County Dossier
Caernarfonshire
A county of castles, mountains and princes.
Caernarfonshire is a maritime county in north-west Wales, dominated by the rugged heights of Snowdonia (Yr Eryri), with Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) standing as the highest mountain in Wales.
At a glance
Caernarfonshire at a glance
A county of castles, mountains and princes.
- Coastal and mountainous
- Formed of the ancient Welsh Cantrefs of Arfon, Arllechwedd, Llŷn and Eifionydd
- Caernarfon = Arfon-fort
- Area 563 sq mi 1,458 km²
- Population: 139,065
- County top: Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) 3,560 ft / 1,085 m
County Geography
Caernarfonshire meets Anglesey across the Menai Strait, Denbighshire to the east beyond the Conwy, and Merionethshire to the south, while the sea bounds the county to north and west. Within those bounds the county is shaped by the Menai shore, the Eryri mountains, the Conwy line, and the seaward reach of Llŷn.
Few counties combine strait, mountain mass, and peninsula so strongly. Caernarfonshire is read through that meeting of Menai shore, Eryri, and Llŷn.
Map Reference
View Caernarfonshire on the map
Caernarfonshire is the county. The map also shows lieutenancies and council areas that use the county name.
The county.
The lieutenancy.
Council areas.
Places and routes
Caernarfon, Bangor, Conwy, Beddgelert, and Pwllheli show the county from Menai shore and eastern boundary to mountain heart and the Llŷn peninsula.
Connections
Routes have long followed the Menai shore, crossed the mountain passes southward, and run west along Llŷn. Movement follows the county’s strait, mountain, and peninsula structure.
Names
- Caernarfonshire
- County of Caernarfon
- Sir Gaernarfon
Sir Gaernarfon is the Welsh form of Caernarfonshire. County of Caernarfon is the formal historical style, and the county name itself is built from Caernarfon, the fort on the Menai side facing Anglesey.
Caernarfonshire took formal county shape in 1284, but the older districts of Arfon and the mountain lands are older than that legal moment. Those geographic parts still sit together clearly within the historic county.