From the North Wales Daily Post, 30th June 2008

Dolbardarn Castle looks for a key keeper

Fancy looking after a castle? Wales’ heritage body, Cadw, is looking for someone to be a key keeper of the 13th Century Dolbadarn Castle For a “modest fee” the key keeper would need to check the monument regularly and pick up any litter.

The imposing castle stands above Llyn Padarn, near Llanberis,and is dominated by its round-towered keep, which stands around 50ft (15m) high. Key keepers do look after other monuments, but this is a first for Dolbadarn Castle.

Cadw’s visitor services manager, Wayne Evans, said: “Unfortunately, sites like Dolbadarn do suffer from petty vandalism and graffiti. What we’re looking for is an enthusiastic local volunteer, preferably with an interest in Welsh heritage who can keep an eye on the place and let us know if things are going on there that shouldn’t be. I don’t want to overplay this because Dolbardarn, hasn’t caused us too many difficulties in the past, but there have been one to two incidents lately which have given us cause for concern, which is why we thought it would be a good idea if we could get key keeper there to keep an eye on it.”

Dolbadarn Castle is thought to have been built by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (1173 - 1240), later known as Llywelyn the Great because his authority came to be recognised by the English crown.