Conwy Guide

The picturesque county of Conwy is the most northern county in mainland Wales with Gwynedd and Denbighshire as its neighbours to the west and east respectively. The county town, Conwy, is said to be one of the finest mediaeval walled towns in the whole of Europe.

Conwy is a town in Conwy county borough on the north coast of Wales, which faces Deganwy across the River Conwy. The town formerly lay in Gwynedd and prior to that in Caernarfonshire. It is a market town and one of the most popular tourist destinations on the north Wales coast because of it's history and beauty.

Conwy Castle and the town walls were built on the instructions of Edward I between 1283 and 1289, as part of his conquest of the principality of Wales. Conwy was the original site of Aberconwy Abbey, founded by Llywelyn the Great. Edward and his troops took over the abbey site and moved the monks down the Conwy valley to a new site at Maenan. The parish church still retains some parts of the original abbey church in the east and west walls. English settlers were given incentives to move to the walled garrison town, which for decades the Welsh were forbidden from entering. Across the estuary is Bodysgallen Hall, which incorporates a medieval watchtower that was later used as a signal place for Conwy Castle.

Conwy has other tourist attractions that help draw visitors to the town. Thomas Telford built the Conwy Suspension Bridge, which spans the River Conwy next to the castle. It was completed in 1826 and replaced the ferry at the same point. Telford matched the bridge's supporting towers with the castle's turrets. The bridge, which is now open to pedestrians only, together with the toll-keeper's house, is in the care of the National Trust.


Here are just some of the places to visit in and around Conwy: