Llandudno

Llandudno was the first for of call of my Welsh holiday – thanks to lovely hubby’s train organising skills I arrived at 4pm after a hassle-free journey. Soon afterwards I got a text from my sister saying that she and her boyfriend had just crossed the Severn Bridge! Alarm bells immediately rang, even though I’m not a driver myself, as I was sure that the better way was to stay on the English side of Offa’s Dyke then turn left and head across. Hubby agreed – the M6 towards Birmingham being the more usual route from somewhere like Southampton – but my sister had faith in the AA routefinder. Meanwhile I went for a walk across the prom and pier, sussing out the good pubs, shops and eateries in town.
Four and a half hours later Shirl and Gareth arrived in Llandudno, poor Gareth being a teensy bit stressed after all that driving and both being ravenously hungry. We wandered down Mostyn Street till we found a little Italian restaurant called Romeros which was still open at 9pm on Sunday night. We had lovely pizza and pasta there, and all began to relax a little.
Next day Gareth drove us to Conwy where we visited the beautiful Conwy Castle, with superb views of Conwy and the sea. Gareth took many photos, being a keen photographer, both with an antique camera and a high-spec digital one. A tame herring-gull featured in a few – think it was more interested in pinching people’s sandwiches though! We had lunch at the Kings Head (not as good as I’d expected) then headed up the Great Orme by tram (cable car out of action). Shirl and Gareth enjoyed the views, and making ‘HSBC’ out of rocks at the quarry. Unfortunately I didn’t have a trail map, so we missed a lot of the archaeological sites – but then Shirl and Gareth didn’t want to do a lot of walking anyway.
Another meal out in the fish n chip restaurant, a few pints in the Cross Keys – then it was bye-bye to Gareth and off to Porthmadog for us sisters for the next 3 days.