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Beaumaris b&b, guesthouse and hotel accommodation

Visit Beaumaris and the surrounding villages and stay in bed & breakfast accommodation:

Beaumaris, Anglesey. This most beautiful town on the side of the Menai Straits that belongs to Anglesey has an apparently pure Norman name. Beau Marais (Lovely Flatland) was what the invaders called it; and the description remains true. The pronunciation of the word may also remain purely Norman, for it is always called “Bew Marris”.

The Menai Straits seem to have good weather all the time, though admittedly this is a matter of personal experience. At Beaumaris, the blue waters between the wooded beach of Anglesey and the dark strength of the mountains of Snowdonia open out to the wider reaches of Conway Bay. And, standing guard at the entrance to the narrows, Beaumaris Castle shows a perfect and symmetrical example of medieval military architecture. In 1295, soon after the death of the last Llywelyn, it was set up by Edward I as a warder of the Welsh in the chain of such fortifications bounding the North from Conway to Caernarfon and to Criccieth and Harlech. More than any of its associate fortresses, it is built with a sense of balance and proportion that appears to have come not from military needs but from appreciation of the site. The inner ward, or main castle stronghold, is squared with gatehouses that held the state apartments of the chamberlain. The outer defence is an eight-sided wall strengthened with drum-towers. The ancient defensive device of right-angled structure to put a flanking fire on the attacker is very noticeable in its inner and outer gateway. The great hall and the chapel are excellent examples of their kind; and the essential moat was connected with the sea by a canal.

The Tudors were a family from Anglesey, and the first act of Henry VII was to give possession of Beaumaris to his son by a Breton lady. It was then, and still remains, the chief centre of administration for the island. But the Edwardian castle was not in fact the first invading stronghold set up in medieval times. In the private grounds of a house a little way out of the town, there is another castle. It is largely ruined and stands obscured by woodland on the slope of a small hill. It is a knight's castle — a minor structure with a single central tower and a circular surround of battlement; one of the most perfect examples of this outpost type is the knight's castle at Restormel in Cornwall. This one near Beaumaris is said to have been set there in the earlier days of the Norman invasion by a feudatory of Hugh the Wolf, Earl of Chester. If it has a history, no one seems to remember it. You have the impression that the knight who built it decided after all to forget about the war and surrender himself to the quiet that drops in bright air over land and sea about Beaumaris.

The church of the town is also an invader. It is contemporary with the great Castle, but has additions from the 14th and 16th centuries. It is not a church belonging to Anglesey, for in this always holy island the churches possess a deeply indigenous character. The houses have a calm reserve that, for many of them, survived unruffled the taking of Beaumaris Castle during the Second Civil War, an event that followed directly on the Royalist defeat across the Straits of Menai, close to Bangor.

Nearby cities: Bangor

Nearby towns: Benllech, Llangefni, Menai Bridge

Nearby villages: Aber, Bethesda, Caernarfon, Cwm-y-Glo, Dinorwic, Dwyran, Gaerwen, Llanallgo, Llanbedr-y-Cennin, Llanbedrgoch, Llanddona, Llanddyfnan, Llandegai, Llandegfan, Llanedwen, Llanfaes, Llanfairfechan, Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Llangoed, Llanllechid, Llanrug, Lligwy, Marian-Glas, Moelfre, Penmaenmawr, Penmon, Pentraeth, Penysarn, Tregarth, Waenfawr

Have you decided to visit Beaumaris or the surrounding villages? Please look above for somewhere to stay in:

• a Beaumaris bed and breakfast (a Beaumaris B&B or Beaumaris b and b)
• a Beaumaris guesthouse
• a Beaumaris hotel (or motel)
• a Beaumaris self-catering establishment, or
• other Beaumaris accommodation

Accommodation in Beaumaris:

Find availability in a Beaumaris bed and breakfast, also known as B&B or b and b, guesthouse, small hotel, self-catering or other accommodation.