Aerial vie of Harlech Castle, Harlech, Gwynedd, North Wales
Harlech is a seaside resort and community in Gwynedd, north Wales and formerly in the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it belonged to the Meirionydd District of the 1974 County of Gwynedd. Its landmark Harlech Castle was begun in 1283 by Edward I of England, captured by Owain Glyndŵr, and in the 1480s, a stronghold of Henry Tudor. Once on a seaside cliff face, it is now half a mile (800 m) inland. New housing has appeared in the low town and in the high town around the shopping street, church and castle. The two are linked by a steep road called "Twtil". Of its 1,447 inhabitants, 51 per cent habitually speak Welsh. The built-up area with Llanfair had a population of 1,762 in the 2001 census, over half of whom lacked Welsh identity, and the electoral ward which includes Talsarnau 1,997 in the 2011 census. The estimate in 2019 was 1,881. In local mythology, the site of Harlech Castle in North Wales is associated with the legend of Branwen, a Welsh princess, but there is no evidence for a native Welsh fortification having been built there. The kings of England and the Welsh princes had vied for control of North Wales since the 1070s and the conflict was renewed during the 13th century, leading to Edward I intervening in North Wales for the second time during his reign in 1282. Edward invaded with a huge army, pushing north from Carmarthen and westwards from Montgomery and Chester. English forces advanced down the Conwy valley and through Dolwyddelan and Castell y Bere, onto Harlech, which Sir Otton de Grandson took with 560 infantry in May.
Size: 4800px × 3600px
Location: Harlech, Gwynedd, North Wales
Photo credit: © DV TRAVEL / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: bay, branwen, castle, fortification, glyndŵ, gwynedd, harlech, henry, heritage, historical, legend, national, north, owain, park, prisonner, snowdonia, stronghold, tremadog, tudor., wales, welsh
