Why Edward I entered North Wales at Flint

The closing plan shows the great tower separated from the inner ward, with a moat and other protections making Flint difficult to attack. The castle was Edward I's first statement of intent at his entry into North Wales. The choice of route is explained by a war against Gwynedd and Snowdonia, rather than a campaign against Wales as a whole. Southern Wales was generally richer and would have been easier for the strength of his forces to reach. His immediate opponents were in the north, so that easier southern approach would not have addressed the same problem. Water access was a major part of the design of this first stronghold in the Ring of Iron.