DRAGONS drew the crowds as a castle tower was opened up to the public.

An open weekend was held at Flint Castle with one of the highlights being two Cadw dragons on-loan from Caernarfon.

The event marked the opening of the North East tower of the castle to the public, with spectacular views.

Keeper of the castle keys and Flint Councillor Vicky Perfect said the dragons and the event as a whole, were a roaring success.

She said: “It was fantastic, it went really, really well.

“The north east
tower is now open permanently to the public and unless the weather is dicey, they can go up there and enjoy the views.

“Overall the open weekend went really well and we had several thousand people here during the course of the two days.

“There was storytelling as well which went down really well with the children.

“When I turned up on Sunday morning there were at least 20 people waiting for me to open the castle up, which never happens.

“The dragons were also a big pull, especially for the children. Last year we had the father dragon, and this year I said it was the mother and child.”

The castle forms part of a £630,000 Welsh Government investment project for Flint by the Welsh Government, and Cllr Perfect said the success of the open day showed its tourist attraction potential.

She said: “This sort of backing for the castle from the public puts the town on the map.

“I would like to thank everyone who came.

“There was a little pond created for the dragons to sit in and over the weekend, people were chucking money into it.

“We added it up and the total came to £23 so we will be donating that to enable homeless people to have a Christmas dinner.

“I would like to thank everyone who threw in their money.

“If any families are looking for something to do during half-term, the castle is open every day from 10am to 4pm.”