Wales cAstles
 

There appears to be 3 castles in northern wales and once again we will probably be interested in only 2 ( we will have just done a couple in Ireland).so please give feedback about the following castles: Conway, Beaumaris and Caernafon.
thanks

Difficult choice, as there is also Harlech and others.

King Edward 1st did a lot of castle building.

www.castlewales.com/edward1.html

I wrote about Conwy Castle in my trip report - http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...b-may-2007.cfm We really enjoyed visiting the castle.

We drove past Caernafon, but didn't stop since it was getting late in the day. I'm going there in late May, but that probably won't help you. :-)

We also drove past Harlech, but didn't have time to stop.

Lee Ann

We have visited all and I think Conway would be a great stop, as it has the old town and is encompassed by the medieval walls.

We only visited Conwy but it was terrific.

Well sounds like Conway will be one choice and certainly convenient. We will probably try one other. I appreciate the feedback and opinions.

We enjoyed Conwy Castle and we thought it was more interesting than Caernafon. The town is great too.

I also vote for Conwy. I enjoyed it and also appreciated a walk around the town walls from the castle and back. As others have said Conwy is a pleasant and interesting town.

I loved Beaumaris also. It is set in a moat and the last time I was there you could find several viewpoints from which to view the castle and its moat.

Harlech has quite a stunning setting high up on a cliff overlooking the ocean.

So my votes would be for Conwy and Beaumaris.

If you are interested in gardens, Bodnant is in this area and is a great visit. Penrhyn castle is a fake Gothic pile built by one of the nineteenth century tycoons and it has a good collection of antique toys if that interests you at all.

Enjoy!

I'm glad irishface mentioned Bodnant, I was trying to remember the name of the gardens we enjoyed so much. Please make sure to see Bodnant.

I also second the motion to see 80 acres of gardens at Bodnant.

Some thoughts on Caernarfon Castle and Beaumaris Castle.

Caernarfon: important, impressive, site of Prince Charles's investiture, interesting exhibit of Edward's Welsh campaigns. The town of Caernarfon,however,is dull. In fact, I find it a bit depressing.

Beaumaris: Edward's last castle built in Wales and his largest. A fine example of a concentric castle,beautifully symmetrical. The town is attractive,a very pleasant spot.

While in Conwy, I recommend a visit to Plas Mawr. It is a wonderful representation of a Elizabethan town house. I'm mostly a castle person but thoroughly enjoyed touring this house.

Links to photos/blog of our visit to all three if that helps:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...orth-wales.cfm

Historytraveler, I also think Plas Mawr makes a good visit. I remember the house but had forgotten its name.

loved both Caernarvon and Conwy, regretted that we didn't make it to Beaumarais, which appeared to be the prettiest of the three.

I wouldn't call Beaumaris "pretty", and I'm confident that 13th century Welshmen didn't like it. But it's an impressive lump, and well worth seeing.

Conwy, Caernarfon, and Beaumaris have an amount in common: they are from the same era, built for the same purpose, are in the same region, and are all in reasonably good nick. That said, they represent three quite different visitor experiences, and I think it would be a shame to omit one because of a self-imposed quota. [You have already cut a number of other castles from the list, or failed to recognise their existence at the drafting stage.]

<hey represent three different visitor experiences> Indeed they do, as each one along with Harlech, is a totally different configuration.

Thanks much. Time will of course dictate some of what we do but pretty certain we will do Conway castle, Beaumaris, Plas Mawr and bod ant Gardens. Then we will head to Snowdonia. Again thank you.

Be sure to get there early if you want to walk the bridge, too. It closes about 4:30 pm, iirc.

Great suggestions