Tour of Welsh castles
Take our two-day motorcycle tour to find the best roads and sights
Caernarfon Castle: one of the more easily pronounced monuments in North Wales
If you’re looking for castles, you’ve come to the right place. Wales has the highest concentration of medieval fortifications of any country in Europe. Sizes and states of repair may vary enormously but the best of them are some of the finest in the world.
I grew up with Welsh castles — a trip to Carreg Cennen in South Wales was a regular highlight of summer holidays spent with my grandparents. But it wasn’t until I started riding and exploring the roads of Wales for myself that I began discovering the more-substantial castles to the north.
The most impressive of the fortresses were built by Edward I — an Iron Ring to keep North Wales securely under English rule. Conwy and Caernarfon tower above walled towns, Harlech and Criccieth frown down from hilltops, while Beaumaris sits secure behind its moat. All are by the sea and, even better, are linked by some of the best roads in Britain.
I’m heading into Wales from Shrewsbury, jumping off the A5 to swing past Edward’s Chirk Castle on my way over the Horseshoe Pass to visit a castle I’ve never seen before: Caergwrle, which was also known as Queen’s Hope. It’s easy to miss — I can’t ride right up to it but then again, it’s not a long walk to the ruins once I find the entrance on the main street of the village of Caergwrle.
It’s a short, pleasant ride from there to the ruins of Flint Castle on the Dee Estuary — though I’m disappointed that there’s no ice-cream van in the car park, as there was last time I was here. It’s pretty comprehensively ruined, so I hurry on to Rhuddlan — one of Edward’s earliest castles. There’s an admission fee for this one but I buy a three-day Explorer pass to get me into all the other castles I’m visiting.
Next on my list is Denbigh Castle, perched on the hill in the centre of the town like a broken crown. It’s where I grab an overdue lunch, before a longer stint of riding. This is the real attraction of coming to North Wales, unlocking the amazing roads across the empty, wild hills. After heading inland I swing out to Conwy and the day’s most impressive castle.
Next morning I head across Brunel’s Menai Bridge to Beaumaris on Anglesey, then back to the mainland to visit Caernarfon. Both are seriously large castles and I happily spend an hour in each — but this is longer than I’d intended. I study my route and reluctantly skip Criccieth in favour of the epic ride through the Pass of Llanberis to Dolwyddelan.
It’s a good decision — this is utterly brilliant riding, over the shoulder of Mount Snowdon and twisting through the hills. Dolwyddelan is a nice keep with good views but it’s the roads that reward most — especially heading back to the coast to take in Harlech Castle. It’s another one that repays a bit of exploring, but time is ticking on.
I know I should head home at this point — but two things stop me. First, I could take in Montgomery Castle on the way back and, second, the irresistible lure of the indirect route. After all, it’s not a big detour to ride the A487 and the A458…
It’s a great ride. And while I’ve enjoyed the castles, it’s the time on the bike that’s really made the trip. Edward I may have built his Iron Ring to be unconquerable but 800-odd years later they make for an unbeatable bike tour.
Route summary
Distance – 325 miles
Riding time: 2 days
Day one: Shrewsbury to Bangor
Distance 145 miles
Castles visited Chirk, Caergwrle, Flint, Rhuddlan, Denbigh, Conwy
Morning route map Afternoon route map Download the GPX file
Day two: Bangor to Shrewsbury
Distance 180 miles
Castles visited Beaumaris, Caernarfon, Dolwyddelan, Harlech, Montgomery
Please note: This page contains the motorcycle touring routes for The RiDE Guide To Great Britain which was published in October 2017. These website pages are not regularly updated, so please check all critical information before you travel. All route files are in .gpx format. Garmin and BMW users can download the main file, which contains all the routes. TomTom users can either download the individual routes or use the MyRouteApp (depending on the age of your device).