Caernarfon Castle, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, Wales
Caernarfon Castle is an absolute beast of a stronghold that stands majestically on the banks of the River Seoint, it’s mighty walls wrapping around the fishing town of Caernarfon. They say the whole lot, walls, quay and castle, took only 5 years to build and cost £25,000 – which 700 years ago, was an awful lot of money. The castle now forms part of a World Heritage Site, along with Edward I’s other castles at Harlech, Conwy and Beaumaris.
You can go and visit Caernarfon Castle; you can walk along its walls and through the towers that surround the central green. When you do, just think of the history; remember how this vast castle was built to withstand attack, evidenced by the murder holes (used for pouring boiling oils onto the enemy) and the arrow slits, and by the colossal King’s Gatehouse – a forbidding entrance if ever there was one. The walls in the three turreted Eagle Tower are 18 feet thick – 18 feet!! That’s where the kings and queens would have slept and where, in 1284, the very first Prince of Wales was born, later to become Edward II. The current HRH Prince of Wales was invested here in 1969. Got to love that historic connection, haven’t you?
Check the website for the latest opening times
T: 01286 677617 All information correct at the time of writing