VagabondsUSA "TRAVEL IS FATAL TO PREJUDICE, BIGOTRY AND NARROW MINDEDNESS." MARK TWAIN

WHEN ENGLISH KINGS WEREN’T MOUNTING a Crusade or at war with France, they kept themselves in shape by battling the Scots or the Welsh. Decades before he dealt with Scots William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, Edward I, who succeeded  his father Henry III, went a couple of rounds with the Welsh.

                 Harlech Castle

                 Unfinished Beaumaris Castle

Eventually victorious, Edward began a program of colonizing Wales by evicting Welsh peasants replacing them with English settlers. To ensure the security of his new territories Edward planned to surround Wales with a “ring of stone,” 17 stone castles were constructed in strategic locations. It sounds impressive until you realize that Wales has 427 castles, the most per square mile in the world

                Conwy Castle dominates the Conwy River 

Four of Edward’s remaining castles are now World Heritage sites. Three of them are within striking distance of our place in Llandudno Junction. We had visited Caernarfon Castle in 2012 and added three others this week. With so many castles to choose from only the wonderful Conwy Castle seemed worth the £9 admission fee even with our 80p senior discount—Beaumaris Castle was never completed and Harlech is undergoing some repairs. 

                    Medieval Conwy

                   Built in 1588

                 Welsh Tulips

Edward really went overboard on Conwy. Conwy Castle and its eight towers dominate an important crossing point on the Conwy River. The castle is connected to the city walls that encircle the medieval town. But Edward wasn’t finished—he replaced the Welsh residents with English settlers loyal to him.

              St. Mary's Church, Conwy

                Stained Glass and Choir, St. Mary's Church

                  St. Mary's Church, Conwy

Back among the 16^th Century buildings of Conwy, we “discovered” the 13^th Century St. Mary’s Church hidden behind a narrow gate. Originally a Cistercian monastery, St. Mary’s has been the spiritual heart of Conwy for 850 years. While the stained glass windows are not original, the 15^th Century rood screen is said to be among the best in Europe. But it was the initials carved into a pew in 1666 that caught my eye. Boys will—and always have been—boys.