RAGLAN Castle saw a surge in visitor numbers last year, as new figures show admissions to Cadw sites were at an all-time high.

Figures released by the Welsh Government show more than 907,000 paying visitors have explored Cadw sites since January, generating an impressive £4.4m in admissions revenue — a rise of almost 20 per cent on 2016.

Caerphilly Castle and Raglan Castle saw the greatest increase in visitors compared to 2016, with a rise of more than 13 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.

The number of members is also higher than ever before, with more than 32,000 currently registered — an increase of 10 per cent on 2016.

The results mark the end of another successful year for Cadw - the Welsh Government’s historic environment service.

Highlights include the Live the Legends campaign which saw a family of dragons brought to life to celebrate Wales’s 2017 Year of Legends.

Over July and August, the dragons, Dewi, Dwynwen, Dylan and Cariad, helped attract more than 100,000 families to Cadw sites — up 15 per cent on the same period last year.

The campaign also saw the creation of the app reality game, Little Dragons, which added to the excitement, encouraging people of all ages to ‘snap’ virtual dragons on their smartphones at seven castles across Wales.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Minister for Culture said: "This year, Cadw has endeavoured to find new and innovative ways of engaging the people of Wales and beyond with our country’s rich heritage –– and these fantastic figures show that it’s done just that.

"Our historic sites play a vital role in Welsh tourism and we hope that we can continue to capture the imagination of locals and visitors alike as we approach the end of Wales’s Year of Legends and enter the Year of the Sea in 2018."

Figures show 42 per cent of businesses in Wales have had more visitors in 2017 than last year, and 39 per cent have had the same level.

Visitors are also spending more on their trips to Wales, according to the figures.