Harlech Castle - Lookout Tower - Snowdonia, Wales.
N 52° 51.567 W 004° 06.858
30U E 424977 N 5857217
Harlech Castle Stands on a rock bluff with steep cliffs. The lookout towers give great views of Harlech Town & the Snowdonia National Park. The Castle has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status. Located in Harlech, Gwynedd, North Wales.
Waymark Code: WMP59R
Location: North Wales, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/03/2015
Views: 2
To access the Lookout tower you have to climb 140 stone steps up a spiral staircase, the handrail is a vertical rope. I had a restricted view on the day I was there due to the mist & rain. On a clear day you can see Mount Snowdon & the Llyn Peninsular.
Harlech Castle played a key role in the Welsh national uprising led by Owain Glyndwr. The Castle fell to his forces in 1404. Harlech became Glyndwr's residence and headquarters, where he summoned parliaments of his supporters. It was only after a further long siege in 1408 that Harlech was retaken by English forces under Henry V.
During the English War of the Roses, the castle was held for the longest siege in British History. The Lancastrians held from 1461 until taken in 1468 by Lord Herbert of Raglan for the Yorkist side.
"'Men of Harlech' The nation’s unofficial anthem, loved by rugby fans and regimental bands alike, is said to describe the longest siege in British history (1461-1468) which took place here during the War of the Roses. Edward’s tried and tested ‘walls within walls’ model was put together in super-fast time between 1283 and 1295 by an army of nearly a thousand skilled craftsmen and labourers." Text Source: (
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"Harlech was begun during King Edward I's second campaign in north Wales. It was part of an "iron ring" of castles surrounding the coastal fringes of Snowdonia, eventually stretching from Flint around to Aberystwyth; a ring intended to prevent the region from ever again becoming a focal point of insurrection and a last bastion of resistance. Following the fall of the Welsh stronghold of Castell y Bere, King Edward's forces arrived at Harlech in April, 1283, and building work began almost immediately. Over the next six years an army of masons, quarriers, laborers and other craftsmen were busily engaged in construction. In 1286, with the work at its height, nearly 950 men were employed under the superintendence of Master James. The final result was a perfectly concentric castle, where one line of defenses is enclosed by another. Unfortunately, the outer wall is ruinous today and fails to convey the true 13th-century effect." Text Source: (
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