Visitors to Fonmon Castle near Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan are now able to take part in snail racing.

This new game comemmorates an unusual event in the town's history - the loss of Barry Island in a bet on a snail race.

The island was owned by Robert Jones III, an 18th century owner of the castle who was responsible for a number of redevelopments at the time, including the addition of render and battlements.

His estate shrunk drastically after he lost a bet on a snail, losing Barry Island.

Castle owner Nigel Ford, who bought Fonmon from Sir Brooke Boothby - a descendant of Robert Jones and who told the story to a reporter in previous years - in 2019, said: "Fonmon Castle has so many incredible stories, and the snail race story is one of the best.

"As soon as we heard about it, we knew we wanted to commemorate it in some way.

"Well done to the creative team at Fonmon for coming up with such an entertaining new game - we hope visitors to the castle will enjoy playing it.

"Just don’t play for high stakes!"

The historic snail race was probably held in Cardiff and likely involved encouraging snails along a one-yard course with lettuce.

The new race at Fonmon doesn't involve real snails, but moves model snails along a board.

Visitors can challenge the castle's magician, John the Story Wizard, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in the main hall.