Conwy Castle

 Dear Gentle Readers

We have arrived in Wales during the tail end of a heatwave and all the dwellings, including our hotel, are not equipped to deal with such heat. Last night we slept with a fan blowing on us all night, it was so hot. Our room only has a very small window we can open, so cooling is practically non-existent.

Today we visited Conwy Castle, one of the two most splendidly preserved castles in Wales. This was our first view. It was built by King Edward I in 1283, taking 6 years and costing £15,000, an astonishing amount of money and worth many tens of million pounds today.

Conwy Castle is just part of the wall completely enclosing Conwy and you can see most of it in this picture. It has survived well considering it is nearly 800 years old.

This is what it would have looked like upon completion. Edward I spent ruinous amounts of money on building castles. It sent him broke, plus an Italian family he lent money from.

The castle and wall were built on the coast so they could be supplied by ships if under siege, which is why Edward I chose this location.

Here's Victoria on the wall leading up to the castle.

This the view from inside the castle.

This is the Great Hall where everyone ate. The floor originally covered all this part.

This is the original stone steps to ascend a tower. You would have to be very brave (or foolish) to use these. The towers we ascended had modern concrete steps circling a central stone pillar. Even though they were much better than these, they were still nerve wracking to climb and descend!

This is the tower I climbed up. Victoria politely declined to follow me up there.

This was the view from said tower. Was it worth the climb? You bet! What goes up though, must come down and the descent was more harrowing than the climb. You only have a thick rope to hang onto as you climb or descend. At one part of the stairs, it is so dark compared to outside, I couldn't see the stairs which made the descent even more difficult and slow.

These are the Royal Quarters where the King, Queen and children would have lived. Imagine the walls plastered and painted, timber floors and wall hangings and fireplaces to keep you warm. They would have been palatial. All that remains now are the stone walls.

They even had a spring-fed well, necessary in times of sieges. The plaque next to it informed me it was 91 feet deep.

Next we went to visit Caernarfon Castle.