Entering North Wales from Chester, the road runs alongside the Dee estuary through a heavily industrialized area to Flint, an old town which was granted a charter by Edward I in 1284. Edward also built the castle (now ruined), which has an unusual plan with a separate keep surrounded by a moat. The castle, which was begun in 1277, was the first
of 17 fortresses which Edward I had built to defend the North Wales coast. It also features in Shakespeare's "Richard II" as the scene of the king's capture by Bolingbroke.