Monday, June 17, 2013

Castell Biwmares or Beaumaris Castle

Between my last paper being due and my only exam I had about a solid week to spend outside before buckling down and studying Welsh history.  I decided to spend one of my days in Beaumaris .  I picked a beautiful day to go and hopped on a bus to Anglesey (Beaumaris is in Anglesey).

Beaumaris was a cute little town along the coast of Anglesey.  It is also home to a castle built in 1987.  This castle is known for its moat.  Most of the castles in Wales are built on the coast with easy access for trading on the water routes and as a military stronghold against invasions from the water.  Beaumaris Castle took it one step further and built a moat.  The full moat doesn't exist anymore due to a road built alongside but most of it is still there.

A view from the side with the moat
some swans swimming around
The bridge where the drawbridge used to be
Is it a bird? Is it a plane?  I think it is a dragon!
I had some dragon fun while I was there!
After exploring the castle, I headed out to the pier.  The tide was pretty far out so there wasn't much going on with the boats but I could see all the way to Bangor!  This picture shows the Bangor coast in the distance.  I could make out the main academic building but you can't really see it in the picture.
I decided to wander around town for a bit and found a church, St. Mary's and St. Nicholas Church.  The church was built in the 14 century soon after the completion of the castle.  One of the most interesting things about this church was there was a cemetery surrounding it.  One of the important artifacts in the church is the carved stone coffin of Joan, wife of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, one of the Princes of North Wales whom  I had to know for my exam.

One of the oldest tombs in the cemetery
I stopped at a cute ice cream shop on the corner of the street for a sandwich and some homemade ice cream to complete my day!  I referred to this as my hands on studying day when my friends questioned why I went out for the day when I had an exam coming up.  I did feel confident I was preparing well for the exam because I could recall information I had learned in class.

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