The luminous view of Caernarvon, seen from across the Menai Straits, was painted towards the end of the three months that Brett and his family spent in North Wales during the summer and autumn of 1875. The scene relates to pencil studies in a sketchbook cited in 'John Brett: a Pre-Raphaelite on the Shores of Wales'. a larger version of this work titled: 'The stronghold of the Seison and the Camp of the Kittywake' was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1879.