Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sleeping
C1
Eating
4
1815
C2
5
Blue Sky
C2
6
Kyffin
C2
Entertainment
7
Pontio
B2
Sights
Penrhyn Castle
(NT;
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/penrhyn-castle
;
off Llandegai Rd; adult/child £10/5; noon-5pm Wed-Mon Mar-Jun,
11am-5pm daily Jul-Oct)
Edward I's medieval masterpieces get the glory in these parts, but this
fantasy take on a Norman castle should not be missed. Designed by Thomas Hopper for
the wealthy Pennant family, it was built between 1820 and 1845 on the spoils of Welsh
slate and Jamaican sugar.
The extravagant rooms are a faux-Gothic wonder, complete with intricately carved ceil-
ings, stained-glass windows, hand-painted wallpaper, opulent furniture and even early
flushing toilets. There's a great hall modelled on Durham Cathedral, a lofty staircase
which took 10 years to construct, and a 1-tonne slate bed built for Queen Victoria. The ad-
jacent stable blocks are home to several galleries and mini-museums, including a railway
musuem. The beautiful grounds offer epic views of Snowdonia and include a Victorian
walled garden and a bog garden.
The castle is 1.5 miles east of Bangor. Buses to Llandudno stop at the gate.
CASTLE
Bangor Cathedral
OFFLINE MAP
CHURCH
GOOGLE MAP
(
www.churchinwales.org.uk/bangor
;
Glanrafon; 9am-4.30pm Mon-Fri, 10.30am-1pm Sat)
More formally
known as the Cathedral Church of St Deiniol, this building occupies one of the oldest ec-
clesiastical sites in Britain, dating from AD 525 when the saint founded his community
