Edward I built Caernarfon to be unmistakable. Begun in 1283, after his conquest of Wales, the castle rises beside the Menai Strait with polygonal towers and bands of coloured stone that echo, it is said, the walls of Constantinople, a deliberate reference to imperial power. The King wanted a seat of government as well as a fortress, and the town walls were built to enclose a planted English borough, so the whole thing was an act of colonisation in stone. UNESCO listed Edward's castles and town walls in Gwynedd in 1986, together with Conwy, Harlech and Beaumaris, and Caernarfon is the grandest of them.
The setting is superb. On one side is the Menai Strait with the island of Anglesey beyond, and on the other the mountains of Snowdonia rise in the east. The riding around here is a rich mix, from the sweeping coast road toward the Llŷn Peninsula, to the steep, twisting pass of Llanberis, which climbs toward the foot of Snowdon. Weather in this part of Wales changes by the hour, and mist and rain are common, but when the sun comes out the light on the water and hills is magnificent. Weekends in summer are busy, so go early.
Caernarfon is a town of nearly ten thousand people, with fuel, cafes and a lively market square under the castle walls. Welsh is the everyday language here, and you will hear it in the shops and streets. In 1969 the castle hosted the investiture of the Prince of Wales, a ceremony that drew both crowds and protests, and which was an earlier echo of the 1911 investiture. The castle's Eagle Tower is said to have been designed as a symbol of the royal power.
Allow time to climb the towers and walk the walls. The views over the strait and the old harbour are worth every step, and the interior of the castle is large and echoing. Finish the day with a pint in a pub near the quay, where the evening light comes off the water, and the mountains stand dark behind the town.