A visit to Caernarfon Castle

There has been a castle in Caernarfton since the late 11th Century, but in 1283 King Edward I began to replace it with the massive stone structure that still stands today. Situated by the sea and on the banks of the River Seiont, the castle is an imposing presence, with some fantastic views from the turrets.

On our recent holiday in Snowdonia we spent a fun morning visiting the castle. There is no structured tour, instead you are free to roam around and explore. There is plenty to discover, with lots of stone spiral staircases leading up to the high turrets, and places to walk along the walls. It's not particularly pushchair accessible, but you can just leave your pushchair outside while you go inside.

We also paid £1 for Harry to have a go at archery which he loved, he had the chance to shoot three arrows with plenty of help and he did pretty well. The knight helping out even said that he had a knack for it (although he probably says that to everyone!).

There are also a couple of permanent exhibitions in the castle. One about the investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1969 which took place at the castle was very interesting, and there is also a large exhibit about the Royal Welch Fusiliers.  

You do need to watch young children carefully while you are walking around, as the ground can be uneven and it does feel a bit precarious. If you want to see everything you also need to climb up a lot of spiral steps which are very steep and narrow, and because Mia wanted to be carried we had to miss out a few of the towers. Having said that, it still felt as though we had a very good look around.

After we had finished visiting the castle we went for a short walk into Caernarfon which is a pretty little town. Unfortunately we were rained away, but it's definitely worth a visit if you are at the castle.

We parked for the castle in a large car park by the waterfront at the rear of the castle which cost £5 for the day. There are six on street parking spaces right outside the castle where you can park for free for up to two hours, and there were spaces free here when we arrived first thing.

We received a complimentary family ticket from Cadw to explore Caernarfon Castle. A family ticket costs £20.25. Segontium Roman Fort is free to visit.