Heritage Retreat

Barry Island Pleasure Park is an amusement park on the coast of the Vale of Glamorgan, about 10 miles south west of Cardiff. It sits opposite the sandy beachfront and has fairground rides, games and stalls, and food outlets. Rides range from high-energy thrill rides to classic ones the whole family can share, and you pay for what you ride using tokens.

Coity Castle, also called Castell Coety, is a ruined Norman castle in Coity Higher, near the town of Bridgend. It was built by Sir Payn de Turberville, said to be one of the legendary Twelve Knights of Glamorgan. Today it is a Grade I listed building, and plenty of the medieval castle is still there to explore.

Tip: A small parking area sits beside the main gatehouse on the west side of the ruins, but it isn't clearly marked.

Castell Coch, Welsh for "red castle", is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle above the village of Tongwynlais. Its conical-roofed towers rise out of the ancient beech woods of Fforest Fawr, and it has often been voted a favourite building in Wales. The architect William Burges rebuilt it for the third Marquess of Bute on the remains of a 13th-century fortress built by Gilbert de Clare.

Tip: The castle car park is free during site opening hours, and booking online saves 5% on tickets. Check Cadw's visitor notice for conservation work first.

Caerphilly Castle is the largest castle in Wales and the second-largest in the UK. Gilbert de Clare began it in 1268, and its concentric rings of walls, large twin-towered gatehouses and wide artificial lakes inspired Edward I's castles in North Wales. Historian Allen Brown called its water defences "the most elaborate water defences in all Britain".

National Museum Cardiff is Wales's national museum of art and natural history, housed in a grand building in the civic centre of Cathays Park. Admission is free, kept so by Welsh Government funding, though some exhibitions, events and activities may be charged for.

Tip: Book a free day ticket in advance to get key visit information and updates. There is a car park behind the museum off Museum Avenue, or Cathays station is about a 5 minute walk.

Margam Castle is a Grade I listed country house near Port Talbot. Thomas Hopper designed it in the Tudor Revival style for Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot, and it took five years to build. It stands in Margam Country Park, the former estate, which is also Grade I listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS register of historic parks and gardens in Wales.

St Fagans Castle is an Elizabethan mansion in Cardiff, built around 1580 in the shape of an 'E'. It gets its name from the Norman motte and bailey castle that once stood here, and part of the medieval boundary wall still surrounds the house. The house is Grade I listed and sits in the grounds of St Fagans National Museum of History.

Tip: The first floor has been temporarily closed to visitors, so check which parts of the castle are open before you go.

Techniquest is a science discovery centre in Cardiff Bay, built around a hands-on approach to science. The exhibition space has over 100 interactive exhibits, and there is also a science theatre and a planetarium. The building was the UK's first purpose-built science discovery centre, and the steel framework of the original building can still be seen.

Tip: Capacity is limited, so book ahead online, even if you have an Annual Pass.