Caernarfon Castle

I would nominate Caernarfon Castle as the castle I saw on my trip most likely to be used in a Disney movie. Caernarfon Castle was meant to be the center of the English government in Wales and to house the royal palace. Its design is quite pretty. Its polygonal towers are banded with layers of different color masonry overlooking the bay, and it is well maintained/reconstructed. 

The glass overlook from the secondary gate is where the royal family addressed the crowds when naming Charles as the Prince of Wales. An exhibit of the crowning and other royal visits was just inside. 

The platform looks out over a quaint square, where I later had a lunch of Welsh stew, which bore a striking resemblance to Irish stew. 

The main gate is even more imposing, even after already climbing the ramparts to its opening. 

It was possible to walk between the walls to the tops of each tower, so of course I did precisely that. Some towers contained exhibits, including one on the Royal Welsh Fusiliers infantry regiment and one on Edward the First's military campaigns and castle strategy. 

Some of the weathered tower tops were quite striking.

Walking around the outside, I was intrigued by this section of the wall that was clearly either intended to be extended or had been demolished at some point. 

After my leisurely tour and late lunch, I walked around the city walls, which were built at the same time as the castle and which originally no Welsh people could enter. I then walked by the docks and up a nearby hilltop park to look out over the castle. During the walk up I saw some teenagers get busted for drinking and littering and get put to work helping the cops clean up the trash in the park. 

The view was nice, both of the castle and the surrounding shore and town.

After a low-key evening and more questionable meatloaf, I spent another night at the hostel, which was a block away from the castle.