Deganwy
is a Welsh town in the county borough of Conwy that owes much of its history
to a series 
of
English invasions. Located in a strategic position on the banks of the
River Conwy two miles South of the holiday resort of Llandudno,
and a similar distance East of the ancient walled town of Conwy.
The hill behind the town, known as the Vardre, has two rocky summits that
were once home to fortifications including Deganwy Castle (Degannwy).
Maelgwn Gwynedd or Maelgwyn the King of Gwynedd, one of the most powerful
of the Kings of Britain in the 6th Century, had some of the earliest fortifications
on the Vardre but little remains of his stronghold. In the 11th Century
the Anglo Normans built a fortification on the Vardre which was later
occupied and strengthened by the Welsh princes Llywelyn
ap Iorwerth (the Great) and his grandson Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, before
finally being destroyed by the Welsh as part of a scorched earth policy
in answer to the latest English threat of invasion. When the English King
Edward 1 again invaded Wales in the late 13th Century he built his new
Castle, Conwy Castle, on the opposite
side of the River Conwy on a riverside site that had, in Edward's opinion,
more strategic value than the Vardre.
----------- CLICK TO ENLARGE THE PICTURES ----------
To
this day Conwy Castle and Walled town dominate the view from Deganwy.
The Castle and the estuary with the back drop of the foothills of Snowdonia
offer fantastic views (despite some terrible blots on the landscape allowed
by generations of town planners, including the 1960's Conwy Town Library
and the more recent Conwy Business Park). Deganwy beach is a part of this
beautiful landscape and being one of the few South Westerly facing beaches
on the North Wales coast is a great sun trap. Indeed I remember the sunshine
on Deganwy beach (Deganway as we called it then) from when I was a child
in the 1950's and had been invited to a friend's ( Derek Jones ) birthday
party which included a visit to the beach with the golden sands.
Slightly further down the estuary is the RSPB nature reserve with an
abundance of wildlife and fantastic views of the upper Conwy Valley.
The 20th Century version of Deganwy could be said to owe it's origins
to another English invasion and the coming of the railways in the 1850's
and 60's. The Victorians built the railways to satisfy the English city
dwellers desire to escape to the seaside and Deganwy itself benefited
from
this with the building of boarding houses, hotels and an impressive
Victorian gothic church.
But the railways would also lead to the development of the docks along
the river-front in order to transport the slate that was quarried in Blaenau
Ffestiniog. The railways delivered the slate, via the Conwy Valley
Line, to the Deganwy docks where there were large cranes to load the slate
on to ships in order to take the slate to the English cities.
Eventually the docks fell into decline and were abandoned until in the
second half of the 20th Century they would be used as builders merchant's
storage sheds. The holiday trade would also fall into decline with the
traditional holiday makers by passing British seaside resorts and taking
their holidays on the Mediterranean.
But with the dawn of the 21st Century help has come from an unexpected
source, another English invasion, the yachting set and marina settlers.
Depending on your point of view they have ..... revitalised the town with
a large hotel complex and marina, or ......... they have blocked the views
of local children who are now unable to see the wild life of the estuary
from their windows !
Click here for page 2 of Deganwy town with pictures of the estuary
and Deganwy Quay >>
