Sunday 18 April 2010

Video of Gwydir Park, Llanrwst

Video of Gwydir Park, Llanrwst

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Church of St Grwst and Pont Fawr, Llanrwst

Church of St Grwst and Pont Fawr, Llanrwst

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Cows over Hen Efail

Cows over Hen Efail

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Aberystwyth Castle

Aberystwyth Castle is located in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Mid Wales.

The construction of Aberystwyth Castle began in 1277. The area had hosted other castles before it, the earliest being a fortress dating back to the Iron Age.

Aberystwyth Castle was built as a diamond-shaped concentric fortress, with gatehouses at each point. Its walls-within-walls defences allowed its guards to fire down from different heights, helping to avoid friendly fire. Beyond its guardtowers, the castle had two gatehouses, a barbican and a tall tower in the castle's inner ward. Today the castle rubble only hints at its past, its imposing structure destroyed by warring and its proximity to Cardigan Bay.

Criccieth Castle

Criccieth Castle is a castle situated on the headland between two beaches in Criccieth, Gwynedd, in North Wales, on a rocky peninsula overlooking Tremadog Bay.

Construction on Criccieth began in the early 13th century at the behest of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth of Gwynedd, and was later continued by his grandson Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales. Because of its strategic location, it was a focal point in the war between England and Wales — eventually it was captured by Edward I of England during his second campaign in North Wales (1282-1283).

Criccieth's most notable feature is its twin-towered gatehouse, rare among Welsh-built castles. It was built by Llywelyn, probably between 1230 and 1240, and was possibly copied from an English model.

In 1283 the castle was taken by Edward's army and rebuilt, including adding another tower to the wall of the inner ward and strengthening the "Engine Tower" (now in ruins), which served as a foundation for a siege engine.

In 1294, Madoc ap Llywelyn, a distant relation of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, began an uprising against English rule that spread quickly through Wales. Several English-held towns were razed and Criccieth (along with Harlech Castle and Aberystwyth Castle) were besieged that winter. Its residents survived until spring when the castle was resupplied.

The castle seems to have been used as a prison until 1404, when Owain Glyndŵr captured the castle, tearing down its walls and setting the castle afire. Some walls still show these scorch marks.

Criccieth was also one of several locations Romantic artist Joseph Mallord William Turner used for his famous series of paintings depicting shipwrecked mariners.

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Dolbadarn Castle

Dolbadarn Castle rests on a rocky hillock at the tip of Llyn Padarn, perched above a roadway near Llanberis, in Gwynedd, north Wales. It was built by the Princes of Gwynedd some time before 1230 and was active through at least 1284 and into the early 15th century.

Harlech Castl

Harlech Castle, located in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales, is a concentric castle, constructed atop a cliff close to the Irish Sea. Architecturally, it is particularly notable for its massive gatehouse.

Built by King Edward I during his conquest of Wales, the castle was subject to several assaults and sieges during its period of active use as a fortification. The seven-year siege of the castle, during the Wars of the Roses, has been memorialised in the famous song "Men of Harlech".

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Northop Cricket Ground

Northop Cricket Ground

wales mansions

Northop is a small village seated in Flintshire, North Wales, approximately 12 miles west of the city of Chester, mid-way between Mold and Flint, and situated just off junction 33 of the A55 North Wales Expressway.

The village is home to two pubs, a cricket club, and a golf course. At the centre of the village stands the church of St Eurgain and St Peter, towering 98 feet above the village. The Welsh College of Horticulture is also based in Northop, offering horticultural courses for students of all ages, in areas such as Animal Studies, floristry and agricultural machinery.

The Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd

The Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd refers to a UNESCO-designated site of patrimony located in Gwynedd, Wales.

In 1986, four castles related to the reign of King Edward I of England were proclaimed collectively as a World Heritage Site, as outstanding examples of fortifications and military architecture built in the 13th century.

Sites designated were:

  1. Beaumaris Castle, Anglesey
  2. Caernarfon Castle, Caernarfon
  3. Conwy Castle, Conwy
  4. Harlech Castle, Harlech

Caernarfon Castle

Caernarfon Castle

cardiff luxury apartments

Welsh Mansions


wales mansions

Conwy Castle

Conwy Castle is a castle in Conwy, on the north coast of Wales. It was built between 1283 and 1289 during King Edward I's second campaign in North Wales.

Conwy replaced Deganwy Castle, an earlier stronghold built by Henry III that had been destroyed by Llywelyn the Last in 1263.

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Friday 2 April 2010

Dindaethwy

Dindaethwy is a historic commote (or subdivision of a cantref) in north-east Anglesey. It includes Beaumaris and Menai Bridge (Porthaethwy). The corresponding rural deanery is called Tyndaethwy. The former Aethwy Rural District occupied the predominant non-urban area.

The first element of the name may involve a reference to the hillfort, Bwrdd Arthur, in the (former) parish of Llanfihangel Din Sylw.

The Royal Borough of Beaumaris

The Royal Borough of Beaumaris (Welsh: Biwmares)is the former county town of the island of Anglesey and is located in the commote of Dindaethwy (and historic rural deanery of Tindaethwy) on the shore of the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait - the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from the coast of North Wales.

Caernarfonshire

Caernarfonshire (Welsh: Sir Gaernarfon), sometimes also spelt as Caernarvonshire and Carnarvonshire in English, is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales.

The county of Caernarfonshire was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972, becoming part of the new county of Gwynedd. The administrative entity of Caernarfonshire was very briefly revived in 1996, when the unitary area of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire was created. It was, however, renamed Gwynedd almost immediately.

Beaumaris Castle

Beaumaris Castle, located in Beaumaris, Anglesey, Wales was built as part of King Edward I's campaign to conquer the north of Wales. It was designed by James of St. George and was begun in 1295, but never completed. Beaumaris has been designated as a World Heritage site.

Beaumaris castle was positioned to face Garth Celyn on the opposite shore of the Menai Strait and was intended, along with Conwy Castle and Caernarfon castle at either end of the Menai Strait, to overshadow the Welsh Royal home and centre of resistance to the English forces.

Brynamman

Brynamman (Welsh: Brynaman) is a village sitting on the south facing side of the Black Mountain, part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The village is split in two into Upper Brynamman and Lower Brynamman by the River Amman which also acts as the boundary between the counties of Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot (the old county of Glamorganshire). Ruins of stone dwellings (possibly prehistoric), an early type of lime kiln and rectangular medieval buildings found on the mountain show that man has lived in this area for a long time.

Cardiff Castle

Cardiff Castle (Welsh: Castell Caerdydd) is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in Cardiff, the capital of Wales.

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