A Time Capsule of the Country’s Medieval Past: North Wales’ Mighty Castles

The youngest of Edward I’s four castles, construction on Beaumaris Castle began in 1295 under the direction of James of Saint George, a few years after works had begun at Caernarfon, Conwy, and Harlech. Built strategically on the marshland surrounding the Menai Strait out of local stone (the name Beaumaris means “fair marsh”, derived from the Norman-French Beau Mareys), over 2,000 people were employed in the fort’s erection. It was to function simultaneously as a defensive outpost and a royal palace symbolic of English power in the area, hence its gracious yet sturdy concentric design which has long been praised by historians as among the era’s finest and a masterpiece of medieval engineering for its near-perfect symmetry. However, Beaumaris is just as much a testament to medieval ambitious as it is to medieval ingenuity; work on the castle, intended to be Edward I and James of Saint George’s crowning architectural achievements complete with its own dock, was never completed, funds quickly drying up while tensions in Scotland drawing royal attention away. The castle, moat and all, therefore stands still as one of history’s greatest masterpieces that never quite was, a simultaneously humbling and awe-inspiring totem of both one king’s greed and one architect’s brilliance.

After wandering the castle ruins, descend on the town of Beaumaris to find homes doused in charming pastel and a handful of unexpected attractions. Besides its castle, Beaumaris is perhaps most famous for its gaol and courthouse which are among the oldest in the country and offer a gory insight into British criminal history. Or, take a leisurely stroll along the town’s Victorian pier and hop onto a boat to Puffin Island, an uninhabited skerry off the eastern tip of Anglesey whose tranquil isolation allows large colonies of seabird to nest there unperturbed, its most notable inhabitants being its great cormorants (over 10% of Britain’s national population live on the island!) and the eponymous puffins. Two companies - Seacoast Safaris and Starida - run regular excursions around the island, so take your pick!

Harlech Castle was built from 1282 to 1289 on a rocky spur known as the Harlech Dome which overlooks the Irish Sea. The site is associated in local mythology with the giant and mythical ancient king Brân the Blessed, who is said to have used the Dome as a perch to keep a watch over incoming ships. Like Beaumaris, the design of the castle is concentric, meaning that it is composed of series of walls enclosing one another in parallel shapes, and was made from local sandstones: grey-green sandstone for the main walls, and softer yellow sandstone from nearby Barmouth for decorative work and ornamentation. However, it is Harlech Castle’s location that makes it worth visiting above all else, its elevated position offering beautiful panoramic views of the sandy dunes of Harlech Beach and the rugged mountains of looming Snowdonia.

Harlech Beach, with its marram grass-lined dunes and four-miles of silky sand, is also one of Wales’ best beaches and cannot be missed and is perfect for a stroll year-round. Harlech town, meanwhile, is a sleepy rural idyll dotted with quintessentially Welsh cottages and a high street gushing with charm: visit the Harlech Cheese Market to taste some of the region’s finest cheeses, Harlech Pottery for adorable handcrafted earthenware trinkets, and the Castle Cottage for an award-winning meal in 16th-century surroundings. And, if you want to spend the night, the Cottage also runs a five-star bed and breakfast!

Fortifications have existed on the site where Caernarfon Castle now stands since Roman times, when a settlement called Segontium emerged. After the Norman conquest of England during the 11th-century, a motte-and-bailey castle made of timber and earthworks was erected here, replaced by the structure that now stands by Edward I in 1283, with construction lasting until 1284. Caernarfon Castle was built to be a powerful symbol of English rule in Wales and was subsequently invested heavily in, the end result being one of the most expensive and arresting structures erected during the early medieval period. One notable feature of the castle is the banded coloured stone used in the walls and its polygonal, rather than round, towers. Interpretation differs on the reasons for these aesthetic decisions: some have argued that they are an allusion to the formidable Walls of Constantinople, while others suggest such design was intended to evoke Roman or Arthurian legend. Either way, it proved a potent testament to the wealth and might of Edward I.

There is also plenty to do in Caernarfon. The town was built around a beautiful natural harbour where you will now find a bohemian-hued waterfront populated by colourful terraced houses, while further inland is Castle Square, the town’s main shopping hub which hosts a market selling gorgeous local goods every Saturday. Around the square are a labyrinth of narrow medieval alleyways ideal for some city strolling, and fifteen minutes out of Caernarfon you will find Dinas Dinlle beach, one of North Wales’ most beautiful with miles upon miles of fine golden sand.

How to get there: Caernarfon Castle does not have a dedicated car park, however there are several located a short distance from the castle grounds. The nearest railway station to Caernarfon is in Bangor; bus 5C runs from the station to Caernarfon every twenty minutes and takes about half an hour. Visit the Transport for Wales website for more information.

Castle opening times: opening times vary throughout the year, although the castle is generally open from 9:30am to 5pm, except in the summer when it stays open a little longer and in the winter when it closes a little earlier. Consult the website before you visit to see the full timings.

Castle tickets: adult tickets cost £12.50, while juniors and seniors receive discounted tickets. Please note that ticket prices may change from season to season, so check the website in advance. Tickets can be booked online here.

Accessibility: the ground floor of Caernarfon Castle is generally accessible, while there is a viewing deck on the upper wall walk accessible via a lift in the King’s Gate Tower. For more information, consult the access guide here.

Conwy, located at the coastal mouth of the River Conwy, had been a location of strategic importance ever since the 11th century, vied for between English kings and Welsh princes for centuries until Edward I’s colonisation of North Wales and establishment of English control in the region. Within days of the conquest of Conwy in 1284, work began on cutting the ditch around Conwy Castle to ensure a potent display of English sovereignty in what had historically been a den of Welsh power; construction would end three years later, in 1287.

The castle was built on a rocky coastal ridge with an Inner Ward and Outer Ward, separated by a whitewashed cross-wall with four large, 70ft (21m) tall towers on either side. The Inner Ward contained royal chambers where Edward I and members of the royal family could stay, a ‘palace in miniature’ within the castle that even had its own supply system via the eastern gate opening out onto Conwy Bay. From the 19th century, the (then-)ruinous castle became a popular icon in British landscape art, most notably in the corpus of J. W. Turner, as an example of the Burkean sublime, that which inspires both awe and terror, as the construction of several bridges over the River Conwy increased popular interest in Conwy Castle and the surrounding walled medieval town, dovetailing into increased preservation and restoration efforts of and around the site.

Beyond its castle, Conwy is one of North Wales’ must-do small towns, harbouring an indelible Welsh charm and a surprising array of activities given its relatively small size. As well as the Castle are the 1.3km of city walls that Edward I built around the town back in the 13th century, complete with 21 towers and three gatehouses, walls that are surprisingly intact and can still be traversed for amazing views over the town and bay. Conwy’s winding medieval streets also hide some historic architectural gems like the Aberconwy House, a 14th-century merchant’s home, and Plas Mawr, one of the best preserved examples of Elizabethan architecture in the country, while on Conwy Quay you will find, alongside beautiful natural scenery over the fishing boat-dotted estuary, the Smallest House in Great Britain, built as a fisherman’s hovel in the 16th century. Unmissable in its radiant red that juxtaposes to the black-and-white Elizabethan terraces that flank it, the house stands at just 72 inches in width (6ft/1.8m) and 122 inches in height (10ft/3m) split between two dollhouse floors. The house was used as genuine private lodgings for almost four hundred years until in 1900 the local council declared it unfit for human habitation and it now remains as a charming, Guinness Book of World Records-winning tourist attraction with entry for just £1!