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Conwy Castle, Wales

 

This image is by Sarah Lionheart and is copyright free

Conwy Castle, overlooking the Conwy estuary, is one of a series of castles built by Edward I in the late thirteenth century to establish English power in Wales. Building work started in 1283 and resulted in one of the most impressive castles in Wales. Castles tend to divide themselves into the symbolic and the brutally functional. Conwy leans towards the functional in a hugely impressive way, with eight towers and monumental connecting walls. A good castle will look so impressive that it probably won't have to be involved in actual fighting very often. So it was with Conwy. Conwy wasn't attacked until the English Civil War in the seventeenth century.

Today Conwy has no role to play in physical defense. But even if it's functional role has passed, a symbolic importance remains. Originally castles consisted of huge circular banks and ditches, built around hilltops. These were similar in design to mystical circular banks and ditches Neolithic people built at religious sites like Avebury in a quest for spiritual security. Even today church design typically incorporates references to castles, with battlements and towers common to both. So even though castles no longer provide physical security, they retain a drama and mystique based on their ancient associations with security in its widest sense.

A wall was also built around the settlement of Conwy, to protect it from hostile Welsh. Much of this wall survives in a state of good preservation. It now serves to define the town.

There is a shop, an exhibition housed in one of the eight towers, information panels and a car park. No dogs permitted, except assistance dogs.

Opening Times: 1st April to 31st October 9am to 5pm daily.

From 1st November to 31st March 9.30am to 4pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 4pm Sunday.

Last admission is 30 minutes prior to closing. Closed 24th - 26th December and 1st January.

Address: Conwy Castle, Rose Hill Street, Conwy LL32 8LD

Directions: Conwy is off the A547 in north Wales, between Bangor and Colwyn Bay. Click here for an interactive map centred on Conwy.

Access: Wheelchair users can easily access the shop, pay desk and exhibition. The public toilets next to the shop include one Radar key toilet. The car park has five disabled spaces.

Contact:

telephone: 01492 592358

web site: http://www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/default.asp?id=6&PlaceID=55