I would begin by detailing some history of the castle, but with three children to watch over there wasn’t much time to actually stand and read any of the information boards! But in a nutshell it was built by the English King Edward in the thirteenth century in order to try and take control of Wales. The substantial ruins which remain today are from when the castle was destroyed during the English Civil war.

Set on the River Dee, boasting views across to the Wirral, it’s a picturesque place to spend a couple of hours (even the artist Turner chose to paint it!) and what’s more, it’s completely free (hooray!).

You can either park next to RNLI Flint Lifeboat Station or there’s a car park off Castle Dyke Street, both are again free. You then access the castle from the entrance opposite the aptly named Castle Street.

Just to add to the excitement we took the kids shields and swords (note to self do not buy wooden ones again, it ends in tears). The site is very open so we let the kids run around and pretend to be Knights, which I rather enjoyed myself (ever the tomboy) You’re able to climb one of the towers for a nice view at the top via a not so toddler friendly spiral staircase so do take care.

Outside of the castle there is a small playground which is geared more towards preschoolers than bigger kids, but we still manged to happily pass a little bit of time here.

Behind the RNLI building you can walk down and along the marshes, as its such an exposed site when it’s windy you really do feel it so perhaps best to visit it on a day when there isn’t strong winds like we did! We found a picnic bench and braved the cold, I can imagine on a summers day this would have been lovely!

All in all, a fun little place to awaken the Knight in you!