1-Bedroom Hot Tub Cottage in Capel Garmon - Fun Days Out

The Welsh Mountain Zoo is a zoological garden near Colwyn Bay in Conwy County Borough. It covers 37 acres and has been open since 1963, so it has built up a good range of animal areas over the years.

Features named in the sources include Chimpanzee World, a Lemur Walkthrough, Red Pandas and Otters on the Prytherch Himalayan Terraces, Gibbon Heights, Condor Haven and a Children's Farm. There is also a Jungle Adventureland and a wallaby enclosure. The zoo has also bred the first Bactrian camel born in Wales. With a farm and walkthrough areas alongside the bigger enclosures, it suits families and anyone who likes seeing animals up close.

Tip: Check the zoo's website before you go, as the sources note that animal exhibits such as the sea lions have changed over time.

Conwy Castle was built by Edward I between 1283 and 1287 and is part of a World Heritage Site. Eight large towers and a high curtain wall still stand, and it has the best preserved set of medieval royal apartments in Wales. The ruins are split into an inner and an outer ward, with a Great Hall undercroft and chapels to explore.

The main draw is the walk around the battlements, reached by restored spiral staircases in the great towers. From the top you look out to the mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia) and down over the harbour and narrow streets of Conwy. The town is still ringed by 1.3km of medieval walls, so it is worth a look round after the castle. The path up from the visitor centre is steep with several steps, and the towers involve a climb, so it suits those happy with stairs.

Tip: Climb the spiral staircases and walk the full battlement circuit if you can. Cadw highly recommends it.

The copper mines on the Great Orme were uncovered in 1987 during a landscaping scheme. They date from the Bronze Age, long before the Roman invasion, and are thought to be the largest prehistoric mine discovered in the world so far. Archaeologists, cavers and mining engineers are still uncovering more tunnels and surface landscape.

The tour is self-guided. You start in the visitor centre with a short introductory film, then head down two levels of the mine along a 200 metre underground route, using slopes and staircases. Back above ground, a surface walk takes in the smelting shelter and the opencast mine, and there is a gift shop. Hard hats are provided, which helps with the low ceilings. It suits curious children and adults, walkers exploring the Great Orme, and anyone interested in early British history.

Tip: It's cold underground (5-8°C), so bring warm clothing and sensible footwear; the floor is uneven and wet in places. Pushchairs and wheelchairs can't do the tour.

Dolwyddelan Castle is a thirteenth-century castle in Conwy County Borough, probably begun by Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, ruler of the Kingdom of Gwynedd, to guard an east-west route through his lands. It stands on a small knoll, with a keep on the east side and a tower on the west, joined by walls to form a roughly circular enclosure.

The keep is the oldest part and was restored and reconstructed in the nineteenth century. The castle was captured by Edward I of England in 1283 and was a ruin by the mid-nineteenth century. Nearby, on a rocky outcrop above the Afon Lledr, are the fragmentary remains of Tomen Castell, a late twelfth-century tower. It is the likely birthplace of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, though tradition says he was born in the castle itself. It suits anyone interested in Welsh medieval history.

Dolbadarn Castle (Castell Dolbadarn) was built by the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great in the early 13th century. It stands at the foot of the Llanberis Pass, overlooking the lake of Llyn Padarn, and once controlled an important mountain pass. Today it is a grade I listed building, owned by Cadw and run as a tourist attraction.

The big draw is the large stone keep, which historian Richard Avent considers "the finest surviving example of a Welsh round tower". It is also tied to a famous story: a poem describes a prince, Owain ap Gruffudd, imprisoned in a round tower, and historians believe it refers to this keep.

In 1284 Edward I took the castle and removed some of its timbers for his new castle at Caernarfon. From the 1760s it became a favourite subject for painters, including J. M. W. Turner, who painted it looming over the landscape.

It will appeal to anyone interested in Welsh history and medieval castles.

Anglesey Sea Zoo is an independent aquarium and marine conservation centre on the south coast of Anglesey, near Brynsiencyn. Over 40 tanks show native British sea life, including octopus, lobsters, seahorses, conger eels and jellyfish. Highlights include the No Bone Zone for invertebrates, a wolf fish lair, a real crashing wave, a shipwreck and a kelp forest full of big fish. You can chat with the marine biologists too.

Much of the profit goes into conservation work, such as the seahorse breeding programme and the Lobster Hatchery of Wales. Outside there's a free adventure playground, crazy golf, picnic spots and a walk along the Menai Strait with Snowdonia in the distance. It works in any weather, suits all ages, and the site is fully accessible to wheelchairs and pushchairs. Parking is free, and dog pens with fresh water are provided outside.

Tip: No need to book ahead, as tickets are bought on the door. Standard and family tickets stay valid for 6 days after the day of purchase, so you can return for free in that time.

Adventure Parc Snowdonia, formerly known as Surf Snowdonia, is an adventure park at Dolgarrog in the Conwy valley, North Wales. It was built around the world's first commercial artificial surfing lake, a freshwater pool 300 metres long and 110 metres wide, filled with rainwater collected from Snowdonia reservoirs.

The park has offered indoor activities such as ninja assault courses, a high ropes course, soft play and caving, plus outdoor options including a zip line, a climbing wall and bike hire. The site has also had a café bar, a coffee shop, a play shack for children and wooden camping pods, so there is somewhere to refuel between activities.

Tip: Check which activities are running before you set off, as the park has changed over the years.

Penrhyn Castle is a country house at Llandygai, near Bangor in Gwynedd, built in the style of a Norman castle. Thomas Hopper rebuilt it in this Romanesque Revival form between 1822 and 1837, and it is Grade I listed. It is regarded as Hopper's finest work and as one of the most important country houses in Wales.

Inside, the art collection is of international importance and includes works by Palma Vecchio and Canaletto. The castle was a summer holiday home for the Douglas-Pennant family, and guests included Queen Victoria.

The story behind the castle also covers the slate industry of North Wales and the slave-plantation wealth that helped pay for it. The National Trust has explored these links to colonialism and historic slavery, so there is plenty of history to take in alongside the architecture and paintings.