Conwy Castle

This gritty dark-stoned fortress has the rare ability to evoke an authentic medieval atmosphere. The first time that visitors catch sight of the castle, commanding a rock above the Conwy Estuary and demanding as much attention as the dramatic Snowdonia skyline behind it, they know they are in the presence of a historic site which still casts a powerful spell. Conwy, constructed by the English Monarch Edward I between 1283 and 1287 as one of they key fortresses in his "iron ring" of castles to contain the Welsh, was built to prompt such a humbling reaction.

Conceived and created in just four years, Conwy Castle remains one of the outstanding achievements of medieval military architecture. There are no concentric "walls within walls" here, because they were not needed. Conwy's massive military strength springs from the rock on which it stands and seems to grow naturally. Soaring curtain walls and eight huge round towers give the castle (a World Heritage Inscribed site) an intimidating presence undimmed by the passage of time.

The views from the battlements are breathtaking, looking out across mountains and sea and down to the roofless shell of the castle's great hall. It is from these battlements that visitors can best appreciate Conwy's other great glory, its ring of town walls. Conwy is the classic walled town. Its circuit of walls, over one and a quarter kilometres long and guarded by 21 towers and three double gateways, is one of the finest in the world.

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