Dolbadarn Castle is a Grade I listed building in the Gwynedd local planning authority area, Wales. First listed on 28 May 1999. Castle.

Dolbadarn Castle

WRENN ID
hallowed-shingle-sienna
Grade
I
Local Planning Authority
Gwynedd
Constituency
Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP: Liz Saville Roberts (PC)
Country
Wales
Date first listed
28 May 1999
Type
Castle
Address
Dolbadarn Castle, Pentre-Castell, Llanberis
OS grid reference
SH 586 597
Coordinates
53.11653, -4.11416
Source
Cadw listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Dolbadarn Castle is a castle keep with a circular plan that stands about 14.5 meters high. It is constructed from regularly coursed and tightly-packed slate-stone slabs and is currently roofless. The original entrance is located on the north-western side and features a steeply pointed arch, which is accessed by a wide flight of 20th-century external steps. Above this entrance is another steeply pointed arch. To the left of the entrance, there is a well-preserved lean-to garderobe tower, and a series of narrow rectangular windows to the right indicates the position of the internal spiral staircase.

Inside, the keep is roofless, but the internal spiral staircase remains intact, along with the remnants of two large fireplaces. There are also empty sockets for the joist and beam ends of the former floor structures.

Local climate

Dolbadarn Castle sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,360 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 96% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 95% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 40 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 78% of listed buildings. Of these, 22 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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