Conwy, Wales - Day 2

Wednesday, June 18

Woke up to another beautiful sunny day with a brilliant view over Conwy Bay from our bedroom window. After another substantial breakfast we set off for Caernarfon to visit its castle. The castle certainly stands out sited as it is on the Menai River, and the town looked worthy of exploring too.

The castle was built in the late 13th century by Edward l, who was the first English Prince of Wales, and he also arranged for the other castles in North Wales (Conwy, Harlech, Beaumaris and Rhuddlan) to be built as a network of defences against the Welsh. Four of the castles (excluding Rhuddlan) built by Edward l are part of the Gwynedd World Heritage Site.

The first tower we checked out was the Eagle Tower, which is the largest and grandest tower in the castle and is also traditionally known as the birthplace of Edward l. It's walls are about 15 ft thick and again the top was reached by walking up a twisting staircase of small stone steps. The views from the top were worth it though as we got a great view over the castle and the surrounding countryside and river.

Looking towards the Eagle Tower

Views from the Eagle Tower

From there we walked along the walls to the Well Tower which contained the water supply for the castle, especially in times of siege. It's fun (for guys anyway) to wander about the walls on these old castles and explore all the passages and doorways inside them. Next was a climb up the Queen's Gate and a view over the town and towards Snowdonia and also a great view of the Welsh slate dais built for Prince Charles' investiture in 1969. There was an exhibition on Charlie's investiture including the throne the Queen sat on, the stool Charles knelt on, lots of other memorabilia and a short film of the event.

Noelle reading about Prince Charles' investiture

The dais where the investiture took place in 1969

Within the walls and between two of the towers was a museum on the Royal Welch (not a typo!) Fusiliers, who were formed over 300 years ago and are Wales' oldest infantry regiment. They have fought in all the major battles and wars that the UK have fought in. The museum had sections on the medals won, the battle colours of the RWF and the history of the regiment and some of its famous soldiers.

After a late lunch we wandered through the town and around the perimeter of the castle to get a look at it from a distance. It really stood out in the late afternoon sun and looked fabulous.

The castle from the car park

The castle from across the Menai River

On the way home we drove through Bangor to have a look at the pavilion (a fancy name for a pier but it was a flash pier!) We drove past the university and through a posh suburb with lovely houses but the city centre was very quiet. There didn't appear to be a lot more to see in Bangor so we headed for home and an early night. We were treated to another spectacular sunset over Conwy Bay and with the current tides there iwas water in it tonight!

The Pavillion at Bangor

 

 

 

 

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