Our first glimpse of Conwy Castle was undoubtedly breathtaking. It sits so majestically contouring to its rock base and reflects its medieval essence over the Conwy River and across the town it was built to protect. This protection is evidenced by the wall, which completely encloses the town. We learned that this is one of the most completely intact town walls to be found today.

King Edward I built Conwy Castle as part of his "iron ring of castles" around Wales. The castle as well as the three quarter mile wall around the city was built from 1283 to 1288. Over 1500 skilled tradesmen and laborers worked on the construction much of the time. The result was a mighty defensive castle with eight massive towers and a high medieval curtain wall around the city. The wall boasts twenty-one towers and three original gateways. It is easy to disregard the few modern structures around and mentally visit this castle and town as it was in the thirteenth century.

The castle was built to show England's strength, power, terror, and dominion over the Welsh people. The town walls were there to provide protection for the English colony that lived within the area of the castle. So it is not surprising that the Welsh hated the structures for that reason. Today the Welsh have managed to reclaim the town. It has replaced the English oppression with its own medieval character.

We visited Conwy in 2000 and 2001 and will go back again if the opportunity presents itself.