Harlech Castle

Harlech has to be one of the most dramatic of all Edward's Welsh castles. It stands on a headland looking out over the sweep of the Glaslyn Estuary, with Snowdon ("Yr Wyddfa") in the backgound. It was always remote, and still is. Indedd its remoteness sometimes saved it from serious attack. In both the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil War it was the last garrison of the defeated side to hold out, largely because its distance from anywhere important made a major siege not worthwhile.

It had a much more eventful time during Owain Glyn Dwr's Rebellion though, when it became Glyn Dwr's headquarters for a number of years, and its recapture by the English in 1409 marked the beginning of the end of the Rebellion. In a fascinating direct link with Glyn Dwr, some years ago excavations uncovered a brass piece of horse harness (top) probably Glyn Dwr's own, from which we know the coat of arms he had as Prince of Wales (as in the flag on my page). One of those finds which makes people from back in history somehow flesh and blood.