Walk to Beach, Golf and Marina Pub
CONWY, a World Heritage Site, is the gateway to SNOWDONIA. The town is dominated by its 13th century castle which overlooks the medieval streets and harbour. CONWY is an excellent base for exploring NORTH WALES and a journey in any direction takes you to stunning scenery and empty beaches.
Cycle Hire www.1bike1.co.uk free delivery & collection
Favorite Local Restaurants
The Mulberry, Conwy Marina www.themulberryconwy.com
Signatures, Conwy Morfa www.signaturesrestaurant.co.uk
The Castle Hotel, Conwy www.castlewales.co.uk
Paysanne, Deganwy www.paysannedeganwy.co.uk
Pen Y Bryn, Colwyn Bay www.penybryn-colwynbay.co.uk
Links Golf Courses
Conwy Golf Club (2 minute walk from the cottages) www.conwygolfclub.com
Maesdu Golf Club, Llandudno www.maesdugolfclub.co.uk
North Wales Golf Club, Llandudno www.northwalesgolfclub.co.uk
Royal St Davids, Harlech www.royalstdavids.co.uk
Nefyn Golf Club, www.nefyn-golf-club.com
Rhos on Sea Golf Club www.rhosgolf.co.uk
Caernarfon Golf Club (part links) www.caernarfongolfclub.co.uk
Conwy (formerly Conway in English) is a town in the county of Conwy on the north coast of Wales, which faces Deganwy across the River Conwy. It is a market town and one of the most popular tourist destinations on the North Wales coast.
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 (now an excellent hotel and spa with gardens owned by the National Trust), 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.
Robert Stephenson built the Conwy Railway Bridge, a tubular bridge for the Chester and Holyhead Railway in 1849. The old mountain road to Penmaenmawr runs through the Sychnant Pass, at the foot of Conwy Mountain.
The National Trust owns Aberconwy House, Conwy's only surviving 14th century merchant's house. Another fine house open to the public is Plas Mawr (great mansion) built in 1576. The Smallest House in Great Britain can be found on the quay. It is in the Guinness Book of Records with dimensions of 3.05 metres x 1.8 metres. It was lived in since the 1500s (it was even inhabited by a family at one point) until 1900 when the owner (a 6ft fisherman – Robert Jones) was forced to move out. The rooms were too small for him to stand up in fully. The house is still owned by his descendants today.
Conwy Morfa was probably where golf was first played on Welsh soil. It was also where Hugh Iorys Hughes developed and later built the famous floating Mulberry Harbour, used in the invasion of Europe in World War II. www.conwy.com/places.html
North Wales is a country proud of its rich heritage and with a spectacular landscape. The region's mild climate lets you enjoy each month's different sights, sounds and moods right throughout the year. Conwy is the gateway to the Snowdonia National Park with the highest peak in England and Wales, Mount Snowdon
www.eryri-npa.co.uk
Conwy is a 45 minute drive to Holyhead or direct train from Conwy for the fast ferry (90 minutes) to Ireland (train station linked to ferry port). To the east of Conwy is the Roman City of Chester. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester a 30 minute drive.
HISTORY OF NORTH WALES
North of Wales is a land of majestic snowy mountain peaks and imposing castle fortresses, a rugged enclave of Welsh language and culture.
The many 13th Century castles that ring the coastline of North Wales were built by the English to subdue the Welsh Princes in their mountain hideaways. These mighty fortresses were the very peak of military planning in their day and are now designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The mountains of Snowdonia are famous throughout the world for their rugged peaks and horseshoe ridges, enchanting waterfalls and deep wooded vales. The Welsh name for the region ‘Eryri' means Place of Eagles and Mount Snowdon, the tallest mountain in England and Wales, dominates this sublime place.
On the Llyn Peninsula and the Isle of Anglesey you will find some of the most unspoilt areas of Wales where the Welsh language is at its strongest. Anglesey is referred to as Mon Mam Cymru (Mother of Wales) and contains a wealth of Neolithic and Celtic sites.
