Historic landmark? It’s just a pile of old stones
BEAUMARIS Castle sees upwards of 80,000 visitors every year, with people travelling from far and wide to see the historical landmark.
Despite being hailed as one of the country’s most notable historical sites, one tourist was not impressed by what the 700 year-old fortress has to offer.
In a scathing TripAdvisor review, an American tourist has handed the Anglesey Castle a one-star review.
Describing the landmark as a “Pile of old stones and a Health and Safety Nightmare”, the user lexx1314 slammed it as “a pile of old garbage”. Claiming to have “been around the block a few times, and “seen virtually every castle in Europe”, the Californian goes on complain that the centuries-old building has no toilet facilities, no food or drink concessions and is “poorly if not illegally lit”.
Despite their disappointment, the reviewer goes on to express concern about the health and safety measures for visitors in place at the castle, saying: “All it takes is some absent minded mother with her face buried in Facebook on her phone or checking out the price of the locally watered down Gin to let little Harry fall through the rails to their doom.
“Or some pot bellied father with a nylon football top and a beard still drunk from the night before to drop his guard and let little Tyson break his neck on the wet stairs.”
They go on to claim the safety standards are lower than many wartorn countries, saying there are “are lower than other places in the world such as Iraq, Syria or North Korea.”
According to their review, lexx1314 spent just 18 minutes in the heritage site before asking for a refund.
Beaumaris Castle is a Cadw managed site and is ranked as number one on the list of things to do in the town of Beaumaris – boasting an average of 4.5 stars on the website.
Other recent reviews describe the castle as “Beautiful” and “Great for a family visit”.
With a total of more than 1,500 reviews, 89% rate the attraction as “excellent” or “very good” with lexx1314’s contribution making up just one of six “poor” ratings.
The 13th century building is an official UNESCO world heritage site - described as an “extraordinary repertory of medieval architectural form” and Britain’s “most perfect example of symmetrical concentric planning”. In fact, for many years the castle was regarded as the pinnacle of military engineering during Edward I’s reign.