A castle, shops and the sea! (Conwy)

Member Name: SusanLesley

Product:	Conwy
Date:	17/05/03 (86 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pretty, Lots to see, The castle

Disadvantages: Narrow footpaths

As you probably know by now we moved to North Wales last year to live in Llandudno. It's a beautiful area with plenty of places within easy reach for days out and Conwy is one of them, so I'd better tell you all about it!

Conwy is west of Llandudno, sheltered by the Great Ormes Head and looking out towards Anglesey and Puffin Island.

The most striking thing about Conwy is the castle, built by Edward I as the third of his Welsh fortresses. It is built on a strategic site on the Conwy estuary giving it river, sea and land defences.

The castle consists of an inner and outer ward surrounded by eight drum towers, which are all linked to one another by a high wall. The four easternmost towers have extra turrets as this was the residential area of the castle and thus needed more protection. The views from the walls and the towers are magnificent and it is easy to see why this was such a strategic defence position.

The sight of the castle greets you as you approach Conwy from the east on the A55, over the newest of the three bridges spanning the Conwy estuary. The first bridge was built in 1826 by Thomas Telford and is a lovely suspension bridge. I always think that, because of its position next to the castle, it looks as though it's the drawbridge! It is only open to pedestrians nowadays since the second road bridge was built in 1956. The third bridge is Stephenson's tubular Railway Bridge and was completed in 1848.

Conwy boasts the smallest house in Great Britain and it was actually lived in until the early 1900's. It is a Victorian house measuring just 122 inches in height and 72 inches in width! It is a one up, one down - cooking was done on the open fire, the settle doubled as a coal bunker and the water tap was under the stairs. I use the term stairs loosely - it is just a ladder for you to climb and look into the bedroom above. It is an amazing place to have a look at and ladies dressed in Welsh Nation
al Dress take the entrance money of £1 per person and limit the amount of people trying to get in at any one time! I would guess no more than five - and even that would be cosy! By the way I never did find the loo .......

I haven't actually been in the castle yet but have had a walk along the north-west section of the town wall, from where you get a fantastic view of the surrounding area. You can see the castle (obviously!) and the estuary beyond and, in the other direction, the foothills of the Snowdonian Mountains.

The town's finest building apart from the castle is arguably the Plas Mawr, a stately gabled mansion built by an Elizabethan adventurer in 1577. It is now owned and maintained by the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art. The house is reputedly haunted so beware!

Conwy is a paradise for historians and architects alike having over 200 listed buildings, the oldest of which is Aberconwy House dating back to 14th century. It is a half-timbered, stone fronted building, which was built by a prosperous merchant. It now houses an exhibition showing Conwy through the ages, including a traditional 18th century kitchen - no microwave here!

There are plenty of little shops here in Conwy if you fancy a good mooch round, or you can go down to the quayside where there are always boats coming and going be it pleasure craft or working fishing boats.

Talking of shops the chip shop in the main street does the best chips for miles around and the ice cream shop also in the main street makes ice cream especially for diabetics!

Conwy is definitely well worth a visit if you're in the area, but it does get very crowded in the height of season and the footpaths are quite narrow which is a disadvantage!

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