About
Flint Castle
The brooding castle standing sentinel on the foreshore is probably Flint’s greatest claim to fame. Before the summer of 1277, the town was little more than an area of open fields on the banks of the river Dee, but due to its strategic location and being just one day’s march from Chester, King Edward I chose this spot as the ideal place to build the first of his ‘iron ring’ of fortifications along the coast of North Wales.
The town of Flint subsequently grew up around the castle, deriving its name from the natural outcrop of rock on which this military stronghold was built. Although now largely ruined, the imposing remains of Flint Castle still speak of strength and might. A spiral staircase recently installed in the north east tower leads on to a viewing platform giving spectacular views of the River Dee and Cheshire.
Today Flint is a large and bustling town with another claim to fame, thanks to local resident, Jade Jones. At the age of just 19 she became Britain’s youngest gold medallist at the 2012 London Olympics, and the first Briton to win Taekwondo gold. The town renamed the local Leisure Centre ‘The Jade Jones Pavilion’ in her honour, and Jade went on to win a second gold in the Rio Olympics in 2016. She was awarded an OBE in 2020 for her services to Taekwondo and sport
