Fort focus
Harlech Castle WALES Beaumaris Castle, Anglesey
The last of the royal strongholds created by Edward I in Wales, this stunning castle sits at the other end of the Menai Strait from Caernarfon.
An unfinished masterpiece of near-perfect symmetry, architect James St George designed the fortress with four concentric rings of formidable defences including a moat. After King Edward’s great castles of Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech, Beaumaris, meaning “beautiful marshes”, was the crowning glory.
All four Welsh castles share UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
Construction work petered out in the 1320s due to lack of funds and trouble brewing in Scotland. The south gatehouse and six great towers in the inner ward never reached their intended height and the Llanfaes gate was barely started. ■■cadw.gov.wales
Built on top of a sheer rocky crag opposite the mighty peaks of Snowdonia, Harlech Castle has the most spectacular setting of the four of Edward I’s striking fortresses in Wales. It took seven years to complete its classic walls within walls design by James St George. The structure withstood many attacks thanks to its ‘way from the sea’ – a path of 108 steps to the castle that allowed those inside to be fed and watered by ship.
Loved by regimental bands and rugby fans, the nation’s unofficial anthem, Men of Harlech, is said to describe the siege that took place here during the War of the Roses, where a handful of men held out against a besieging army of thousands. An amazing floating bridge now allows visitors to enter the way the architect intended. ■■cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/harlech-castle