Beaumaris Castle is an unfinished fortress located in Beaumaris, on the Isle of Anglesey in North Wales. The construction of this UNESCO World Heritage Site began in 1295 and stopped around 1330.
Opening hours and ticket prices vary throughout the year:
March to June open daily from 9.30 am to 5 pm.
July to August open daily from 9.30 am to 6 pm
September to October open daily from 9.30 am to 5 pm.
November to February open daily from 10 am to 4 pm.
Closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
An adult entry ticket is around £10 while a discounted ticket for children and students is around £7. Please check their official website (link here) for up-to-date info.
How to get there
The closest train station to Beaumaris Castle is Bangor.
From Bangor Bus Station (a 12-minute walk from the train station) you can take bus no 58 (42 min, 30 stops) to Bulkeley Bus Stop, from there walk for about 2 minutes to reach Beaumaris Castle.
If you drive there, Beaumaris Castle has a charging car park (and coach park), just a couple of minutes walk from the castle entrance.
Beaumaris Castle was built under the direction of James of St George (master of works/architect) as part of Edward I's Conquest of Wales (1277-1283).
In 1285, James of St George was appointed as 'Master of the Royal Works in Wales' under the rule of King Edward and designed a number of castles such as Conwy, Harlech and Caernarfon.
Beaumaris - the name of the town and castle derives from the Norman/French description of the marshes on which the castle was built - beau mareys/marais.
Entry to the castle is via the Visitor Centre/Gift Shop.
There are no toilets on site, but there are public toilets only a few steps away from the gift shop.
As you enter the castle grounds, if you walk along the moat, you will come across a short bridge which you will have to cross to enter the castle. From there you can roam around freely, although, if you venture on the walls, there is a direction (indicated by arrows) that you should ideally follow, especially if it's busy.
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Close to the statue of James of St George, there's a small room where you can see a short video about the history of the castle.
If you want to delve deeper into its fascinating history I recommend buying the guidebook from the visitor centre, as it has a generous amount of information to offer.
I would highly recommend, if possible, walking up the few flights of stairs to reach the top as the views are honestly great. Even on a very cloudy day, the castle and its surroundings looked amazing.
The acoustic of the chapel is amazing with any whisper being significantly amplified - I can imagine a a capella concert sounding absolutely phenomenal there.
To visit everything Beaumaris Castle has to offer, you might want to set aside around 2 - 2 1/2 hours. There's quite a bit of walking to do so I would highly recommend wearing comfortable shoes, especially if you plan on going up to the top.
Have you ever been there? If so, I would love to hear about your visit there, in the comment section below.
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