Visitors to Caerphilly Castle this St David’s Day will be in for fiery surprise with the attraction now home to a four-metre long, red and black scaled dragon.
The colossal creature, with smoke-flaring nostrils, has an outreached claw ready to ‘capture’ passers-by.
Its arrival marks the launch of Cadw’s Historic Adventures campaign – part of a promotion by Visit Wales to bring unique experiences to Welsh historical landmarks.
The campaign includes a public screening of the upcoming Wales vs England Six Nations game at Caerphilly Castle, as well as an after dark ‘sleepover’.
Ken Skates, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, said: “We’re always looking at new and exciting ways to bring Wales’s historic monuments to life for visitors to explore and enjoy; and we’re confident that this creative programme of events will attract a wide-range of visitors to experience Cadw sites.
“Dragons feature in many of Wales’s great myths and legends and it is stories like these that make our country’s heritage so unique. We hope that the arrival of the dragon at Caerphilly Castle will ignite people’s interest in Welsh history and inspire them to have their own Historic Adventures during the Year of Adventure.”
The dragon, which was sculpted and moulded before being built out of fibreglass, weighs a tonne and took a 15-strong team six weeks to construct.
It was created by Cardiff-based prop design specialists, Wild Creations – who were also responsible for Cardiff Castle’s ‘Ball in the Wall’ during last year’s Rugby World Cup.
Matt Wild, owner of Wild Creations, said: “The medieval backdrop of Caerphilly Castle is the perfect location for this mythical, reptile-like monster – it could almost be the billboard of a Hollywood blockbuster! We’re delighted with the end product and hope that it inspires people from across Wales to pay the site, and the dragon, a visit this spring.”
Visitors to Caerphilly will be able to see the dragon for free until 3pm on Sunday, March 6, or later by normal site-admission when it moves inside the castle from Monday, March 7 until the summer.
