North Wales is famous for its heroic, mountainous landscape and its abundance of fascinating historical sites. The area that was known as the Kingdom of Gwynedd for almost a millennium is steeped in history: right across the mountainous stronghold of Snowdonia one finds ancient battlements, extraordinary architecture and fascinating examples of how North Wales has contributed to the world. Harlech Castle and Conwy Castle are two such places. Their stark, imposing battlements rise above the rock, having been besieged countless times over the centuries. Portmeirion, one man’s vision for an astonishingly colourful village filled with eccentric architecture, and Porthmadog, steeped in Wales’s maritime history, seem as if they are from another world. The world’s oldest railway winds through the landscape, and one can see the humble birthplace of an extraordinary Prime Minister - and Dan Snow’s great-great-grandfather - David Lloyd George. In this fascinating episode, Dan Snow takes us through some of the wonders of this beautiful part of the UK.
Up Next in Season 1
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The Western Front
The Western Front, a 400-plus-mile stretch of land weaving through France and Belgium from the Swiss border to the North Sea, was the decisive front during World War One. Despite the global nature of the conflict, much of the world remembers the scars of the Great War through the lens of these ba...
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Lincoln Castle
Lincoln is one of the most historic settlements in Britain: from being the site of a key legionary fort in Roman times to its towering cathedral being the first landmark British bomber crews would see upon their return from daring raids over Nazi-occupied Europe during World War Two. At Lincoln's...
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Liverpool's Hidden Heritage
Many of Britain's most iconic historical sights stand supreme in the open for all to see: Hadrian's Wall, Stonehenge, St Paul's Cathedral and the country's abundance of castles for instance. Yet beneath our cities and towns too, stunning structures and buildings of the past have been painstakingl...