Harlech Castle

Harlech Castle
Castle Square,
Harlech,
Gwynedd
LL46 2YH
Phone : 01766 780552
Cadw Website

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.

Built by Edward I in the late 13th century to fulfil 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 Glyndŵr 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. Looking seawards, Harlech’s battlements spring out of a near-vertical cliff-face,while any landward attackers would first have to deal with a massive twin-towered gatehouse.

The Castle’s breathtaking location makes it unmissable, a fact reinforced by its status as a World Heritage Inscribed site.