06 October, 2009

Pics of North Wales (1)

As promised, some pics of North Wales! Lots more to come soon.

The King's Gate of Caernarfon Castle, with a statue of none other than Edward II, erected in 1320 and now very weathered. I'd like to apologise here to the people of Caernarfon I accidentally bumped into while jumping up and down on the pavement in joy on realising that there exists a statue of Edward II which I didn't know about before - tragic individual that I am.











The mighty Caernarfon Castle (pic with boats in the foreground). The tower on the left, where the flags are flying, is the Eagle Tower, supposedly Edward II's birthplace.


Three pics of Rhuddlan Castle, where Edward II's sister Elizabeth, countess of Holland and Hereford, was born in August 1282.

Two pics of Conwy Castle rising above the town.














The weather was pretty murky the whole time we were in Wales, but one day it came out a little bit brighter, and we finally got some views over Snowdonia from our cottage on Anglesey.








Bilingual Welsh/English signs.














Two pics of Aberconwy House in Conwy, a merchant's house built around 1300.





















A pic of the Tudor Rose in Beaumaris, built around 1400.

And finally for today, two pics of St Cwyfan's Church or the Church In The Sea near Aberffraw on Anglesey, only reachable at low tide! Originally founded in the seventh century, the present building mostly dates from the fourteenth century with some older parts, and a nineteenth-century roof.

12 comments:

kate Plantagenet said...

Brill pics, but sadly silly blogger made a shamozle of the pics + write ups. Can't take away from the glory that is Wales. What a lovely place. Thanks x x

Susan Higginbotham said...

Love the pictures!

Gabriele Campbell said...

Lovely pics. I had better luck with the weather last year and got a few photos in sunshine, but according to a friend who lives in Aberystwyth, I managed to travel during the only time they ever had sun in Wales in 2008 at all. So I suppose yours are more representative. ;)

Jules Frusher said...

Welcome back! Lovely pics - I didn't know there was a statue of Edward there either! Right, I suppose I'd better construct another photo gallery for the Wales pics on the web site lol! I'll write to you later x

Daphne said...

There's nothing like castles in Wales! From the few we visited during our trip earlier this year, my husband can't wait to go back and spend a couple of weeks driving around Wales looking at castles. thanks for sharing your pictures!

Carla said...

Welcome back! I didn't know about the statue of Edward II either. How do you know who it is and when it was put up? - is there an inscription?
It reminds me of the niches over church doors that held statues of saints before the Reformation destroyed them.

Christy said...

Was Edward's face eroded by weather, vandalized, or was he struck by divine lightning? :)

The 4 times I've been in Wales, it's always been gorgeous weather. I think you all should take me along for good luck any time you go.

Can't wait to see the other pix. Thanks for posting them, Alianore.

Kathryn Warner said...

Thanks, all!

Kate: grr, that's Blogger for you!

Gabriele: wow, lucky you! We had leaden skies for about 98% of the trip. No rain though, which is something.

Daphne: hope you and your husband get to go back to Wales sometime soon!

Carla: there's no inscription that I know of, but an order of 1320 to construct a statue of the king on the King's Gate is still extant. There's also an order from 1317 to build an eagle on the Eagle Tower.

Christy: LOL, love the divine lightning idea! :)

BurtonReview said...

Love it! Snagged some for my Office computer Screensaver!
Nothing makes my heart grow fonder than looking up after long periods of accounting to see my screensaver of castles and scenery!
Thanks so much for sharing! And if Wales is always so grey then perhaps I should be glad I am in sunny Texas! (Alas, no castles!)

Kathryn Warner said...

Thanks, Marie! Glad you liked them! Wish you could have sent some Texas sunshine towards Wales...;)

Carla said...

Thanks, Alianore - what a lucky chance that the order still survives!

Anerje said...

Croeso i'r Gymru! Down in the south, we had fabulous weather! I didn't know about the statue either! I can just imagine your joy!