Who needs Carcasonne when you've got Caernarfon?

Now I have to 'fess up to having driven past this place dozens of times, dashing back and forth from the Dublin ferry, without ever stopping to have a proper look. I've gasped and sighed over other medieval citadels here and there and further afield, but I've never given Caernarfon a second thought. I'm a numpty! And that's official.

Just stop and take a look at what I've been missing. Isn't it magnificent?

Caernarfon Castle, Caernarfon, Wales 

Built between 1283 and 1330, the present castle is largely the handiwork of Edward I and his master mason, James of Saint George, the talented double act who've given me other marvellous stopping-off points at Beaumaris and Conwy to cool my heels at whilst I'm waiting for the Dublin Swift. But it's here at Caernarfon that they've truly excelled themselves. Everything about this castle (expect for its no-dogs entrance policy - grrrrr) is perfect. Common-or-garden castles have round towers. Here at Caernarfon every last tower is a perfect polygon. James of Saint George is believed to have modelled it on the mighty walls of Constantinople.

Caernarfon Castle, Caernarfon, Wales 

The castle protects a sweet little harbour with a swing bridge that people can walk across when there are no boats passing.

Caernarfon Castle, Caernarfon, Wales 

It's a truly timeless place. The Romans had a fort here, and after them the Normans built one of their motte and bailey castles. You get a sense of the centuries of history and mystery and magic oozing out of the ancient stones as you walk around.

Caernarfon Harbour, Caernarfon, Wales 

And talking of magic, there's a lovely legend, the historical authenticity of which the historians have been arguing over since forever ...

Once upon a very long time ago there was a swaggering Roman Emperor called Magnus Maximus, who was secretly a bit of a romantic at heart. One moonless night in Rome he fell into a deep, deep sleep. It had been a tough day: he'd been emperoring <that's got to be a verb> and politicking and putting down insurrections and doing the hundred other things that a busy Roman emperor did back then. In the black of the night, at the darkest hour before dawn, Magnus Maximus dreamt the most amazing dream.

Caernarfon Harbour, Caernarfon, Wales 

He dreamt of a far-away land, where the most beautiful woman he had never seen was living in the most perfect castle he had never beheld. Waking up, he cursed his misfortune at having woken up to a life that did not include this perfect lady. He shut his eyelids firmly against the bright morning light, and refused to stir, hoping desperately that he might nod off again and travel back to the enchanted world of his dream. Sadly for Magnus Maximus, he couldn't make Rome disappear. Each time he opened his eyes, he was still there in his grand imperial villa with his house slaves standing by, ready to prepare his bath and dress him for the day that lay ahead.

Caernarfon Harbour, Caernarfon, Wales 

Magnus Maximus mooned around for a few days, depressed that he hadn't been able to return to the land of his dream. He moaned to his mum, the dowager empress. She pointed out that he owned an empire, and that there must be a beautiful woman living in a perfect castle somewhere out there in all the vast territories that he controlled that he could fall in love with. Unpersuaded, but all out of ideas, he sent out emissaries to seek the lady of his dream. How they must have puzzled over his instructions to find a perfect castle sitting in a sheltered bay with the most beautiful lady, graceful as a fawn, with hair the colour of moonbeams and skin as white as snow inside. But it didn't do to go asking the Emperor too many questions, so they dispersed to the lands of the North, the South, the East and the West. Droves of them rode off on horseback to try and find the Emperor's dream lady.

St. Mary's Church, Caernarfon, Wales built into the old town walls by the postern gate

Days, weeks and months passed; and Maximus heard nothing of his emissaries. He grew gloomier and grumpier. His mother and the people of Rome despaired of their Emperor ever cheering up again.

Then finally, one dark night at the end of winter, two of the twenty emissaries who had set off to explore the lands of the West, returned bearing news of how they'd found the castle and the lady of the Emperor's dream in far-off Britannia. Magnus Maximus didn't miss a beat. Within hours he'd appointed a Consul to govern the Empire in his absence, and he was riding off at a gallop towards the western edge of the Roman world.

St. Mary's Church, Caernarfon, Wales : built in 1307 to minister to the castle garrison

It was a long and arduous journey, up through the lands of the warring Gauls, but at length the Emperor and his entourage arrived at the gates of Segontium, as the Romans called Caernarfon. And there, standing on the battlement, was Elen, the beautiful lady the Emperor had met in his dream. He was ecstatic, and immediately asked for her hand in marriage.

As he got to know his new wife Magnus Maximus realised that she was as fine and worthy as she was beautiful. He awarded her father, Eudaf Hen, sovereignty over all the island of Britain and ordered three castles built in his new wife's honour.

St. Mary's Church, Caernarfon, Wales 

Sometime later news reached Magnus Maximus that a usurper had taken his place in Rome. Furious at the impertinence of this upstart, Maximus marched back across Gaul and Italy to re-take his empire with the help of Elen's brother, Conanus, and his band of Welsh warriors. They fought bravely, shoulder to shoulder, Welshman and Roman, until they triumphed and Maximus was restored to his rightful place. In recognition of the Welshmen's valour and loyalty, Maximus granted them lands in Gaul, which thereafter came to be known as Brittany. 

Caernarfon Castle, Caernarfon, Wales 

Back in Wales, Elen, is still remembered as Elen of Caernarfon or Saint Elen of the Hosts, because of how she encouraged Maximus to build roads across her country so that soldiers could more easily be deployed to protect its borders from attack.

Caernarfon Castle, Caernarfon, Wales 

All the best for now,

Bonny x