Welsh Castles

Harlech - Gwynedd

Picturesque views of the sea and mountains can be seen from this medieval castle's impressive natural setting. The foundation of this fortress is set on a towering rock above Tremadog Bay.

Harlech Castle is linked with Welsh myth in stories of the tragic heroine of Branwen, the daughter of Llyr, of the Mabinogion. Harlech Castle was built late in the 13th century by hundreds of laborers and craftsmen from Savoy, Ireland, who worked with blacksmiths and carpenters from all over England.

These workers created a nearly impregnable fortress that was defended by concentric fortifications and protected on three sides by cliffs. Attackers faced a maze of gates, loopholes and portcullises. Harlech Castle would become known as the "castle of lost causes," where never-say-die soldiers could defy thousands of besiegers.

It was during a heroic resistance to a nearly decade-long siege that inspired the song "Men of Harlech." This castle was the last Royalist stronghold that fell to Cromwell's forces during the Civil War, and is later became the headquarters of Owain Glyndwr, the Welsh resistance leader.