Conwy

Trip Start Feb 15, 2008
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Trip End May 31, 2008


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Where I stayed
(Conwy hotels)

Flag of United Kingdom  , Wales,
Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Chester may have a Roman wall which is older but Conwy has a medieval wall surrounding the town which is far more impressive. This town is everything one would expect from Wales. It is dominated by a true 11 Century medieval castle and almost the entire stone wall surrounding the city remains in place and can be traversed offering some great views of the town, castle and surrounding area. Conwy is a lovely small seaside town and while not obviously touristy its streets are filled with tasteful shops, cafes, restaurants and pubs. There are also some fantastic views of nearby snow capped mountains of Snowdonia which can be reached using one of the cog railways that operate in the region.

Conwy's castle was built in the 1280s by King Edward I to secure England's position against the province of Wales. The castle is built on a rock outcrop and guarded the entrance to the Conwy River
Castle and wall, Conwy1
Castle and wall, Conwy1
. The castle is listed as a world heritage site and entrance is £4.70. There is also a brilliant stone and steel suspension bridge which was completed in 1826 and was one of the first road suspension bridges in the world. Fortunately the bridge's supporting towers were built to match the castle's turrets. The bridge is now in the care of the national trust and is closed to traffic though can be crossed by foot between 10am and 5pm. The bridge became an important link to reach the ferry to Ireland which departed, as it still does, from Holyhead.

The following morning I happened to bump into the same three people from Barcelona who I had met in Chester the previous day. It turned out that the couple were visiting their daughter, Monica, who was on a posting at the town of Chester through her company which is based in Spain. They asked if I wanted to spend the day with them and take a trip out to the nearby town of Caernarfon to see another castle which I did.

The town of Caernarfon is not so pretty though the castle is impressive in that the condition of its stonework is practically perfect and all of its corridors and stairwells are open allowing one to explore at will. The Castle was also constructed by King Edward the 1st and was completed in 1283 as part of England's conquest of Wales. There is a nice little museum where you can see memorabilia and a video of Prince Charles receiving his crown from mummy dearest in 1969. There's also a well prepared audio visual theatre showing a documentary all about the history of castles in the region.

By now I was all castled out. The following day involved a short trip by train to Holyhead followed by a two hour ferry ride to Dublin.
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