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| The view in the courtyard |
“What do you want with some old castle?” my friends asked me
when they heard my plans to visit Caernafon Castle.
“Because,” I would reply, “It’s cool! And it’s where Prince
Charles’ investiture as Prince of Wales took Place in 1969!” I lost them after
“It’s cool.”
I’m a huge fan of the British Royal Family and anything even
slightly related to Their Royal Highnesses gets me really excited. Not only was
Prince Charles’ investiture held there in 1969, Prince Charles and Princess
Diana (one of my personal heroes) visited there in 1981. So when I found out
that our host university, Bangor University (located in beautiful Bangor, Wales), was mere kilometers from Caernafon
Castle, I knew I had to go.
Early on in the trip (even while we were still in Ireland
before we traveled to Wales), I tried to recruit my friends and classmates to join
me. To which they replied as above, or just laughed at me.
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| Me in my RepliKate |
It was only as we were on our way to Wales that our
trip-coordinator informed us that we’d be going as a class to Caernafon Castle.
Everyone groaned—everyone but me that is. I was way too excited. I even
meticulously planned my outfit: a glorious RepliKate: my tangerine jeans with a
navy blazer and scarf. I wanted to stand out in pictures against the stone
walls of the Castle.
I was bouncing in my bus seat, so excited to be on my way to
Caernafon Castle, while everyone else dozed and complained. “It’s just a
castle!” someone said to me. But I knew better.
We arrived at the Castle around midday, and were given an
amazing tour of the walled village around the Castle. We were walked along the
sea and even up onto the actual city walls all while being given an intimate
1,000 year history of the Edward I’s finest castle and the city that its walls
fortified.
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| "My" Cafe! |
While we were walking through the city, Liz*, my new friend,
nudged me and pointed to storefront sign. I couldn’t believe it. The sign said
“Caffi Calley’s Café” as in Calley—my name! I’d never seen it spelled exactly
as I did and to find it in Wales of all places! I had my friend Quil snap a
picture of me with the sign and the Welsh flag in the background.
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| The Gatehouse |
Soon we were entering the Castle, passing under the vaulted
ceilings of its magnificent gatehouse in awe. You could almost hear all the
history those walls had seen whispering at you from the stone. All I could
think about was all the people that had passed through these walls, King George
V and Queen Mary with their son, the future Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth II and
Prince Phillip with Prince Charles, Princess Diana. I was seeing what they had
seen, passing under the same stone arches that had welcomed them so many years
ago—just thinking about it now gives me that same excited feeling I had at the
time.
After you initially enter the Castle, after passing the gift
shop (which is amazing, by the way), you’re in a giant courtyard. The courtyard
itself is actually two levels, with the higher level being home to a large
round dais. This is where Prince Charles’ investiture took place, as well as a
ceremony for Charles and Diana during their 1981 visit.
From the courtyard, you have your choice of endless tunnels,
towers and passageways to make your way through. There’s endless gems to be
happened upon at Caernafon Castle, and even I didn’t make it to them all. I
chose a few narrow staircases to venture up (note: the stairs themselves are
extremely narrow—my foot was longer that the actual foothold of the step!) and
got to behold the most amazing vistas through the narrow castle windows. I
could just imagine being a medieval queen, looking out at the sea (or her
courtyard) through her window.
While creeping through the narrow passageways I heard
something I didn't expect to hear—music, the Welsh national anthem and the
audio from Prince Charles’ investiture. I followed the sound through a stone
doorway into one of my favorite (and most unexpected) parts of the Castle: a
room dedicated to the investitures of both the future Edward VIII in 1911 and
Prince Charles in 1969. In this low-ceilinged, darkly lit room is housed
various pieces of memorabilia and exhibits from both historic occasions, as
well as banners and displays discussing each one in turn. British royalty buff
that I am, I was too excited to get to actually see pieces that had been used
in the actual ceremonies. As I stood there, listening to the music and just
imagining what that day must have been like for those two young men. It was one
of those travel moments I love to have, the ones where you can, just for a
minute, feel a part of something that happened so many years ago. The investitures
may have happened one hundred and forty years ago, respectively, but just for a
minute I could feel the electricity and excitement of that moment.
After I tore myself away from that display, I found myself
at my absolute favorite part of the Castle—the balcony overlooking the city. On
this balcony Edward VIII and Prince Charles and their respective parents had
stood after their investiture ceremonies. Prince Charles and Princess Diana had
stood here in 1981. How many other kings and queens have stood there throughout
the ages? I love getting to stand somewhere and see what these people would
have seen all those years ago. Now, when I see the pictures of Prince Charles
and Princess Diana out on that balcony I can say “I've been there! I know what
it looks like from that balcony!” And not many people can say that.
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| ME on the historic balcony |
That is the beauty of traveling, really--getting to have
experiences not very many people get to have. And every travel experience is
unique. Take this visit, for example. When my friends and I got back to our
dorms and started posting our pictures on Facebook, many of them had pictures
from rooms inside the Castle that I didn't even know existed! Each one of us
had a completely different experience while we were at the same place. For a few minutes or hours
or days, we have an experience that is like no one else has ever had, and no
one will have again. For that one moment in time we share something special with our
destination—a magic that can never be recreated.
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!
Up Next: Five Things to do in Monterey, California
ETA: Monday!
*Names have been changed
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