Beaumaris Castle
Visited here on a 3 day trip around North Wales. Beautiful castle and maintained really well. Great staff, friendly and welcoming and also very helpful, informing us of a pass for other venues in case we were visiting those also. We said no thankyou and were told if we change our mind he would change it on the way out. Cost was £6pp, which wasn't too bad as we spent over an hour roaming around the grounds and different levels of the castle. Really enjoyed it and would recommend it too anyone if you like history. Took some lovely photos of the castle and also of the seagulls and their young that inundate the top.
Beaumaris Castle on the Island of Anglesey is the great unfinished masterpiece. It was built as one of the 'iron ring' of North Wales castles by the English monarch Edward I, to stamp his authority on the Welsh. But it was never finished money and supplies ran out before the fortifications reached their full height.
Beaumaris is nonetheless an awesome sight, regarded by many as the finest of all the great Edwardian castles in Wales. Begun in 1295, it was also the last. The king's military architect, the brilliant James of St George, brought all his experience and inspiration to bear when building this castle, the biggest and most ambitious venture he ever undertook.
n pure architectural terms Beaumaris, the most technically perfect castle in Britain, has few equals. Its ingenious and perfectly symmetrical concentric 'walls within walls' design, involving no less than four successive lines of fortifications, was state of the art for the late 13th century.
Vid by Fin Dwyer.....please click the link to visit his page
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The stronghold stands at one end of Castle Street, inextricably linked with the history of the town. This was the 'beau marais' (fair marsh) that Edward chose for a castle and garrison town. From the outside, Beaumaris appears almost handsome. It does not rear up menacingly like other fortresses but sits contentedly in a scenic setting overlooking mountains and the sea, partially surrounded by a water filled moat.
The gate next-the-sea entrance protected the tidal dock which allowed supply ships to sail right up to the castle. Beaumaris is endlessly fascinating. There is so much to see here, the 14 separate major obstacles that any attacker would have to overcome, the hundreds of cleverly sited arrow-slits, the deadly use of 'murder holes' to defend entrances.
This outstanding fortress is a World Heritage inscribed site.
Vid by M3GA...please click link to visit the youtube page
