page_title: Cadw
section_title: Care and operation
hierarchical_section_title: Cadw / Aims and objectives / Care and operation
caption_attribution_description: English: Valle Crucis Abbey Ruins View of the west front
context_page_description: Cadw is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. Cadw works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage sites of Wales, so that the public can visit them, enjoy them and understand their significance. Cadw manages 127 state-owned properties and sites. It arranges events at its managed properties, provides lectures and teaching sessions, offers heritage walks and hosts an online shop. Members of the public can become members of Cadw to gain membership privileges.
context_section_description: Cadw operates most of the heritage sites in its care and opens them to the public. In 2010–11 there were an estimated 2 million visits to Cadw properties. In some cases, these are major tourist attractions and offer tours of the monuments, exhibitions and display panels. Cadw also produces books and guidebooks on many of their properties. However many of the sites are unstaffed, free to access, and have interpretation boards to explain their significance. Alongside this, a mobile app was released in 2016, which provides basic information for visitors as well as an interpretative aspect for larger sites.
  The five most frequently visited properties in 2010-11 were Caernarfon Castle (192,695 visits), Conwy Castle (190,031 visits), Caerphilly Castle (94,707 visits), Harlech Castle (93,242 visits) and Beaumaris Castle (80,660 visits).
  To provide a better context for the history of Wales, in 2010–11 Cadw was developing thematic 'All Wales Interpretation Plans', that could develop themes across numerous sites and localities. There were eight themes:-
  Origins and prehistory.
  Roman invasion and settlement.
  Celtic saints and pilgrimage.
  Churches, chapels and monastic landscapes.
  Castles and Princes of Medieval Wales.
  Artistic responses to the landscape.
  The Defence of the Realm — Pembrokeshire.
  Wales — the first industrial nation.
caption: Valle Crucis Abbey Ruins, a historic abbey in Cadw's care
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