The Bolton Blog: Llandudno

To "celebrate" our 5th anniversary, we spent this past weekend in Llandudno, a seaside resort town on the north coast of Wales. Although there has been settlements there since the stone age, it wasn't until the late 1800's that the town was developed as a Victorian resort. All along the bay, there are Victorian-style hotels and B&Bs, as well as the Llandudno Pier "at 2,295 feet (700 m) the pier is the longest in Wales and the fifth longest in England and Wales" which was built in 1877.

We arrived on Friday at 16:00, checked in to the Imperial Hotel, then walked around the town and decided on a fish and chips restaurant for supper.

Saturday morning we had a wonderful breakfast at our hotel overlooking the ocean and the Great Orme, a prominent limestone hill on the west side of the bay of Llandudno. Afterwards we ventured outside. Although we were blessed by a gorgeously sunny day, it was very windy and only about 45-50 degrees. Our first stop was the Great Orme Tramway "Great Britain's only remaining cable operated street tramway and one of few surviving in the world." We were already cold having been on an open-air tram and the gail-force winds at the top only made our condition worse. So after a very quick walk around the top we found refuge in the visitor centre for an hour while Ellen napped. We took the next tram down the hill and found lunch at a cafe. Our next destination was the pier. Ellen was probably wondering why in the world her mommy and daddy were taking her out over the ocean while we were being blown to bits. Once at the end of the pier, a couple stood up from a bench along the back of a small cafe building, so we sat down and instantly noticed the lack of wind! The sun was shining, we had a beautiful view of the Great Orme and the Victorian buildings along the promanade. Ellen fell asleep, and we even dozed a bit too. It...was...wonderful! We were warm and could just relax for a while. It was definitely the high point of our trip. We reluctantly gave up the bench in order to take Ellen back to the hotel to have a swim in the pool. At first she wasn't thrilled about being in the big "splish splash" but then she soon realized that she could kick and splash and it wouldn't matter if we got wet, too! Saturday evening we ate at a New York style restaurant, and to our delight, it was surprisingly good!

Llandudno Promenade and row of Victorian hotels

On the cable-drawn tram up the Great Orme

"Hey, Ellen, look at the beautiful view out the window!"

Views from the top of the Great Orme over the Irish Sea

Ready to walk the length of the pier

Doesn't Ellen look adorable in her sun hat?

Almost to the end of the pier

View of the Great Orme from the pier

Looking back on the promenade and the Grand Hotel (wasn't that grand!) from the end of the pier.

The row of hotels from the end of the pier

Standing! (ok, with Daddy's help)

Completely tuckered out

So sweet, if I do say so myself

On our way back to the hotel

Sunday morning, we enjoyed our breakfast again by the window, nevermind the numerous times we had to chase Ellen around the room while trying to finish our cup of coffee. After checking out, we drove on the toll road that goes around the Great Orme and then drove to the walled town of Conwy just outside Llandudno. We visited the Conwy suspension bridge and toll house, as well as the Aberconwy House, both ran by the National Trust. The Aberconwy House is a 14th-century merchant's house and "is the only medieval merchant's house in Conwy to have survived the turbulent history of the walled town over nearly six centuries." We didn't have time to walk around the town walls, but I'm sure it would have been a nice way to end our weekend away.