The Road to Ruins

Brian Conduit on the joy of exploring architectural remains

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Given the choice between a visit to a stately home or an exploration of some Roman or medieval ruins, I would choose the ruins every time. It is both highly intriguing and enjoyable trying to work out the layout of a ruined site and to discover the function of the different parts of it, often with the aid of a good guidebook or making use of the information boards that English Heritage, the National Trust and others place around their properties.

In fact, the whole experience is something of a journey of discovery. Am I alone in this strange affliction or are there others of the same ilk? There seem to be many others judging from the number of visitors to our most accessible and popular ruins. Figures for 2023-24 reveal that more than six million people visited English Heritage sites alone.

I am not exactly sure when my interest began. It might have started as early as boyhood holidays to Rhyl, Denbighshire in the late 1940s and early 50s. One of the pleasures of those holidays – when I could be dragged away from the more obvious childhood seaside delights of sandcastles, donkey rides on the beach, ice-creams, the fairground and miniature lakeside railway – was a walk across the meadows beside the River Clwyd to Castell Rhuddlan.

Apart from enjoying the walk itself, which was a pleasant alternative to the usual seafront activities, I enjoyed seeing the ruins of this impressive and – to me – mysterious building getting gradually nearer, rising majestically above the river. Once there, I also found wandering around its ancient walls and towers an exciting experience, even though – at the age of 10 – I obviously knew nothing whatsoever about the history or architecture of medieval Welsh castles.