Free entry into Welsh heritage sites on St David's Day

Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic environment service, is opening its sites for free on St David’s Day to encourage people to reconnect with their heritage.

In celebration of the Patron Saint of Wales, Saturday 1st of March will offer the people of Wales the opportunity to explore and enjoy Cadw sites across the country free of charge.

Visitors can explore more than 6,000 years of history across 129 Cadw sites across Wales, including two World Heritage sites – Blaenavon Ironworks in the south, part of the Blaenavon World Heritage landscapes, and the castles of Edward I in the north. Castles, abbeys and Roman forts are just a few of the fascinating monuments waiting to welcome visitors on St David’s Day.

Saint David, or Dewi Sant in Welsh, travelled through south Wales and the west of England in the 6th century, founding religious centres along the way. He had a strong and loyal following who believed the saint could work miracles. Tradition has it that he died on the first day of March in 589AD, and this date later became Wales’s National Day. The story of Saint David can be found on the Cadw website, part of the ‘Heroes and Heroines of Wales’ story collection. Visit www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/learning to download.

John Griffiths, the Minister for Culture and Sport, said, “Encouraging public participation, understanding and enjoyment of heritage sites across Wales is a key part of my historic environment strategy, and I hope by offering free entry to all visitors on St David’s Day Welsh residents will be encouraged to visit their local monument, to learn about their heritage on a day of national celebration”.

You can ‘like’ Cadw on Facebook and follow @CadwWales or @CadwCymru on Twitter to stay up to date.