Caernarfon and its Castle: An Exploration of a World Heritage Town

Caernarfon is the Welshest of all towns in Wales, despite being founded by a Norman King and populated with English settlers. On this walking tour, you’ll explore its cobbled streets, learning about daily life, how the town has been governed over the years, and why the Welsh language is so important today.

The tour starts in front of a statue of David Lloyd George, the English Prime Minister during WWI, which has a view of the English castle that was built to keep the Welsh in their place. From there, you’ll make your way across Caernarfon’s waterfront and the Pont Yr Aber swing bridge. As you stroll through the town’s old streets to St Mary’s Church, you’ll take in sweeping views of Caernarfon Castle across the Afon Seiont River, and meet the characters and ghosts of the past.

You’ll circumnavigate the castle to see the Town Walls of Caernarfon while I tell you about the “Iron Ring” – a series of Welsh castles and towns under English rule. The tour ends in front of the Caernarfon War Memorial, which is dedicated to the local men who died in both World Wars.

On this 75-minute tour, you can look forward to:

• Exploring the craft shops along the new Slate Quay
• Shivering at the ghost stories and the phantom specters that linger outside the Hanging Tower, which was used for executions
• Discovering why the Prince of Wales is an Englishman nowadays
• Deciphering the coat of arms above the Gwynedd Council tower
• Learning why Victoria Dock is known as the Caernarfon Man Trap
• Puzzling over the name of the Blackboy Inn
• Revering the Llywelyn Our Last Leader Memorial, a monument erected to the last Welsh Prince of Wales

By the end of this tour, you’ll understand what makes the Welsh so proud that their language survived such a mighty conquest. So do come along as I’m yearning to share the town I’m so proud of with you.