Conwy Castle, Wales

Conwy Castle is considered among the greatest fortresses of medieval Europe. Situated in the north coast of Wales the castle was build by Edward I when he conquered Wales. The English built several such castles to humble the Welsh. The architect was James St. George, the master castle builder of Edward I.

Conwy Castle with Conwy town in the foreground

The castle was built between 1283 and 1289. UNESCO considers it as a one of the finest examples of 13th and 14th century military architecture in Europe and it is also a World Heritage Site. The Conwy castle is located next to the Conwy river. 

Entrance to the Conwy Castle

Murder holes protected the main gates of the castle where from the gaps the guards dropped missiles on attackers. The castle has dungeons where the prisoners were kept and executed. The Castle also has probably the best kept medieval royal rooms.

Chapel and the Stained Glass Windows

There is also a chapel inside the castle which has stained glasses and sometimes the king used to watch the services and who all were praying from a hidden room above and the view he used to get was something like in the photo below!

A king's view of the Chapel

View of the Outer Ward from the King's Tower

The castle has eight identical towers and two barbicans. There is an outer ward and an inner ward. The castle and the walls around the town were built at the same time which costed Edward I 15000 GBP to build which would be around 45 million British Pounds in today's terms.

The view of the three bridges on the Conwy river from the Castle

From the eastern towers and barbicans one can see all the three bridges crossing the river Conwy. (See the above photo). On the left is the 20th century road bridge built in 1958. In between is the Thomas Telford's suspension bridge and on the right is the Robert Stephenson's tubular railway bridge.

Spectacular view from the King's Tower

This breathtaking view is from the King's tower. The towers offer spectacular views of the Conwy river, seaside, nearby hills and countryside as well as the sailing boats. You feel as you are up in the sky talking to the clouds itself! 

The admission ticket is of 5.75 GBP. The railway station is next to the castle itself.