A Saturday in and Around Llandudno

Singers on Llandudno Pier this Afternoon

After an excellent breakfast it was time to explore.

Photographing Conwy Castle

This winter I’m hoping to visit the area to do some night photography. Conwy castle is lit up at night and will make an excellent subject.

The North Wales coastal path follows the river Conwy on the opposite side from Conwy. It seems to be an ideal location for taking photos of the Castle, so I went to investigate. It’s a difficult path to get to owing to a railway line between it and the road. I got off the bus at the wrong stop and had to walk a long distance to get to it.

It’s easily accessed from the old road bridge between Llandudno Junction and Conwy, down some steps on the right, just after the bridge across the new road. There’s a bus stop (each direction) by the roundabout at the end of the bridge, on the Llandudno Junction side.

You can also join the path at Deganwy station, it’s then a mile or two’s walk to the old bridge. There are excellent views over the river towards Conwy. Hopefully, I’ll be doing this walk one dry night next winter.

You can see some of the photos I took in this post.

Llandudno Seafront

I then caught the bus back to Llandudno and walked along the seafront to the pier, and then along the pier to its end to get some photographs of the Waverley Paddle Steamer arriving. You can see some of the photos I took during this walk in this post. By now, the seafront was very busy, as was the pier.

I sat on the beach wall in a few places to rest, enjoy the seafront and people watch. There was a small boat offering slow trips around the bay and the Great Orme, you could hear the man advertising them in the distance with a loudspeaker. There was also a speed boat offering fast trips around the bay.

Waverley Paddle Steamer

The pier was very, very busy, I was lucky to get a spot to see the Paddle Steamer. If it wasn’t for the boat, there’s no way I’d have walked along it (far too many people). In fact, if it wasn’t for the boat I wouldn’t be here for a weekend in June. Midweek is a lot quieter. I had a half-hour wait, but there was a DJ playing Motown hits from the seventies, which I like. I had a chat to a fellow photographer and Waverley enthusiast.

The photos I took of it arriving are in this post.

I then walked halfway down the pier, to get some photos of it leaving for a cruise around Puffin Island. I had a fifty-minute wait, but there was a very good choir (photographed above) nearby singing pop songs. It was also nice watching the people walking up and down the pier. And the boats taking people on trips around the bay, from one of the smaller piers. Some of the photos I took of the Waverley are in this post.

Tapps Micropub, Llandudno

After all the walking and standing around it was time for a rest, and more importantly, some real ale. I’d been to the Tapps micropub before and it was very enjoyable, so I decided to go there. Sitting at the bar I had a couple of pints, people watching. Not really thinking about much, I was tired.

I’ve written about this pub in this post. It was busy, so I had a quick pint and left.

The Albion, Conwy

After a short rest I caught the bus to Conwy to visit this excellent pub, the best pub of the trip. I really liked the Crafty Fox in Old Colwyn, but this one beats it by a mile. I also had an excellent curry in Spice Safari. I’ve written about it here.

Tapps have a micropub in Conwy, it’s called Tapps@Conwy. It’s an interesting place, in an old ice cream factory down the alley at the side of Spice Safari. It was pleasant enough; I visited it twice (Saturday and Sunday, not twice in one day). Both times it was very busy and almost impossible to photograph. Both times I was drinking Conwy Breweries Welsh Pride bitter at £4.50 a pint. The bar staff were friendly. I had a conversation about photography with one, while he was serving pints. He’d seen my camera. I’ll try it again next time I’m here, when its quiet. For now, a mention in dispatches.

Down on the quayside there is the Liverpool Arms, a pub that is part of Conwy’s wall. A few people I spoke to said it was a good pub. One person told me it was expensive, well over a fiver a pint. I never went there, outside you had to drink with a plastic glass, no chance. The first time I saw it, early Saturday evening, a group of several men came out, obviously on the piss. Not for me.

I took some photos of the quayside area, see this post and then returned to Llandudno. Conway was also starting to get busy, with groups of people out on a Saturday night piss-up.

Back to Llandudno

Back in Llandudno it was much quieter. By now I was tired and my feet were hurting from all the walking (far too much). I decided to risk a pint in the Snowdon, a Good Beer Guide pub. I walked in and saw the cheapest pint was £5.40. I walked out and went to bed. A bit early, but I needed the rest. It’s no fun getting old.