Hi-We are spending 2 days/nights in North Wales with the main sightseeing goal to be Edwards castles. Could I have some opinions on a village in which to stay that would be central to visiting the castles -conwy, harlech beaumaris etc...but that is also fabulous in and of itself? Currently we are booked in Betws-Y-Coed and it sounds great but I want to get some other opinions! thanks!

Ani,<BR><BR>I really liked staying in Conwy - great castle plus a wonderful small medieval walled town. It's also a good hub for rail travel, but I assume you'll have a car. I don't know that it would be any better of worse than Betws, which seems to be a pretty common base for those with wheels.<BR><BR>While visiting all those monuments to Ewardian oppression, consider stopping off in Dolwyddellan (pronounced "dole-with-ellen", I think), south of Betws in the Conwy Valley. Although just a small fortified tower, this is one of the few Welsh castles in Wales, built by Llewllyn Fawr. It has a great view, atop a hill just outside the pretty little Welsh-slate village of the same name.<BR><BR>Dave

BTW, here's a great website about Welsh castles: http://www.castlewales.com/home.html<BR><BR>

Ani: I replied to one of your other messages. We visited Edward's five castles in Wales last spring. My husband is the castle junkie, but I really loved Wales. I would suggest staying in Cricceth. There were many small places to stay right across the street from the beach and within walking distance of the castle. There were also many places away from the water. I also liked Harlech and the surrounding town. But I have to be honest in that we were not there at a time of day where we were paying much attention to lodging. These suggestions are just based on my opinions and feelings about certain places. They are not based on price or convenience.

Well I have to say I'm a bit fuzzy on the geography but I holidayed for years as a child in Harlech and loved it. It's perched on a cliff right by the castle, and it also has a marvellous beach - 8 miles of golden sands with lots of sand dunes for me to roll down. Just pray for good weather!

Thanks for the replies! As an avid fan of Welsh history and especially the two Llewllyns I am really psyched that Dolwyddellyn is so close to Betws...thanks for the suggestions!<BR>We are leaving in 2 weeks so yes it will be winter...and I imagine that where we stay won't matter much-we will be out and about quite a bit-and the place we are staying does have a nice little pub-so we are all set I think. Thanks again for the responses!

We stayed in Betws-y-Coed for our 5 day trip to Wales and found it to be very centrally located, with several good places to eat. Enjoy yourselves.