Prologue: Warmth & Welcomes - Tuesday 2nd June 2026
Prologue Day: An exhilarating (and penalty-free) taste of the competition to come.
The elegant Victorian seaside town of Llandudno is our home for four days and nights.
There’s a great atmosphere at scrutineering from 08.00 on the Promenade. The Concours d’Elegance is sponsored by Rally HQ, the Imperial Hotel, and spectators can enjoy the show from 10.00 – 12.00.
An included Novice training seminar held online using Zoom before the event will have helped to set the scene.
The optional Penderyn Prologue over a fresh route, with a practice regularity section and a driving test at Gwrych Castle, warms everyone up in the afternoon, finishing with a car show back on the Prom. Prizes for this and the morning Imperial Concours will be awarded at a Welcome Dinner held at Rally HQ, the Imperial, which sets things going in style.
Day One: Halls & Houses - Wednesday 3rd June 2026
Day 1: A day for fabulous houses, which takes in driving tests at some, such as Plas-Yn-Cefn, Hartsheath and Bodrhyddan Hall, and coffee at another, Tower. We lunch at a reborn favourite venue, Brookhouse Mill, and finish the day at another old favourite, the Kinmel Arms, a short run from town.
We’re off from the Promenade at 08.00 today, and a gentle run out to enjoy tests at Parc Lleweni and a new secret first-time test venue, separated by the event’s first regularity. Two hours in, we take coffee at Tower, a stunning house we last saw in 2023. Now we head east to enjoy a test at Hartsheath before another two regularities take us on to where we plan to lunch at a reborn favourite currently being restored by new owners. Brookhouse Mill was one of our most popular venues in the hands of the founding family, and we remember them fondly.
The day’s fifth regularity section leads us away, towards two driving tests at Plas-yn-Cefn and a sixth regularity brings us to Bodrhyddan Hall, historic home of Lord Langford and family. Time now to visit another old favourite, the Kinmel Arms, where we take tea and finish the day. A short run back to Llandudno leads us back to the evening’s festivities, with a choice of four dinner options awaiting you. More news on those later in the year.
Day Two: Seas & Views - Thursday 4th June 20256
Day 2:Long views and a wide-ranging day with quite a few regularity sections and five test venues planned, taking coffee at picturesquely sited Pant Du Vineyard and beside the sea at the historic Portmeirion Hotel before turning south via Barmouth to reach Bodnant and the finish of the day.
Starting at 07:45 from Llandudno Promenade, we begin today with a run west to reach a couple of driving tests, including Parc Faenol, which are separated by the first short regularity of many today. Stopping for coffee at the delightful Pant Du Vineyard, you should be warming up nicely for the pleasures to come.
Moving onto the remote, Welsh-speaking Llyn peninsula, we now enjoy a test at Parc Glasfryn kart circuit and a regularity with long views before soon find ourselves at Portmeirion in good time for a stroll down through the village to our private lunch at Portmeirion Hotel beside the sea. (The hotel bus will take you down and/or back up to the car if you prefer). Over the years, this has been a Three Castles favourite, both the location and the lunch never failing to captivate.
Today is the longest afternoon of the event, and it enables us to return to a place that was the graveyard of a few hopes and the birthplace of others when it was last in use. The plan is to return to Llanbedr Airfield, this time for a test to remember and an off-road regularity never to forget, with a few vital changes to aid route finding in this vast space.
After this, we loop south through Barmouth to enjoy some excellent scenery, including more mountain roads and a test at the Ranges Motorsport Centre, all of which takes us to the famous tea, cake and finish of the day at Bodnant Welsh Foods, on Lord Aberconwy’s renowned estate in the Conwy Valley. Now it’s just a short run back to town and a chance to refuel. Back in Llandudno, you can enjoy an evening off after a long day. Time to try some local seafood or gather with friends old or new?
Day Three: Hills & Valleys - Friday 5th June 2026
Day 3: An exciting final day, including great driving tests oveerr the Great Orme, seven trickier regularity sections, coffee at fabulous Mostyn Hall, lunch deep in the Conwy valley amid bucolic surroundings at Caer Rhun Hall, and a sting in the tail that just begins with more tests at Glan y Gors kart circuit and Llyn Brenig.
Starting at 07.30 from Llandudno Promenade, we begin today with driving tests over the Great Orme; then, we enjoy a short regularity or two on our way to visit Tudor estate Golden Grove for a test before arriving at Mostyn Hall, the home of Lord Mostyn, whose family built Llandudno. Lord Mostyn, our Club President, may well be on hand to welcome crews here as we enjoy tests before and after taking coffee in the lovely surroundings of his home.
We hope to include another test used just once before, then enjoy a regularity over ancient roads leading to a historic venue in the Conwy Valley, Caer Rhun Hall, a manor house with an unusual history that is fast becoming a stunning boutique country house hotel. As we enjoy lunch in the extensive gardens in their superb marquee, the talk will still be of what is to come. The event is far from over. There are still three regularities and three fine tests to come.
This year more stunning, scenic roads lead us away from lunch on another regularity. Then, we head over to Glan y Gors for a test or two at the FIA kart circuit followed by a longer test at Llyn Brenig and two regularities to finish things off. The last of these should prove a worthy sting in the tail and takes us back to the Grand Finish on Llandudno Promenade. Relax at last, ready for the Gala Awards Dinner from eight ’til late.
