Tre Owain Castle

Tre Owain Castle stands in a quiet field near Llanddingad in Monmouthshire. It is one of the many small earth-and-stone mounds built across Wales between the late 11th and mid-12th centuries. These mounds, called motte-and-bailey castles, arrived with the Normans and were soon copied by the Welsh. The site is registered by Cadw and carries the SAM number MM114. The castle is a simple earthen mound without the usual protective wall called a bailey. A ditch usually surrounds such mounds, but at Tre Owain the ditch has disappeared over time. Most of these mounds in Britain are found along the borderlands, including areas now called Shropshire, Cheshire, Herefordshire, Powys and Flintshire. Visitors see a low, grassy mound rising gently from the field. There are no standing walls or towers left, only the shape of the old defences. The site is peaceful and open, with wide views over the surrounding countryside. It is best reached by following farm tracks from Llanddingad village.