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Spectacularly sited Harlech Castle seems to grow naturally from the rock on which it is perched. Like an all-seeing sentinel, it gazes out across land and sea, keeping a watchful eye over Snowdonia. The English monarch Edward I built Harlech in the late 13th-century to fulfill this very role. It was one of the most formidable of his 'iron ring' of fortresses designed to contain the Welsh in their mountain fastness. Ironically, in 1404 it was taken by Welsh leader Owain Glyn Dwr who proceeded to hold a parliament here. A long siege here during the Wars of the Roses inspired the stirring song 'Men of Harlech'. Although an imposing edifice, Harlech is at one with its surroundings, a quality rare in the great Edwardian castles. There is a sense of harmony at work here, created by the way in which the castle builders took care to exploit the site's natural advantages.
Admission Charge: Opening Hours: Closed 24-26 December, 1 January Back to the top. |
Harlech
Castle
Looking
seawards, Harlech's battlements spring out of the near-vertical
cliff-face, while any landward attackers would first have to deal
with a massive twin-towered gatehouse. The sea, like Snowdonia,
is one of the key to Harlech's siting. Sea borne access was crucial
in times of siege, and although the waters of Tremadog Bay have
receded over the centuries, they may originally have lapped the
cliffs beneath the castle. The fortress's massive inner walls and
towers still stand almost to their full height. The views from its
lofty battlements are truly panoramic, extending from the dunes
at its feet to the purple mass of Snowdonia in the distance. Harlech,
a combination of magnificent medieval military architecture and
breathtaking location, is an unmissable castle, a fact reinforced
by its status as a World Heritage Inscribed site.