Conwy is the closest of the four Unesco World Heritage castles to our accomodation however we were not able to reach it the previous day as we spent more time than we expected at the other two castles. We conference with our relatives and the decision is to visit it first thing in the morning and rearrange the rest of the day accordingly. But before going anywhere it is time for breakfast.
The breakfast is quite hearthy, similar to the previous day, and refreshed we are ready for a long drive south with a few castle stops along the way.
First we go north though towards Conwy just some 15 minutes away from Trefriw. The B&B info sheet told us there is a free parking spot a bit further away from downtown so we park there and on we go in search of the castle.
Soon we can see the town walls in the distance but no castle yet. However we enjoy the walk due to the number of birds including a beautiful European Robin that enjoys its early morning catch.
Conwy itself is a major attraction due to the fact that it still has its old city walls protecting it. That makes it a bit tricky for us to enter the old city, just when we thought we found the entrance we arrive at the train tracks which prove impassable.
As we are evaluating our options an older lady passes by and takes pity of us. She points towards an overpass that we can use to go over the tracks and then arrive to the downtown area.
Finally in the downtown area we are really right in the middle of it, it seems we have arrived right in the Central Square. It is a nice square with a statue in the middle that is used by gulls as a resting spot. In at least a couple directions we can see the old city gates, quite interesting.
We enter the visitor center which is more of a gift shop than anything else and then start towards the castle on the city walls. We are quite proud of us as we imagine that we will be able to enter the city via the walls….
…obviously though the entrance is not on the walls. We have to descend, enter and then go around the castle to the actual old entrance which is quite well guarded, by crows at this point in time.
The gate itself is quite imposing and overlooks the wall walk we have arrived on. Here we also have a good view of the official parking lot, while we walked a bit to get here it was quite worth it, at least that is what we feel.
Inside the courtyard is surrounded by imposing towers and stone buildings. It looks quite stark and forbidding and the impression is not helped by the modern statue of swords, axes and other implements of war.
From even higher up we enjoy an almost panoramic view of the town and the castle. We can almost see where our car is park…almost. Still it is a great view and we really enjoy it.
In the other direction we can see the river and the harbor. It is still a good sized harbor for small boats and it must have been even larger during Edward I reign. And we also see gulls, lots of them, all sitting on nests and all looking at us in a definitely not friendly demeanor. We are reminded of “The Birds” movie and decide to retreat for now.
Walking on the walls and climbing the towers the views change quite often but are always beautiful and we stop multiple times to take photos and just oohhh and ahhhh.
Of course after years when the castle was a sign of oppresion a Welsh flag flies above the castle – it has finally been conquered :). We also notice that the road in one direction is under repair with large queues so we decide to go the other way…but it will not work out that way.
One last look from the tallest tower of them all and then it is time to descend passing through the chapel. As almost always it is the only room that has received windows with some nice stained glass.
Now at ground level we look from below up at the towers. There are also some descriptions here of trap doors from the dining hall were prisoners were dropped 6m into the dungeons that lie below – cruel and inventive.
We pass through what we assume was the Grand Hall and look up abandoned towers as we make our way towards the exit. It is already late and we have quite a few more stops planned so it is time to move on.
But we have time for one more castle related stop – we wanted to see it from the highway that we saw from the top. The detour is well worth it as the best views of the castle are from here. After enjoying the views for a while it is time to return to town to find the next attraction we want to visit.
