Woolly says – It was a frosty start to the day which required a full ten minutes of sitting in the car with the heaters going full blast whilst watching the ice on the windscreen slide onto the bonnet. Having dealt with that situation we crept down the country lanes through the fog and onto the main road and headed for the coast. Today’s destination had been chosen by Jo after she had seen pictures earlier in the year from one of the girls she went to school with, having done my research I had to agree it was well worth a visit so off to Harlech it was.
Harlech is a seaside resort (yes, another one, we do seem to be covering a lot of sea at the moment) and community in the North Wales county of Gwynedd. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park and has a low town and a high town which reflects it having been built on a cliff. Most notably it was the birth place of the famous Owain Glyndŵr (1359 – 1415) the Welsh Rebellion leader, who was the last Welshman to claim the title Prince of Wales. It was also the inspiration for the rousing tune of ‘Men of Harlech’ which is Wales’s alternative national anthem, much loved by rugby fans and regimental bands alike. According to the movie ‘Zulu’ it was even belted out by the garrison at Rorke’s Drift. As soon as we hit the coast road Alfie the Dog woke from his slumbers and started sniffing the air, I explained that the beach would be later and he panted happily into my face, I do wish he could clean his teeth as the doggie breath doesn’t make for good news on the nasal passages.
We’d arrived early for our booked slot at the castle so wandered along the small road that went through the town, it wasn’t the most exciting of towns although it did hold a rather pretty picnic area just above the main street.
With us all eager to investigate the castle we headed back to the car park and stood admiring it’s small, well small in comparison to a lot of castles, but very well kept remains.
Harlech Castle was built by Edward I during his invasion of Wales between 1282 and 1289 at the relatively modest cost of £8,190. Over the next few centuries, the castle played an important part in several wars, withstanding the siege of Madog ap Llywelyn between 1294 – 95, until falling to Owain Glyndŵr in 1404. It then became Glyndŵr’s residence and military headquarters for the remainder of the uprising until being recaptured by English forces in 1409. During the 15th century Wars of the Roses, Harlech was held by the Lancastrians for seven years, before Yorkist troops forced its surrender in 1468, in 1647 it became the last fortification to surrender to the Parliamentary armies.
UNESCO considers Harlech to be one of “the finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military architecture in Europe”, and it is classed as a World Heritage site. The sea originally came much closer to the castle and a water-gate was set at the foot of a long flight of steps that lead down from the fortress to the former shore, which is now some half mile away.
It was a lovely castle and having showed our ticket, done the track and trace we headed over the modern day drawbridge and into the gatehouse.
Woolly says – The castle had been well protected from its gatehouse with not one but two huge and heavy doors, followed by a portcullis, any enemies getting past these barriers would be faced with bows and arrows and items thrown down from above. To each side of the gates stood the former accommodations of the chief constable, five stories would have provided a rather splendid pad for him and his family, it was quite funny to see the fireplaces suspended in the walls with no floors to give perspective to them.
As we wandered into the inner court you could catch glimpse of the sea, we stared up at the high towers which would have looked out for miles in all directions before arriving in the area that would have once provided all of the food and dining needs for the castle’s inhabitants.
Looking back towards the main accommodation gave a fantastic idea of how high the building would have been, it was a treat to behold.
Steep steps led us to the exterior and a full view of the sea which seemed so far away, it was odd to think that it had been lapping the cliff below a few hundred years ago.
Each side presented a lovely corner tower and the outer walls remained in excellent repair, having completed our circuit we went in search of a warm drink and snack to keep us going.
Leaving the castle behind we drove down the hillside and onto the beach road pulling into a car park that provided a crossing point for the local golfers. Huge sandbanks lined the beach making it impossible to see what the sand was like. As we made our way through them a wonderful vista of golden sand greeted our eyes.
We headed towards the Morfa Harlech National Nature Reserve at the north end of the beach which is Wales’s only growing dune system and provides a good example of the effects of longshore drift. During the summer months leatherback turtles migrate from warmer climes to feed off jellyfish in the waters off this part of the coast. Sadly, we were to late for them but as the panting machine raced in and out of the sea Jo and I ambled along looking at the huge shells on offer and admiring the beautiful sand.
As Alfie the Dog arrived back at our feet Jo took out a ball and throw it for him, now you have to understand that we have a very strange dog in that he doesn’t know how to play or didn’t until Jo started showing him. The ball was a new toy and I was interested to see how he would react. As my carer lobbed the ball Alfie the Dog raced after it, a first, only to get to the ball and then stand there waiting for us to catch up and throw it again. I started to laugh as Jo tried to explain to the mutt that the idea was for him to bring it back, he stood there panting before racing off after the next throw and again stood there with great pride in himself as he guarded the ball until we arrived. This continued until the tears were running down both of our faces and we gave up on the retrieve part of the fun and just enjoyed watching him cavort in and out of the sea. A work in progress but then aren’t we all.
Climbing back into the car I took one last look at the castle high above our heads, a great choice of places to go and a beach that would be worth visiting again.