Tour Locations | Discovering Conwy: The Medieval Walled Town on a Waterfront
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LOCATION 1
Start - Conwy Tourism Information Centre
Croeso yr Gonwy. Welcome to Conwy. You're standing in the heart of this special town in front of a red-brick building which is a central point for the visitor as inside is the tourist information o...
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LOCATION 2
Towards Conwy Castle
Go clockwise around the parking lot, keeping on the pavement.
If you had stood here 800 years ago there would have been nothing here except a Cistercian monastery. The man responsible for esta...
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LOCATION 3
Conwy Castle
Stop here and face the castle - the best viewing is from the corner near the town wall.
Your first thought will be how huge it is. Imagine being a Welsh peasant living in a shack, looking at the...
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LOCATION 4
Walls
Continue walking along the edge of the carpark.
Master Builder James of St. George was also responsible for the walls - don't forget this is a fort surrounded by hostile enemy!
There are 21 ...
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LOCATION 5
Mill Gate
Pass through the gate, turn right and position yourself on the patch of grass somewhere beyond the interpretation board.
We have just come through the mill gate which leads to the corn grinding ...
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LOCATION 6
To St Mary's Churchyard
Turn left here to enter the churchyard through the gap in the wall to your left. In front of you is our local parish church - St. Mary and All Saints. It was built the same time as the castle. The ...
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LOCATION 7
Hugh Griffith Grave
Opposite the porch, to the left of the path are two slate slab graves on top of bricks. we are going to look at the one with a piece of slate inserted in the middle
It's for the family of a ship...
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LOCATION 8
Chapel
Leave the church yard and, at the corner, turn right and keep going.
On your right is a converted chapel. The church we have just been to is Anglican - Church in Wales but there are many non-con...
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LOCATION 9
Lancaster Square
Take a look at the fountain with a statue of a warrior-like king. That is Llewelyn the Great one of our original Welsh princes - we now have English Princes of Wales! When Edward conquered Wales he...
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LOCATION 10
Welsh Wall
At the end of the Road you see a wall with several plaques of good Snowdonia Slate - the Welsh Wall. Stop for a moment in front of them so you can learn a little about the language.
You see we h...
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LOCATION 11
Plas Mawr walled garden
Note the grid pattern of the streets in Conwy - The Normans gave Wales its first planned town.
On your right is a cream wall with a wooden door with a bird shaped window. Feel free to peek th...
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LOCATION 12
Plas Mawr
Keep going down the street.
After Royal Cambrian Academy gallery is Plas Mawr - the finest Elizabethan Town House in Wales which is furnished and worth visiting. Built in 1576 by Robert Wynn who...
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LOCATION 13
Parisella's Ice Cream
Turn left at the corner and keep going.
The other side of the road is VinoMondo an award winning wine bar and off-licence where you can get local wines and beers and the brick-built Castle Hotel...
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LOCATION 14
Aberconwy House
Stop at the corner and have a look at the house on your right.
This building is the oldest in Conwy, after the castle and church. It has been dendochronilogically-dated - there's a good word! It...
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LOCATION 15
Quayside
Go under the arch of the Lower Gate and stop for a moment. We are coming out to the Harbourside.
Just as with the Mill Gate you will be able to spot the grooves where the portcullis ran and the ...
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LOCATION 16
Smallest House
On your left is the Smallest House in Great Britain. Stop for a moment in front of it.
As the town expanded, residents took advantage of the sturdy town walls to build against and the little re...
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LOCATION 17
Along Lower Gate St
Continue along the Quayside.
If it is high tide you'll probably see children fishing for crabs.
The bright coloured boats pulled up under the wall are for gig racing. it's a sport now but was... -
LOCATION 18
Mussel sculpture
Continue along the quayside passing the Conwy Mussel factory. Mussels are only available if there is an R in the month as that is their breeding season. However the factory sells crab lines and fr...
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LOCATION 19
Bridges View
Walk up the steps, past a huge anchor raised by a local trawler the Kilvarock who rescued 325 American cruise ship passengers whose tender was drifting towards dangerous rocks.
Once at the top, ...
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LOCATION 20
Conway Road
Cross over using the pedestrian crossing. We'll now take a stroll across the famous Conwy suspension bridge looked after by the National Trust, so follow the path towards and through the black iro...
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LOCATION 21
Telford's Bridge
Keep going towards the bridge.
On your left is the original toll-gate of the famous sunburst pattern and on the right is the toll keeper's cottage to make sure you paid to cross. Telford really...
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LOCATION 22
Leaving the bridge
As we come out of the bridge and under the walls of the castle, Look at how Telford embedded the chains in the bedrock. He soaked them in linseed oil to preserve them.
As you leave the bridge be...
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LOCATION 23
Castle Square
Turn right to cross over at the traffic lights towards the little square with a wishing well and some seats.
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LOCATION 24
Incredible Edible Conwy
Stop once across the road.
On this side of the road is a great view of the castle defences where a ramp would have lead up to a gap filled by a drawbridge and hence to the doorways and portcull...