Margaret Beaufort gave birth here to Henry Tudor, later Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch. Tradition pointed visitors towards the tower named for him, but recent work suggests a mansion house at its foot may be the more likely birthplace. That uncertainty makes the real event no less extraordinary: a child born in this fortress went on to take a crown at Bosworth. Walk the wards and imagine how little anyone there could know of that future. Pembroke suffered again during the Civil War. Its forces changed sides, a siege followed in 1648, and damage left parts of the castle ruined. Later generations restored much of it, especially in the twentieth century. The result is a place you can explore rather than only admire from the street, with exhibitions and guided tours bringing the old rooms back into view. Look down from the walls at the town and water; the position explains much of its long importance. The castle is a ticketed attraction with opening times and tours listed by its own trust. Check the current day before travelling. Allow room for stairs and uneven historic surfaces, and take a full circuit if you can. Tom may want to crown himself in the Great Keep; the castle has already hosted a much more convincing Tudor story.