Grade I listed, this is one of the first road suspension bridges in the world and is now cared for by the National Trust. It is right by Conwy Castle and is free to access. It’s an incredibly impressive structure and you can get some really good views of it from the top of the castle as well as at ground level.
The town walls of Conwy are part of the fortification of the town that includes the castle. They cover 1,400 yards in an almost unbroken circuit around the town. And the almost unbroken circuit is an important distinction because more than once I saw guidebooks/tour guides suggesting that you can walk around the town walls the same way as you can at York and no, you definitely can’t. In fact I found some extra COVID restrictions had been left in place with some of the walls closed off completely and others with instructions that the route was one way only – at some places that was completely impractical and if you’d followed the signs your only option would have been to jump up into the sea!
Conwy Castle, like its fellow Welsh castles of Beaumaris and Caernarfon are World Heritage sites and looked after by Cadw. Built between 1283 and 1287 under the orders of Edward I as part of his conquest of Wales it’s an impressive medieval fortress that absolutely dominates the skyline and is very well preserved for its age, including the most intact set of medieval royal apartments in Wales.
I visited St. John’s Church in Carrington back when we had some snow in March. The doors were locked so I couldn’t go inside but the graveyard proved to be quite interesting on its own. Building of the church began in 1841 thanks to an endowment from Ichabod Wright, a local banker who lived in Mapperley Hall not far from the church and which has since been turned into flats.
I first spotted St Grwst’s Church from across the Conwy River when I was photographing the area and that reminded me that I’d read in the history of St Mary’s Church in Conwy that a connection to Llywelyn the Great could be found at St Grwst’s and it was somewhere worth visiting. According to legend a Welsh nobleman called Nefydd Hardd murdered a son of Owain Gwynedd, king of Gwynedd, North Wales and in atonement for his actions Nefydd’s son had the church built in 1170. It was dedicated to Grwst, a saint who had set up a church nearby in the 6th century.
Just to the left of Llanrwst Railway Station, heading towards the town, is the Llanrwst War Memorial. The memorial commemorates the dead of both World Wars including Janet Jones, who was a teacher before enlisting as one of the early members of the Women’s Royal Air Force. She died on 21 December 1918, after the war had ended, aged only 28. Her brother Hugh is also remembered here, he died in Gallipoli in 1915 aged just 23.
Pont Fawr (Big Bridge) was built in the 1630s and is often called “Inigo Jones’ Bridge” after the architect of such buildings as Banqueting House and St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden. I say is often called, because there’s not actually a lot of evidence to prove that Inigo Jones was involved at all, but there isn’t anything to say he wasn’t either. A plaque on the bridge claims that Jones designed it at the behest of Sir John Wynn of, you guessed it, Gwydir Castle.
I was surprised on making my way to Gwydir Castle, to spot a stone circle in a field. I didn’t venture any further than this as I didn’t really have the time for a long detour but I did make a mental note to do some research when I got home. It turns out these are a rather recent addition, constructed for the National Eisteddfod of Wales (a large festival of music and poetry). The festival started in 1861 in Aberdare and happens annually in different locations around Wales. It first came to Llanrwst in 1951, when these stones were erected. The Gorsedd is an association of people who have made a significant contribution to Welsh language, literature and culture and is responsible for the ceremonial aspects of the National Eisteddfod which often takes place at the stone circles. A rather unusual bit of history but a nice addition to the scenery.
On leaving Gwydir Castle I was heading back towards Llanrwst when I spotted some stone steps leading up the side of a hill opposite. Intrigued I decided to investigate. It lead me up a steep winding path through dense trees with birds that I heard but couldn’t see singing all around me.
I came across Gwydir Castle while browsing Conwy’s tourist page and immediately decided that it was somewhere I wanted to see. As already mentioned in the post about Llanrwst, the town is easy to get to by train and the castle is a pleasant roughly 20 minute walk from the station. It isn’t open every day so you really must check dates and times before you travel. Admission is currently £10 for adults.
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