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Bangor

A cathedral and university city, Bangor incorporates a wide variety of architectural styles that remind the visitor that this is not only an interesting and stimulating place but also one with a long history. A monastic community was founded here as early as AD 525 by St Deiniol. The town's name is derived from the wattle fence which surrounded the saint's primitive enclosure - the term 'bangori' is still used in parts of Wales to describe the plaiting of twigs in a hedge.

There were settlers in the area long before St Deiniol, including the Romans at nearby Segontium. The Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery (free) is just the place to discover not only the past 2,000 years of history of this area of Wales but also to see reconstructions of domestic life in days gone by. The Oriel Art Gallery exhibits changing displays of work by mostly Welsh contemporary artists.

The mother church of the oldest bishopric in Britain, Bangor Cathedral dates from the 13th century and has probably been in continuous use for longer than any other cathedral in Britain. During the Middle Ages, the cathedral became a centre of worship for the independent principality of Gwynedd and when Owain Gwynedd was buried here his tomb became a starting point for pilgrims setting out on the arduous journey to Bardsey Island. Restored in 1866, the cathedral also contains a life-size carving of Christ dating from 1518 while, outside, there is a Biblical garden that contains plants which are associated with the Bible.

Until the slate boom of the 19th century, Bangor remained little more than a village, albeit with an impressive church. Its position on the Menai Strait made this the ideal place for nearby Penrhyn Quarry to build their docks and the town soon flourished in its new role as a commercial centre. Its importance increased further when Bangor University (originally the University College of North Wales) was founded here in 1884. Improvements to the roads and then the coming of the railways to the North Wales coast also saw Bangor grow in both stature and importance. The Menai Suspension Bridge was built by Thomas Telford between 1819 and 1826 and was the first permanent crossing of the Menai Strait. Before its completion the crossing had been made by ferry, but cattle on their way to and from market would have had to swim the channel. Not surprisingly there was much opposition to the construction not only from the ferrymen but also from ship-owners worried that the structure would impede the passage of their tall ships. As a result of this concern, the road bridge stands at a height of 100 feet. The Britannia Bridge, a mile further southwest from Telford's bridge, is a combined road and rail crossing and was built between 1846 and 1850 by Robert Stephenson. The lions guarding the bridge are by John Thomas, who was responsible for much of the sculpture at the Houses of Parliament. Also jutting out into the Menai Strait from the town is the 1500 feet long Victorian Pier, which was built in 1896, almost demolished in 1974 and restored in the early 1980s. It now has original style kiosks and a café at the sea end. As well as being attractive in itself, the pier commands grand views of the Menai Strait, the Great Orme at Llandudno, Snowdonia, Telford's suspension bridge and Bangor itself. Both pleasure and fishing trips can be taken from the pier head.

To the east of Bangor, overlooking the Menai Strait and Beaumaris on the Isle of Anglesey, is Penrhyn Castle, a dramatic neo-Norman construction built between 1820 and 1845 by Thomas Hopper with the profits from his slate quarries. It has more than 300 luxuriously appointed rooms and a superb collection of paintings, including works by Rembrandt, Canaletto and Gainsborough. The Castle also has a Dolls Museum, a Victorian walled garden and an Industrial Railway Museum displaying rolling stock once used on the estate's own rail link between the slate quarries and the port. 'Castle and Quarry' is a permanent exhibition exploring Penrhyn's industrial past.

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