After Cardiff we took the train across Wales to Llandudno – if you learnt British geography like I did, you’ll know that the map of Scotland, England and Wales looks like a witch riding a pig. Well Llandudno is near the pig’s ear!
You can see how far Cardiff in the south, is from Llandudno in the north. It was such a pretty journey but I took no photos as the train windows were a tad dirty. Also, Storm Austin had hit a couple of days prior and the train was stuck in Cardiff, by the time they found a two car train, there were about 300 people on the platform. I worked hard to get us a seat as this was a long journey, and there was no standing room by the time we left. We were a bit concerned about getting off with our suitcases, but everyone was really helpful and we made it.
Llandudno is on a peninsula and is Wales’ largest seaside resort. Like many other places, it was developed as an upmarket holiday town for Victorian visitors and has a lot of the 19th century grandeur expected of such towns, with wedding cake architecture lining the promenade.
Above the town is the Great Orme, which is a fairly high headland offering stunning views and miles of trails. Great Orme is the Norse word for “snake”. Hmmm…
As you can see in the photo below, the limestone hill/mountain looms above the town and has many native plants and a herd of Kashmir mountain goats. It was beautiful at night.
At the top of Great Orme is the large prehistoric mine ever discovered, complete with tunnels dug in search of copper. These were dug over 4000 years ago using stones and bones as tools.
Britain’s longest cable car runs a mile from the gardens above the pier and takes about 18 minutes to go from bottom to top. It was too windy when we were there, and never saw it in operation. However, there is also the Great Orme tramway which is Britain’s only cable-hauled public road tramway and funicular railway. We took it to the top and the views are truly spectacular!
The cable car traverses the top and I can imagine it has a magnificent view.
Although we had pretty fabulous views from the ground.
I mentioned that it was really windy when we were there, and here is a short video clip of me being blown about. I was not prepared to go near any edges!
One of the things we love about the UK is that dogs can go almost anywhere. Someone got on the tram with three enormous greyhounds and we found ourselves stepping over them in the coffee shop, trying not to stand on their blankets, which were transported up the mountain with them!
We took the tram back down to the half way point and walked the rest of the way. The views were truly spectacular!
It was quite steep, but you can see how the houses are nestled together on the peninsula.
There are two trams and they have a passing point, so timing is key!
Once we were off the mountain and back on the road, it’s clear how steep the hills are
Near the tram stop was a sign to the Haulfre Gardens. We found the path and began walking – uphill of course!
The gardens are terraced into the side of the mountain and it must have taken some effort to create them. I loved the gate into the gardens, but the gardens themselves are pretty wild and certainly not manicured.
We did come across a herd of the famous Kashmir goats, and they took no notice of us whatsoever.
As we began our descent, dusk was falling and I managed to get a photo of the sunbeams playing on the water.
There’s an Alice in Wonderland trail in Llandudno, which dates back to 1861, when eight year old Alice Liddell spent a holiday there. Her parents were close friends with Charles Dodgson aka Lewis Carroll. There’s a view that he was inspired by Alice and her adventures, and the Alice trail was created. I couldn’t find the trail online at the time (I have since I got home – gah!) However, we came across a couple of the statues and I’m sure we passed a lot without noticing.
It was this white rabbit that alerted us to the trail, and there are 55 of these plaques in the pavement, which can be followed. It ididn’t do us much good, as we kept getting distracted.
We did find the Queen of Hearts though.
Next we visited Conwy Castle, just across the water and a bus ride away. It is possible to walk a complete circuit around the battlements, giving splendid views.
Conwy Castle is reputably one of the most magnificent medieval fortresses in Europe, and it is easy to see how it was built around the local population as the town basically sits inside it. It is one of the best preserved castles I’ve ever seen and apparently has the most intact set of medieval royal apartments in Wales. We spent so long exploring the outside that we didn’t get to do the inside!
There are eight towers and the views are splendid.
It’s a little strange seeing cars driving around inside a castle!
We walked down to the harbour and found the smallest house in the UK. Unfortunately I could not get a good photo as it was heaving with people and we didn’t go inside. I discovered that it was built in the 16th century, and inhabited until 1900. It is a “one up, one down” house measuring just 6 feet wide, over 10 feet high, and 10 feet deep. The lower floor consists of a room with a fireplace and a tap and the upper floor is a sleeping loft, which, when you consider that the final occupant was a 6-foot-3-inch fisherman, seems quite mind boggling. I love seeing how it was nestled in to the castle walls.
As we walked round the harbour, we could see back to where we had walked off the mountain to the left of this photo, having visited the Haulfre Gardens.
The view back to the castle is rather lovely, as you look past the boats and see all eight towers.
We got caught in a sudden rainshower and took shelter undeer this arch. You can see that the walkway basically runs round the entire castle.
I suspect there was a moat with a drawbridge which this device raised and lowered, although it seems to have been moved.
Back in Llandudno there were fireworks. Apparently there were 20,000 people on the foreshore, and the fireworks were set off on the beach. They had to calculate the tides and the wind and it was deemed that this was the best night for it. This was the Guy Fawkes night firework display, just a week early. I do love fireworks but I did worry about the environmental impact of all those heavy metals going straight into the sea.
We had planned to go to Portmeiron and then back to Porthmadog to catch a steam train to Blaenau Ffestiniog, but after two trains and two buses to Porthmadog, we decided to stay put and enjoy a delicious cake in a bakery!
We then wandered through the town enjoying the harbour views, before heading to the station to catch the train.
Blaenau Ffestiniog is an historic slate quarrying town in the Snowdonia Mountains, and is known as the “slate capital of the world”, and is reputed to have roofed the world. The town is a key component of the UNESCO World Heritage Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales
I had booked us on The Mountain Spirit, a steam train which makes the 13.5 mile journey from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog. The carriages are typically hauled by historic Double Fairlie steam locomotives built in the railway’s historic Boston Lodge workshops. As you can see, the one we were on was rebuilt in 1988 in the Boston Lodge Works.
It was lovely to go past the Boston Lodge Workshops and see that they are still employing people to build and rebuild the trains.
I booked this long before we left Australia and decided that if we were going to do it, we were doing it well, so reserved seats in the panoramic
carriage. We were right in the window, and, as the train was at the other end, we had unobstructed views. It was wonderful!
I thought it was going to be freezing so I stole my husband’s jumper, but in fact it was very pleasant.
We passed the slate quarry
The train runs on narrow gauge tracks and passes through the Cob, a 1.4km man made embankment.
It climbs over 700 feet through wooded valleys, ancient oak woodlands, and dramatic mountain terrain with horseshoe curves and tunnels
We passed many waterfalls, which added to the beauty.
There are farms on the mountains, and whilst, beautiful, I can’t imagine what it’s like living on them. They do have beautiful stone walls though.
I thought it might be interesting to show our route.
and the train letting off steam at the top!
We left Llandudno with some sadness, North Wales is a stunning place full of friendly people who really wanted to talk to us. Our next stop was Worcester, back in England, so see you then!
