Explore the medieval town of Chester and a couple of awesome castles in Northern Wales.
Day 22 brought me to the fantastic medieval town of Chester, England and Northern Wales. The weather, albeit windy, was fantastic for a British October day, a great day for exploring. I packed way too much into one day. There was no chance of seeing it all, but I still got to experience the area as much as I could.
Google Maps The route I took on my 22nd day of my 30 day adventure.
Stop 1: Chester
Chester is one of the best-preserved walled cities in Britain. It’s full of real medieval buildings and some Victorian faux ones. Just as well, because the city center is adorable, a joy to explore. I wish I had more time there than I did and I even stayed longer than I planned.
Chester was founded back by the Romans as a fort in 79 CE, called Deva Victrix. The settlement later grew in prominence, even during the Danish invasion in the 7th century and it was the last city to fall to the Normans in England. William the Conqueror built a castle here to help defend the Welsh border.
First view of the city center of Chester was this fantastic building. Completely fake, but awesome.
It even had this cool little king.
Completely fake medieval, but I’ll take it. Just look at that woodwork.
I have a ton of photos of just random buildings on this stretch of street.
Just look at that awesome gate.
Adorable little shopping area.
The Eastgate and its fantastic Eastgate Clock. The city walls were converted into walkways, which is pretty cool.
Now for Chester Cathedral. The cathedral is a hodge podge of different styles of architecture added between 1093 and the early 16th century. The bell tower wasn’t added until the 20th century.
Chester Cathedral and its central tower.
Not the front but the current entrance to the cathedral. I love all that detail on the stonework.
Now I finally found the front of the church. Pretty imposing.
The central nave was brightly lit by the sun, which was great since the day before was rainy and dark.
Super cool wooden ceiling.
The quire (the choir section) and the front altar. The wooden benches are so intricate.
I was not kidding about the intricate wood work.
I could go on about Chester for days but now it’s time to head into Wales.
Stop 2: Conwy Castle
Wales is well-known for its castles. The Welsh didn’t like Norman or English rule and rebelled and attacked a lot. Many castles were built throughout the Welsh countryside to quell the local populous.
Conwy Castle was built by Edward I, during his conquest of Wales, between 1283 and 1289. He created an entire walled town here, called Conwy, which has now grown well outside of its original gates. It came to a ruin during the English Civil War. Its iron and lead were sold off by 1665, leaving a very impressive ruin we see today (with some Victorian restorations, of course).
The walled city of Conwy. You can just make out the roofs of some buildings inside.
It may be a parking sign, but it was awesome seeing some Welsh. Most signs in Wales are bilingual.
One of the ways to get to the castle from the car park is to walk on the city walls. Very cool.
Partially ruins but still impressive.
There isn’t much left inside, mostly just a shell.
This castle has so many towers.
Stop 3: Beaumaris Castle
I had to kind of rush through Conwy Castle to make to Beaumaris Castle in time. Beaumaris is another castle built by Edward I to quell the local resistance. The castle was never completely finished, other wars kept coming up somewhere else. Beaumaris is awesome with towers and a moat and even a draw bridge and it is in fantastic shape considering it was never finished. UNESCO says it is one of the finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military architecture in Europe and, therefore, called is as a World Heritage site.
Impressive start to an awesome castle. And, yes, there would have been a drawbridge there.
A little further down the path, you can really see the moat.
The outer walls have lower towers. The inner walls would have had taller towers to see even further. If the outer walls were breached, there were the even thicker walls of the inner castle.
This is the best warning sign ever. You can slip on the rocks. You can fall down the stairs. You can also be attacked by birds. Love it!
The interior of the castle would have been full of buildings and other activity.
Stop 4: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Llanfair PG (the short form) is only known because its 58-character name is the longest town name in Europe, second in the world. Cheesy, I know. But I had to stop.
Of course, the town only got that long name because they wanted to town to be memorable.
Stop 5: Harlech
I got to Harlech about sunset, just enough time for a little wander. It’s an adorable little town known for its imposing castle.
Harlech Castle. I wasn’t able to go inside because of the time, but it is still awesome of the inside. The town is built up on a promontory, so the castle would have had views for miles around, including the nearby coast.
It was a crazy full day of faux medieval, and some actual medieval, architecture and a few castles. I could have spent an entire day just at Chester alone, let alone adding three castles to the mix. Wales has so many castles, that I couldn’t visit all of them. I guess if you want to see a castle in great condition, head to Wales.
Check out Day 23 where I explore more of the fantastic countryside of Wales!
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Start at the beginning of my 30 days around Great Britain!
