Harlech is a spectacularly sited castle on the coast and with views of Snowdonia and an easy day visit from Edward I’s other Ring of Iron castles at Conwy, Caernarfon or Beaumaris. This map, copied from the Wikipedia page linked below, shows those castles and Harlech (number 9).
Castles of the Iron Ring, in approximate order of building. 1 = Flint Castle 2 = Hawarden Castle 3 = Rhuddlan Castle 4 = Builth Castle 5 = Aberystwyth Castle 6 = Denbigh Castle 7 = Caernarfon Castle 8 = Conwy Castle 9 = Harlech Castle 10 = Beaumaris Castle
Visiting Harlech Castle
Harlech is well signposted and has a large car park next to it. The site is run by CADW and there are plenty of facilities in the town. Although we have visited a few times I have never managed to get any decent exterior shots of the castle but there is a nice guide here that leads to this viewpoint so thank you to Third Eye Traveller.
My Experience
The only time I have been inside Harlech castle was a visit whilst on a family holiday in North Wales, way back in 2009, detailed in my travel blog here. The castle is superb to visit and has full wall walks so you can not only see the concentric defences but also the commanding views.
Harlech really is a beautiful creation with symmetrical concentric defences utilising the lastest in medieval design and technology. The castle regularly had these defences tested and it was besieged several times with mixed success. The sea has now retreated since its thirteenth century levels and the water gate is now a long way from the coast.
Harlech Castle Photo Gallery
As these photos were taken in the dim and distant past of 2009 they were not taken in RAW so these are pretty much unedited jpgs. I’d like to think my own skill in photography has moved on since then too so these may not be ideal pictures. Sorry!
History
References
The CADW site, with full information for a visit to Harlech Castle, is here.
The Wiki article on the Ring of Iron fortresses referenced above is here.