387km (241 miles) NW of London; 59km (37 miles) E of Holyhead; 35km (22 miles) NE of Caernarfon
Unlike Llandudno, its 19th-century neighbor, Conwy is an ancient town. With its mighty medieval castle and complete town walls, this is a richly historic place.
The Conwy estuary is crossed by three bridges that lead to Conwy. The handsome suspension bridge was built in 1826 by Thomas Telford, bridge-builder extraordinaire. It looks as if it runs right into the castle, but it doesn't. It's closed to vehicular traffic now, but you can walk across it for free and marvel at how it served as the main entrance to the town for so long, with its narrow lanes and the sure bottleneck at the castle end. It replaced the ferry that was previously the only means of crossing the river. An exhibit of Telford's work is in the tollhouse. You can also see Robert Stephenson's tubular railroad bridge, built in 1848, and the modern arched road bridge, completed in 1958.
St. Mary's, the parish church, stands inside the town walls on the site of a 12th-century Cistercian abbey. In it are a Byzantine processional cross, a beautiful Tudor cross, and a 15th-century screen of fine workmanship. The churchyard contains a grave associated with William Wordsworth's poem We Are Seven.
