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Conwy Castle and its Fortified Town
Towns and Village in Mid and North Wales
Newport is an old castled town. Preseli Hills are place of mystery. From there 33 dolerite stones were transported 200 miles away to Stonehenge and they make up Stonehenge's inner circle. A burial chamber at Pentre Ifan is one of the finest neolithic monuments in Wales.
Aberystwyth is the main administrative centre of coastal area of Mid Wales. It is also a university town. A narrow-gauge railway from Aberystwith to Devil's Bridge is fun to ride.
There are many place names which begin "Aber," such as Aberystwyth, Aberdeen in Scotland. The "Aber" means the place where two rivers meet or sea where a river flows into. Actually River Ystwyth and River Rheidol meet at Aberystwyth and flow into Cardigan Bay.
The city is gateway to the Snowdonian Mountain region and the Isle of Anglesy. Bangor is also a seat of learning. Bangor College was founded in 1883. The colleges at Aberystwyth, Cardiff and Bangor were incorporated as the University of Wales in 1893. The colleges at Swansea and Lampeter joined later.
Conwy was originally founded by Maelgwyn Gwynedd in 581. Centuries after, Edward I built Conwy castle on the estuary of River Conwy to subdue the Welsh in 13th century. The mighty castle has a complete town walls which encouraged English marchants and traders to live in the fortified town.
Caernarfon Castle and its town walls were built between 1285 and 1322 at the same site where the Romans had built their fort more than 1,000 years before. The castle is situated at a strategic place from where the Roman or English troops stationed there could keep watch over the wide area from Anglesey to Mt. Snowdon. In 1969 Prince Charles was invested Prince of Wales in the beautiful castle.
As it is located at the foot of Snowdon, Llanberis is known as the best base from which walkers can reach the summit of Mt. Snowdon. Snowdon Mountain Railway runs from the village,too.
Llandudno is Wales' largest resort with the Victorian and Edwardian hotel architecture lining the bay.
Wrexham is the largest town in North and Mid Wales. It is the most important industrial town in North Wales, too. The town is also a shopping center of the area and attracts many people. Open air market at the Eagles Meadows site held on Monday is the busiest one in North Wales.
Wrexham has beautiful buildings. The Parish Church's tower with four hexagonal turrets dominates the town. The tower is so beautiful that the replica of the church tower was incorporated in the campus of Yale University at Connecicut, USA.
Old Wrexham's industries were lead mining at Minera, iron making at Bersham and terra cota manufacture at Ruabon. Iron industry in Bersham made a great contribution to the Industrial Revolution. For example, John Wilkinson, a great ironmaster, produced cylinders for James Watt's famous steam engines.
After the rapid decline of coal-mining industry, Wexham's industrial revival was mainly made by foreign investments, particularly by Japanese enterprise, such as the Sharp Manufacturing Company Ltd., and Brother Industries. They are producing televisions, videos, microwave ovens and so on.
Llangollen on the River Dee, eleven miles west of Wrexham, is a lovely gateway town to Wales and is known worldwide as the home of the International Musical Eisteddfof.
Welshpool is a pretty prosperous market town and a main gate to Wales. Its Monday market is quite old. The narrow-gauge Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway runs eight miles througha undulating landscape to Llanfair Caereinion.
Llandrindod Wells is a charming spa town of Georgian-style architecture.
Anglesey is a flat island and the home of the house of Tudor. Menai Bridge is a beautiful suspension bridge which spans Menai Strait. There is a small town which has one of the longest place name of in the world. The town's name is
"Llanfairpwllgwyngyll-gogerychuyrndrobwll-llantysiliogogogoch."
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