Castle-d out (aka Wales Part II)

Caernarfon Castle in Northern Wales

Chris and I have been to four castles together so far in our 2 months of living in England. That may not seem like a lot but let me tell you – it is – and we are castle-d out! Chris’ parents just recently visited and Chris took them to Windsor Castle – his fifth castle in two months! Too many castles!

Our first castle visit to Hampton Court was by far our most enjoyable castle excursion so far. (It may or may not have benefited from being the first – see my description of our trip there and decide for yourself!) However, on our recent trip to Northern Wales we went to Caernarfon Castle and it was pretty darn cool. Like really, really I wish I had been taken there when I was little and it was still socially acceptable for me to run in public, because I would have run through every stone corridor and up and down every steeply spiraling staircase up to every turret, and then all the way around the battlements.

Learn from my mistake and wear appropriate footwear - stylish flats just won't do.

This was a medieval marvel. No fancy fabrics and furnishings, just stone, and iron chains, and an impressive impenetrability despite the disrepair. (Although the Welsh villagers did manage to burn the castle of their English oppressors down on at least one occasion.)

Caernarfon was built by Edward I in the early 13^th century as part of many castles and forts built in Northern Wales to suppress uprisings in the newly acquired territory. Edward I was a crusader and spent many years fighting in Europe and the Middle East so his castles were inspired by those he had seen on his travels.

The only drawback to this castle was the lack of information about the history of the castle and the area. There was only one room dedicated to dolling out historical information about the castle - and no general historical information at all. This is in stark contrast with all other castles we've visited, all of which have had more than ample educational information available everywhere. However, the one room was a nice summary of the castle's history and besides, wandering around on top of the stone walls and turrets, and roaming the dark, dank stone corridors and towers is much more fun than reading anyway.