Hello North Wales!
Covid restrictions here in the UK have been easing for the past few weeks. Summer is here! The sun’s out (half of the time anyways – if you are well acquainted with the British weather, you would understand what I mean). Covid is still very much of a concern. But we (my friends and I) got to do something with all the time on our hands! It’s summer after all! The longing to travel has reached its peak at this point!
And so, we decided to take a trip to North Wales! We were fortunate that we got clear skies throughout our travels!
We travelled throughout North Wales for 4 days and spent 3 nights at different accommodations. However this blog post will be divided into two parts. Part I will cover day one and day two of our North Wales adventures and Part II will cover the rest. Below are our adventures on day one and two!
Day One: Conwy, Llandudno and the Great Orme
- Conwy town and castle – One of Britain’s best-preserved medieval towns. Conwy is simply spectacular from the get go! From the moment you drive into the town, on your (or rather, my) right is the sea, on my left, are the suspension bridge and Conwy castle. I swear my heart skipped a beat!
If you are not pressed for time, please please please spend some time to walk along Conwy Town Wall. Do check the opening times though as it may vary depending on seasons. The town wall is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and it one of the finest and most complete town walls in Europe. Not to mention the view! It’s quite something! It could just be me, but if I’m honest, you have to experience this one for yourself if you are planning to visit Conwy!
While in Conwy, you might also want to visit the Smallest House in Great Britain, the Conwy Castle Harbour, stroll along the many narrow streets, grab a bite of fish and chips and maybe get yourself a scoop (or two) of delicious ice-creams from the various ice-cream parlours around town (We got ours at Parisella’s Ice Cream parlour and it was tasty!).
- Llandudno – One of British’s oldest and mot popular elegant resort towns. And it really is an elegant, sea-side town. If you are a beach /sea /ocean person such as myself, spend some time walking along the beach. I find it very relaxing. And the pier! Don’t forget to walk down the pier too!
Great Orme & Great Orme Tramway – Llandudno’s mini-mountain, rich in natural and man-made history. The view from the summit is just spectacular! We arrived a bit late in the evening so we didn’t get the chance to ride the tram (it was outside operating hours). But if we were to repeat Llandudno again, I would definitely repeat the Great Orme and take the tram. Oh and we would also ride the Llandudno Cable Car as well as try out tobogganing which we didn’t get the chance to do and experience this time around. Our accommodation for the night was at Travelodge Colwyn Bay.
Day Two: Llanfairpwllgwyngyll & Anglesey
- Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch – The longest name town in England. There is not really much to do in the area besides visiting the train station and a nearby souvenir store. Nevertheless, don’t let that stop you from visiting this town! One of the staff at the souvenir store actually pronounce the name of the town in its entirety for me and my mind was blown!
- Porth Wen Brickworks – A now disused Victorian-era brickworks that used to make fire bricks. Honestly, the view here is oh so amazing! The pictures just won’t do justice. Trust me! However, to get here is a little tricky and I really wouldn’t know how to explain it to you because we got to the place with a little help of a very kind local man whom we met when we got lost! He was kind enough to drive us to this place (which I feel like referring it as a starting point of some sort would be more fitting) where we would park our car and did a bit of a mild hike for about thirty minutes before we arrive at the actual Porth Wen Brickworks. The route that the local man showed us took us to Porth Wen Brickworks itself, but he did say that there is another route which we could take (which would involve proper hike along the North Anglesey Coastline – preferably with proper attire) and will see the view of the Porth Wen Brickworks from afar. However, according to our kind stranger, the view along the coastline is spectacular and on a clear day when the water is somewhat calm, one might even spot dolphins! Considering that we did not wear proper hiking attire, we didn’t take that option. Regardless of the route options, I would bet that it will definitely afford you magnificent views of Porth Wen Brickworks and its surrounding areas!
- South Stack Lighthouse – Located on a small island accessible via a 400-step drop from the mainland’s steep cliffs. To be honest, we didn’t go that extra mile i.e. we didn’t take that 400-steps down to the lighthouse itself something which I really regret! We didn’t have enough time on our hands as we had to make our way to our next destination. But, if you have the time, please do it. It’ll give you a different view of the lighthouse which I’m sure is spectacular!
- Caernarfon town and castle – Royal town, community, and port in Gwynedd, Wales. We paid £7.80 for the entrance fee to visit the inside of the castle and we think it was worth it! We learnt a lot about the castle and its use in the old days. And of course we didn’t forget to get ourselves two scoops of ice-cream to end the day! Our accommodation for the night was at Travelodge Caernarfon.
That’s all for Part I of my North Wales experience! Part II is coming up next!
Till then,
xx