Secrets of Great British Castles - Season 1 (2015)

Historian Dan Jones explores the turbulent history of one of Britain's most famous castles, Caernarfon. Dan is in the heart of Snowdonia exploring a stronghold built not only as an impenetrable fortress but also as a lavish royal palace fit for a fairy tale - Caernarfon Castle.

Perched high on a volcanic crag overlooking the River Forth, Stirling has long been one of the most strategically important castles in Britain. Guarding the gateway to the Highlands, its battle-scarred walls have witnessed savagery and chivalry, intrigue, alchemy, adultery and murder. With the aid of location filming, aerial shots and dramatic reconstructions, Dan Jones examines the history of this stronghold and relates the stories of some of the powerful characters who have owned it over the centuries.

Dan Jones explores the history of Carrickfergus Castle in Co Antrim, one of the most ancient castles in Northern Ireland and a stronghold key to understanding the tempestuous relationship between Britain and Ireland. Dan travels to Rathlin island, where he reveals how hundreds of women and children were massacred in the name of Elizabeth I, and visits the tomb of former governor Arthur Chichester, who began a new colonization strategy using scorched earth tactics and laid waste to much of the land surrounding the town.