We were away from the cottage by 10.00 on the Saturday morning and crossed over the Menai Straits this time via the Menai Suspension bridge buit in 1826 by Thomas Telford.
Instead of driving straight home we took a detour to the town of Conwy with its medieval town walls and castle.
Views from town wall by the castle.
Conwy castle was built in just four years - construction began in 1283 and it was finished in 1287. It is one of the network of castles mentioned in the last post built in North Wales by King Edward I to secure the new principality he gained after the death in 1282 of the Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Gruffuda. The building was supervised by James of St George the master mason from Savoy and the castle was built in a restricted space on a rocky crag. It has two wards that could be defended separately and eight towers along the curtain wall. The inner ward contains medieval royal apartments although Edward I appears only to have stayed at the castle once after it was completed.
The total cost of the castle and town walls came to around £15,000 which is equivalent to approximately £45 million today.
Major repair work had to be carried out around 1347 to re-model the royal apartments. King Richard II sought refuge here in 1399 before his eventual capture at Flint Castle. In 1401 supporters of Owain GlynDwr (see Day One Post on Corwen) captured the castle briefly. In the Civil War Archbishop John Williams fortified and held the castle on behalf of King Charles I and it was one of the last strongholds to succumb to parliamentarian troops. From the 18th century the castle began to attract artists such as J M W Turner and Paul Sandby. In 1986 Conwy along with Beaumaris, Caernarvon and Harlech castles was added to the World Heritage list and today the castle and town walls are in the care of CADW.
The castle was very busy and it wasn't very easy to take photos without hordes of people in the way.
The King's Head is a drawing in space to capture the ghostly presence still of Edward I.
Plants in Walls
While I was wondering backwards and forwards on the ground trying to take pictures without people, B D and E were up on wall walk and towers. To be honest this was one occasion where I did get annoyed with myself and my fear of heights because I think you can see a lot more of the castle and get a far better overview higher up.
Here are the photos D took from the wall walk and towers.
Me taking photos a long way below!
The Royal Chapel with its stone vaulted roof and 3 lancet windows.
By the time B D and E returned I had managed to work out I could access the chapel without going up on the walls so I went off to have a look.
The windows are actually very modern and the artists are Rachel Phillips and Linda Norris. The design structure is based on the map of North Wales and the three windows tell the story of Edward I and the princes of Gwynedd. The windows are inspired by medieval glass fragments in Welsh churches as well as carvings from churches and other medieval buildings such as Plas Mawr house, Conwy. Images are inspired by medieval manuscripts as well as stained glass and also include contemporary images including what may be the first mobile phone in a stained glass window. The panels are installed within the original 13th century glazing groove.
There are a lot of photos - not that good I am afraid - but I wanted to get a record of as many of the images they had used as possible.
The next and final post of the holiday will include a visit to nearby St Mary's Church and a brief look around the town.
Reference: CADW Guide to Conwy Castle
Website: stainedglass.llgc.org.uk/object/4396
*D Photos taken by my son with the Canon SX50HS bridge camera
Rest of photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera
