Wonders and whimsy in one of Britain’s most underrated regions

Castles. It’s easy to become blasé about them when you’re travelling in Europe. From shelled-out relics to opulent chateaux, they’re rarely far from view. And that’s doubly so in Wales, where more than 400 castles scatter a country half the size of Switzerland. But even the most jaded fortress- hopper will be spellbound by Caernarfon Castle. I’m gleefully roaming the hair-raising ramparts and colossal towers of this breathtaking landmark, which lords magisterially by the mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia) on the north-west coast of Wales, a pocket of Britain rich in wonders and whimsy.

Caernarfon Castle is one of the medieval wonders of Wales.

Begun in 1283, swirling with tales of battles, sieges, plots and fables, Caernarfon is the mightiest of the “Iron Ring” of (now UNESCO-listed) castles built for King Edward I of England to help crush a Welsh rebellion. Eager for supremacy over the British Isles, Edward would later invade Scotland, ensuring Mel Gibson an iconic future role as William “Braveheart” Wallace. It was at Caernarfon that current King Charles was formally invested as Prince of Wales in 1969. The kneeler he used, and the chair that seated Queen Elizabeth II for the ceremony (it was carved with a Welsh dragon), are among the items displayed in the castle’s labyrinthine exhibition spaces.

They’re worth a browse, as are the contemporary sculptures peppering the courtyards, but it’s when you’re on the ramparts looking outwards that Caernarfon is at its most enthralling. Especially if, like us, you get here first thing, before the tour groups arrive, and you’ll feel like the king or queen of your very own castle. Glancing over the colourfully painted shops, cafes and pubs of Caernarfon town, and the yachts and fishing vessels bobbing in the quay below, the peaks and valleys of Snowdonia rock and roll beyond. Forming Wales’ largest national park, they’re a ruggedly photogenic playground for hikers, mountain bikers, whitewater rafters, wellness seekers, road trippers and steam train enthusiasts.

By the medieval town walls of Caernarfon, we board the Welsh Highland Railway, Britain’s longest narrow-gauge heritage railway. Its locomotives chug and choo-choo 40 kilometres past Snowdonia’s vertiginous ridges, glacial lakes and burbling streams. You can hop off at quaint stone-built villages like Beddgelert and walk through gloriously lush meadows grazed by some of Wales’ 10 million or so sheep (several will end up in the lamb stews, shanks and tacos you’ll see on Welsh menus). Snowdonia is now also officially known by its Welsh name, Eryri. Suppressed for centuries as English dominated, this ancient Celtic language has reasserted itself, particularly here in Wales’ north-west, where more than half the population speak it as fluently as English.

Stone buildings beside the river Glaslyn, in Beddgelert, in Snowdonia National Park.Credit: Getty Images

One stronghold for the Welsh language is Ynys Mon – or the Isle of Anglesey, a Singapore-sized island facing Snowdonia across the Menai Strait, a channel famed as much for its oysters and mussels as its fog and tidal swirls. You can canoe, kayak or take high-speed rigid inflatable boat tours on this tempestuous strait, but we’re content to gaze over it at Dylans, a trendy waterfront restaurant serving Welsh produce, including seafood, in Menai Bridge, a little harbour town named after the world’s first suspension bridge, which joined Anglesey with the mainland in 1826.

Another day, we watch the sun illuminating the verdant Snowdonian landscapes above the strait as we bathe in open-air barrels filled with seaweed-infused 40C water. This is a soothing option at Halen Mon (Anglesey Sea Salt), a family-run company that transforms the local seawater into a refined seasoning lauded by chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal. On Halen Mon’s tours, you’ll discover the production process, crunch on varieties of salt and sample salt-flecked gin.

Our base in Anglesey is Beaumaris, a genteel, strait-hugging town that’s home to another of Edward I’s hulking fortresses (flanked by a moat, it was never finished and boasts the moniker “the greatest castle never built”). We stay a few doors down at The Bull’s Head, a 15th-century inn with atmospheric nooks and crannies, including the low-ceilinged, timber-beamed bar where I nurse a Welsh Penderyn whisky, eavesdrop on the locals’ sing-song conversations and creak the floorboards while nosing among memorabilia about notable former guests. Charles Dickens stayed here in 1859 to investigate the tragedy of the Royal Charter, a gold-carrying ship that was wrecked in a storm off the Anglesey coast on a voyage from Melbourne to Liverpool. More than 400 passengers and crew perished.

Looking towards Beaumaris from the pier on the Menai Straits in Anglesey,Credit: Getty Images

From Stone Age tribes and ancient Roman soldiers to Celtic druids and monks, Anglesey has never been short of intriguing characters. And we meet one at Melin Llynon, Wales’ last surviving windmill.

Melin Llynon, Llanddeusant windmill on Anglesey North Wales.Credit: iStock

Its sails twirl above the island’s rolling farmland. Richard Holt, who has overseen the restoration of this 18th-century mill so it can make flour again, is an acclaimed pastry chef who swapped the buzz of Michelin-starred London restaurants to return home to Anglesey to hand-craft gourmet chocolate and doughnuts (called Monuts, in honour of the island’s Welsh name). Holt often dons a suit and top hat, though he’s more of a Welsh Willy Wonka than a Mad Hatter. His confectionery shop and the windmill are part of a quirky family-friendly attraction (open April-October) that also has replica Iron Age roundhouses and a woodland hiding life-size models of African safari animals.

From nearby Holyhead, Anglesey’s chief port, you may be tempted to catch a ferry to Dublin, but we’re lured back to the Welsh mainland and to the southern fringes of Snowdonia, where Portmeirion quickly has us under its spell. This dreamlike coastal resort has a Mediterranean-esque aura, particularly on warm summer afternoons when visitors amble with ice-creams coloured in similar tones to the eclectic buildings garlanded here with domes, gables and colonnades. Portofino, on the Italian Riviera, was one inspiration for Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, who fashioned Portmeirion in a medley of architectural styles between the 1920s and 70s. After his death, his ashes were launched over the village in a fireworks display.

Portmeirion once attracted famous rock stars, playwrights and actors, and it was a filming location for The Prisoner, a cult 1960s TV series that still brings in fans from across the world, including, we’re told, Australians. In the show, an abducted secret agent (played by Patrick McGoohan) was peeved to wake up in this mysterious village, but I’m delighted to, having fallen for Portmeirion’s charms on a day trip years ago. There’s something magical about wandering its lanes, gardens, forests and clifftops and lingering in its beautifully groomed piazza without the crowds.

Picturesque Portmeirion.Credit: Getty Images

Cute self-catering cottages and serviced apartments with mod-cons sprinkle the village and there are two four-star hotels. One nestles by the sandy Dwyryd estuary and has an art deco-style dining room by Sir Terence Conran with food that’s both artfully presented and flavour-packed (my handpicked crab, medium-rare dry-aged Welsh beef sirloin, and raspberry and elderflower mille-feuille all hit the spot).

Stone bridges and villages are a familiar site in the countryside of north-west Wales.

The village’s other hotel, the neo-gothic Castell Deudraeth, takes its name from a 12th-century fortress constructed nearby, apparently for a Welsh prince. That was later destroyed but some of its stone remains were recycled into the campanile (belltower) that soars over Portmeirion. I could get used to the view of it from my apartment’s juliet balcony, but our road trip isn’t over yet. More enchanting sights and scenery, and, yes, a few more castles, await on this rewarding Welsh adventure.

FIVE OTHER HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTH-WEST WALES

Pale Hall
Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill previously stayed at this dapper country house hotel in southern Snowdonia’s bucolic countryside. Its Michelin Green starred-restaurant has seasonal Welsh menus and an excellent list of British wines, including plummy Welsh reds that evoke France’s Burgundy. palehall.co.uk

Holy Island

The Anglesey Coastal Path.

Hike a chunk of Anglesey’s 200-kilometre coastal path, which also threads onto Holy Island, a much smaller island connected by bridge. You might spot breeding puffins in the northern spring, and in clear weather, Ireland is visible from the lighthouse-studded clifftops. walescoastpath.gov.uk

Britain’s longest place name
Stop for a photo at the village train station in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Boasting 58 letters, this Anglesey tourist magnet is often shortened to Llanfair PG. See visitanglesey.co.uk/en-gb

Heritage railways
Steam trains haul passengers up Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), Wales’ highest peak (1085 metres), and to Blaenau Ffestiniog, a historic slate-mining town where you can trampoline in caverns and zip-line over disused quarries. See snowdonrailway.co.uk and festrail.co.uk

Castle towns
Seek out Edward I’s other awe-inspiring fortresses: Harlech’s, which clings dramatically to a crag above Cardigan Bay, and Conwy’s riverside castle, which has adjacent old town walls you can walk on. See https://cadw.gov.wales

THE DETAILS

FLY
Emirates flies from Sydney and Melbourne via Dubai to several British airports. Manchester is the closest to north-west Wales (about a 90-minute drive away).

STAY
The Bull’s Head in Beaumaris has double rooms with breakfast from £80 ($159). See inncollectiongroup.com/bulls-head-inn/

Portmeirion has hotel rooms with breakfast from £164 or £204 for an apartment. See https://portmeirion.wales/

Pale Hall has rooms, including breakfast, from £274. See palehall.co.uk

MORE
snowdonia.gov.wales

visitwales.com

visitbritain.com

The writer travelled as a guest of Visit Wales and Visit Britain.