The End: Collage

Mayfair Hotel Review

Pros:

FREE
Good wifi
Great staff
Quiet
Nice sized room

Cons:
None I can think of for free
Too expensive if paid

Last day II

The Rosetta Stone...

Tired but a new day

In fact a great day...I felt today I really got this town. The trains, neighborhoods and maps. I took off with a day pass first to visit Sherlock Holmes museums which was a rip off. From there headed to the British Library and a exhibit visit to the Magna Carta exhibition. The old manuscript and bibles were interesting. The last museum stop wad to the wonderful British Museum.  The Egyptian, Assyrian,  Greek temples and another icon of my youth bites the dust-The Rosetta Stone.
Some photos from the day...

To London....

After an early start, a hearty breakfast at the Castlebank, 2 train stops and a 4hour ride to London. I am checked in God Mayfair Hotel. I wad upgraded to a deluxe room. This is a great location for theater and food. Here are some pics.

Last Day....II

I took a last walk around the walls in Conwy.  One the way home from my train journey, I walked from the station and took these photos.

Last Trip in Conwy

I am exhausted but I did not want to waste the day doing nothing. I planned a train and bus trip to Denbigh Castle.  I started by taking a 25 minute train to Rhyl, walking around the town, then taking a 45 minute bus right to the town. From the bus stop it was a steep walk uphill to the castle.  It wasn't the greatest castle but it was a nice day out. Tomorrow I catch the 6:30 train to London.

Castlebank Hotel

The Castlebank with Kaiser and Missy the wonderful kitties.

Conwy Castle III

Conwy Castle II

Conwy Castle I

Today I visited granddaddy of them all, the Big Boo-Who, King James I, takes six years at a cost today of a half billion dollars and builds possibly the greatest Medieval Fortress. Conwy Castle, Wales 1283-1289

Beaumaris Castle: History

Beaumaris, begun in 1295, was the last and largest of the castles to be built by King Edward I in Wales. Raised on an entirely new site, without earlier buildings to fetter its designer's creative genius, it is possibly the most sophisticated example of medieval military architecture in Britain.This is undoubtedly the ultimate "concentric" castle, built with an almost geometric symmetry. Conceived as an integral whole, a high inner ring of defenses is surrounded by a lower outer circuit of walls, combining an almost unprecedented level of strength and firepower. Before the age of cannon, the attacker would surely have been faced with an impregnable fortress. Yet, ironically, the work of construction was never fully completed, and the castle saw little action apart from the Civil War in the 17th century.
A castle was almost certainly planned when King Edward visited Anglesey in 1283 and designated the Welsh town of Llanfaes to be its seat of government. At the time, resources were already stretched and any such scheme was postponed. Then, in 1294-95, the Welsh rose in revolt under Madog ap Llywelyn. The rebels were crushed after an arduous winter campaign, and the decision was taken to proceed with a new castle in April 1295. The extent of English power is demonstrated by the fact that the entire native population of Llanfaes was forced to move to a newly established settlement, named Newborough. The castle itself was begun on the "fair marsh," and was given the Norman-French name Beau Mareys. Building progressed at an astonishing speed, with some 2,600 men engaged in the work during the first year.

 

Beaumaris Castle

Caernarfon Castle II

Caernarfon Castle

I hired a taxi to take me to two castles about 40p an hour. Public transportation was two much of a pain. Caernarfon Castle is the first castle..

Caernarfon Castle: History

A brute of a fortress. Caernarfon Castle’s pumped-up appearance is unashamedly muscle-bound and intimidating. Picking a fight with this massive structure would have been a daunting prospect. By throwing his weight around in stone, King Edward I created what is surely one of the most impressive of Wales’s castles. Worthy of World Heritage status no less!

The site of this great castle wasn’t chosen by accident. It had previously been the location of a Norman motte and bailey castle and before that a Roman fort stood nearby. The lure of water and easy access to the sea made the banks of the River Seiont an ideal spot for Edward’s monster in masonry. 

Edward wasn’t one to miss on an opportunity to tighten his grip even further on the native population. The birth of his son, the first English Prince of Wales, in the castle in 1284, was a perfect device to stamp his supremacy. In 1969 the current Prince of Wales, HRH Prince Charles’s investiture took place here.

Onto to Conwy...

I took a 4 1/2 hour journey by train to Conwy. The problem is it was just general seating. I wish there was a first class seat...oh well...

View from Lounge

Great View from Hilton Lounge....