locate our walled towns
welcome / croeso to our walled towns
Our Walled Towns
Conwy
Let’s talk about Conwy. This famous medieval town is like a shrine to history with easy access to the mountains and coast. No stuffy museums here, though. At Conwy Castle you can touch the walls, climb the towers and look out to sea. Once upon a time, in true fairy story fashion, the Castle was painted white and the towers had conical roofs.
These days it’s a great place for real-life Snow Whites to let their imaginations run wild. And with Conwy’s choice of places to eat and drink, Rapunzels won’t have a problem letting down their hair. Two of the Castle Hotel’s chefs are on the Welsh Culinary Team and did rather well at the Culinary World Cup. Their Wynn Suite has a 16th Century 4-Poster bed, too. Which makes it just about the perfect stopover for Sleeping Beauties.
And just about perfect is how we’d describe our location. Right on the shore of the Conwy Estuary. So you won’t be surprised to find that anything to do with water is big news. This section of the estuary has mooring facilities for more than 1000 boats.
And in August there’s a whole week of celebrations devoted to sailing and other ways of getting a good soaking. It’s called the Conwy River Festival. Across the River at Deganwy’s Quay Spa, their 60 minute Hamam treatment massage ends with a good dousing of hot and cold water. A celebration of water in its own right.
Back on dry land, head to Conwy’s cobbled streets to discover over 700 years of history. William Wordsworth was inspired to write poetry here. And Plas Mawr Elizabethan Town House is probably the best preserved house of its kind in the UK. You can see over 600 years of history brought to life at Aberconwy House. It’s thought to be the oldest town house in Wales.
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Walk the ancient cobbled streets. They hold regular events like Conwy Feast in October, a two day festival of food. Or stretch your legs on three quarters of a mile of town wall. Then there’s Telford’s 1826 suspension bridge joined to the castle like its very own drawbridge. And if you feel like crossing over, we’ve more than our fair share of things to see and do outside the walls, too.
At Conwy Estuary’s RSPB nature reserve they’ve recorded well over 200 species. And there are thousands of species in the plant collections at Bodnant Garden including a 55 metre Laburnum Arch. Chocolate box doesn’t come close when describing the tiny village of Rowen. It’s right at the foot of the Tal-y-fan mountains. So there are plenty of walking routes. Funny that the best ones end at the Ty Gwyn pub. It’s not far from our other acclaimed watering hole, The Groes Inn, Wales’ first licensed house, where they’ve been pulling pints since 1573. It’s also got some of the best views. But that’s nothing unusual.
In fact, pretty much everywhere you in go the Conwy Valley is surrounded by beautiful countryside. Betws y Coed in Snowdonia is practically swamped by Gwydir Forest Park and just a short hike away from the mountains. Which could explain why it’s the outdoor equipment shopping capital of Wales.
Take the A5 to Capel Curig. It’s next to the wild foothills of Moel Siabod, Y Glyderau and Y Carneddau. So Snowdonia really is on your doorstep. As is Plas y Brenin National Mountain Centre, where they do a great line in outdoor instruction. Handy if the last time you ventured into the countryside was with the Girl Guides.
- Book your break in Conwy
