We parked up and then had to wait around for ages whilst we waited for the council to attend to fix the faulty parking ticket machine.
Conwy is the classic walled town. Its circuit of walls, over three quarters of a mile long and guarded by no less than 22 towers, is one of the finest in the World.
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| An aerial shot taken from Visit Conwy.com |
Llywelyn Fawr statue, Lancaster Square
Llywelyn himself may have sown the seed of the idea that he founded the abbey, or the idea may have stemmed from the word “funder” being misinterpreted as “founder”, Conwy historian Llew Groom has suggested.
Llywelyn died in 1240 and was buried in the Abbey grounds. Later that century King Edward I expelled the monks and Llywelyn’s remains were moved to Maenan, in the Conwy Valley. It is said that Conwy Castle stands on the spot where Llywelyn was interred. Llywelyn’s stone coffin is now in the church at Llanrwst, but his remains were lost long ago, perhaps during the 16th-century dissolution of Britain’s monasteries. The original church of Aberconwy Abbey survives, with various alterations, as St Mary’s Church.
Llywelyn was reputedly born in Dolwyddelan Castle, near Betws-y-Coed, c.1174. He defeated his own uncle in a battle near Conwy in 1194. He subsequently expanded his territory, bringing unprecedented unity to Wales. This earned him the title Prince of Wales. In 1205 he married Joan, the daughter of King John, but the relationship between the rulers of Wales and England was tempestuous. John once forced Llywelyn to surrender land east of the Conwy estuary. Llywelyn got his revenge when he seized Shrewsbury in 1215 in support of the campaign by disgruntled English barons to force King John to sign a bill of rights, the Magna Carta.
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Royal Cambrian Academy of Art |
Constituted in 1881 by Queen Victoria the Royal Cambrian Academy is a
centre for artistic excellence in Wales, it aims to exhibit work by
members of the Academy, to promote up and coming artists of quality, to
mount historical exhibitions and offer a lively venue for education.
In the late 19th century, North Wales was home to the first artists' colony in Britain. It emerged from the summer sojourns of David Cox to Betws-y-Coed between 1844 and 1856. By 1881 the Conwy Valley was at the peak of its fame as a home and resort for large numbers of professional and amateur artists. The prospect of viewing painters at work attracted a great many visitors, as a consequence the seaside town of Llandudno emerged as a centre for the sale of many such pictures.
The seven men who launched the Academy were all devotees of the artists' colony, most of them originally from the north west of England from where Betws-y-Coed had become easily accessible by train.
In the late 19th century, North Wales was home to the first artists' colony in Britain. It emerged from the summer sojourns of David Cox to Betws-y-Coed between 1844 and 1856. By 1881 the Conwy Valley was at the peak of its fame as a home and resort for large numbers of professional and amateur artists. The prospect of viewing painters at work attracted a great many visitors, as a consequence the seaside town of Llandudno emerged as a centre for the sale of many such pictures.
The seven men who launched the Academy were all devotees of the artists' colony, most of them originally from the north west of England from where Betws-y-Coed had become easily accessible by train.
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| RNLI doing an demonstration of a rescue on the River Conwy. |
It effectively became a garrison town. King Edward I was actually besieged in the castle in 1295 by Madog ap Llywelyn, or Prince Madoc, but the castle was relieved by the English Navy and the castle survived. Conwy Castle was captured, by the Welsh prince Owain Glyndwr (c. 1349 or 1359 – c. 1416) using trickery, but his occupation was short lived, and he fled west, pursued by the English to Harlech Castle. Sometime after the Welsh uprisings had been controlled, the castle was no longer garrisoned, and left to deteriorate. In 1642 during the English Civil War, Conwy Castle was again garrisoned and repaired by Royalist troops. The parliamentarian army laid siege to the castle in 1646; it surrendered in August, after three months. The Roundheads proceeded to destroy the castle, to prevent its reuse by the Royalists, so it became a derelict ruin. In 1660 after the reformation of King Charles II (29th May 1630 – 6th February 1685), the castle was returned to the third Lord Conwy, a building beyond economic repair. The Lord Conwy decided to salvage what he could from the building and sold the remaining lead and timber. CADW now maintains the remains of Conwy Castle, and it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in North Wales.
It is reputed that Conwy Castle is haunted, and the following strange phenomena have been witnessed and reported by visitors and citizens of Conwy.
1. A strong smell of incense has been reported on entering the upstairs floored chapel.
2. There have been reputed sightings of a black silhouette watching visitors.
3. People have been overcome with a sense of terror whilst in the towers, and have had to leave the castle.
4. Allegedly, the apparition of a monk has been reported watching people in the castle.
5. The reputed silhouette of a large man in armour and wearing a helmet, looking out of a window, lit up as if by candlelight, has been reported from a person walking along the street outside the castle at night.
6. Tourists have reputedly claimed to have seen apparitions in period dress whilst gazing up at the castle from the street.
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| Aberconwy House |
The house was lived in until 1900, when the tenant was a 6-foot-3-inch (1.91 m) fisherman named Robert Jones. The rooms were too small for him to stand up in fully and he was eventually forced to move out when the council declared the house unfit for human habitation. The house is still owned by his descendants. In June 2006, there was a 50% loss of tourists to the house because of nearby roadworks.
This house is painted red and it stands near the Conwy Castle walls. It is open from spring to autumn. Admission is £1.00 for adults or 50p for children and there is information about the house inside. A Welsh lady in traditional clothing stands outside when the house is open and will tell you about the history of the house. The upstairs is so minute that there is room only for a bed and a bedside cabinet. Visitors are unable to go upstairs to the first floor, due to structural instability, but can view it from the step ladder.
We walk back to the car, but what a gem of a town. Worthy of another visit soon I hope.