Castles in Wales

Rhuddlan Castle was more than a fortress—it was a bold statement of power. Built by Edward I, it reshaped the River Clwyd, imposed English law on Wales, and anchored a new colonial town. Discover how this extraordinary castle combined engineering, strategy, and political ambition to change history.

Caernarfon Castle, Edward I’s masterpiece of conquest, towers above the River Seiont, its banded walls and polygonal towers echoing Constantinople’s imperial grandeur. Built to crush Welsh resistance, it served as military bastion, seat of English law, and stage for royal pageantry—proclaiming unassailable dominion over Gwynedd for over seven centuries.