September
of 2020 saw the Covid situation in the UK is a tad under control. We having been
stuck in the house ever since the pandemic struck us grasped the opportunity
and made a dash for the beautiful coastal city of Llandudno. Being located in
Manchester makes the drive to Llandudno only a matter of 1hr and 40 mins on
each side. We rent a car from our favourite Enterprise Rent-a-car and zeroed in
on a weekend during the beautiful September month to visit the city. We rented the car over the weekend.
Llandudno is
a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on
the Creuddyn peninsula, extending into the Irish
Sea.
We set out
at about 10am from our home and after a bit of a bummer due to congestion on
the highway we reached Llandudno at about 12:30pm. There are a number of pay
and park facilities near the Llandudno pier which is one of the must-visit
places when in Llandudno.
Destination
One: Marine Drive
We started our trip with the must-do drive up the
beautiful marine drive. This is a breathtaking winding road that leads up to
the Great Orme summit. The 5-mile toll road is open all
year and offers spectacular views over to Anglesey and Snowdonia. The road
begins past the pier on the North Shore and the first 3 and a half miles are
one-way traffic only. Your toll ticket also covers parking at the summit. There
are many places to park along Marine Drive to enjoy the scenery. You can access
the Great Orme summit by turning left onto St Tudno’s Road, about a mile along
Marine Drive. Toll charges: Car £3.70.
Destination
Two: The Great Orme summit
Once you reach the Great Orme summit and have
parked your car you can choose to spend a long part of your gazing at the
gorgeous expanse of blue serenity, have a little family picnic nestled onto one
of the wooden tables or enjoy a late brunch at the café located at the summit. The
Summit Complex stands prominently at the 679 ft summit of the Great Orme in
Llandudno. The Summit Complex offers you breath-taking views of Llandudno,
areas of Snowdonia National Park, the Isle of Anglesey and the Irish sea.
The Summit Complex consists of a Café/Restaurant, a boxing-themed bar based on
the famous Randolph Turpin and a gift shop that provides fantastic souvenirs as
a reminder of your visit. Also at the Summit is a children's playground, mini-golf and visitor centre. You can choose to travel to the summit using one
method or a combination of tram, cable car, bus, walking or car. If you decide
to choose the cable car (however it is
good to point out that the cable car services are dependent on the weather and
wind conditions, the day we had visited it was not open for service) or
tramway you will have the experience to remember. The cable car is the longest
of its type in the UK and the tramway transports you back to a Victorian bygone
age. Both offer fantastic views, and children especially enjoy this memorable
experience. Having captured as much as possible we could both in the lens of
our memories and cameras we headed off towards our next must-visit spot for the
day, the Llandudno pier.
Destination Three: The Llandudno Pier.
Stretching 2,295 feet (700 m)
over the sea, Llandudno Pier is the longest in Wales, and one
of the UK’s finest, and was voted “Pier of the Year 2005” by the members of the
National Piers Society. This outstanding iron pier was built in two phases – the
straight section (from the gate near Happy Valley) was opened to the public on
1 August 1877. The spur, which now gives Llandudno Pier its main entrance from
the promenade was added in 1884. There are a number of shops across the pier.
In the middle of the pier, there are a number of eating joints clustered
together. If you are looking to purchase souvenirs for the trip drop into one of the shops on the pier, you will surely find one to your liking.
After having explored the pier we took a trip to the
retail park of Llandudno to grab some lunch. There are a good number of
restaurants as well as fast food joints for you to choose from.
Travel Checks:
Do try the freshly baked doughnuts when strolling on the pier.
|
Tourist attraction name
|
Post code
|
|
Marine Drive
|
LL30 2LR
|
|
Great Orme Summit (Car park)
|
LL30 2XF
|
|
Llandudno pier
|
LL30 2LP
|
|
West Shore beach
|
L L30
|
|
Conwy Castle
|
LL32 8AY
|
Destination Four: The Conwy castle
Having filled our bellies we made our way towards our
next spot on the must-do list, the Conwy castle. Conwy Castle is a World Heritage Site.
This famous fortress is exceptionally well preserved. Thanks to restored spiral
staircases in its great towers you can walk a complete circuit around the
battlements of Conwy Castle. This is one of the most magnificent medieval
fortresses in Europe.
At the time when we were visiting the Conwy castle, the entrance was restricted given the pandemic situation, however, make sure to
visit their official page link in the table below to check out the latest
ticket prices, opening hours and any other associated information.
There is a beautiful suspension bridge just adjacent
to the Castle. The main gates were closed so we only could catch glimpses of
the bridge from the normal bridge beside it. But if you enter the castle
premises then access to this gorgeous bridge is easy and it’s a must-visit
place as per us!
Visit our Facebook Page, Follow us on Instagram, to see more such wonderful pictorial memories from our trips.
Destination Five: The West Shore beach
Having clicked photos and after having discussions
about the beauty and grandeur of this perfect medieval castle we made our way
towards the last on our list to do spot, the West shore beach.
West Shore beach in Llandudno is much quieter than
the bustling North Shore.
This is a sandy beach which is popular with holidaymakers. The beach faces
toward Conwy Bay where low tide reveals a large stretch of sand, which is great
for kite-flyers and kite-surfers. It's also well-known for its stunning sunsets. There is a café
with parking and toilet facilities by the beach.
Travel Checks: Attention Pawrents! You should be aware that between 1st
May and 30th September no dogs are allowed on the beach. It is an offence to
allow your dog to enter a dog exclusion area. Failure to comply with the Dogs
Exclusion Order 2012 can result in a Fixed Penalty Notice being issued. This is
currently set at £75. You are also not allowed to feed the seagulls.
We parked in the parking area
just off the beach, it was almost empty. We spent some time sitting quietly by
the beach watching the daylight fade as we lost ourselves in the melody of the
waves crashing onto the shore watching the sun bid us farewell for the day, once
the sunset we too started our journey back towards Manchester as we had a long
day planned for next day as well.
To read about our day trip the
following day to the breathtaking Anglesey click on the link here.
Travel Checks:
If you are a fan of the famous Alice in Wonderful keep an eye out for these two
famous characters and you might just be able to get snapped with them!
Important links to use when visiting Llandudno
Visit our Facebook Page, Follow us on Instagram, to see more such wonderful pictorial memories from our trips.
Other important links to help you plan your trip
to Llandudno.
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