Llandudno. Nifty name, isn’t it? Names are important, and Llandudno is one I like. With the boardwalk, the pier, the very nice restaurant Osborne House and that great rambling old-world Grand Hotel, Llandudno is also a city we like.
In earlier days, the ferry to the Isle of Man left from Llandudno Pier. Not anymore, sadly. I had loosely planned to fit in Isle of Man during our holiday, loosely being the operative word. Travelling with children simply means staying for much longer in one place, thus seeing fewer places, so Isle of Man ended up being too ambitious. Instead, I visited Man a week later, on my own, and found it to be a somewhat underrated destination, just like Wales. But more on that in a later post.
Near Llandudno is Conwy. We arrived from the south and Conwy’s southern entrance is fabulous. You round a corner, head for the Thomas Telford bridge – and there, before your eyes, appears Conwy Castle
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Caernarfon Castle might be the more famous of the four UNESCO-listed King Edward’s castles in Gwynedd, but I prefer Conwy. Of course, my view may be a bit influenced by the surrounding town. Even though Caernarfon has a more intriguing name, Conwy is a nicer town.
Seagull on castle tower and a cool Conwy cat
As if a cool castle, cool city walls and cool cats in a pleasant medieval town isn’t enough, Conwy is also home to that jewel of an Elizabethan house, Plas Mawr, worthy of a post of its own.
Plas Mawr was built in the late 16th century by merchant Robert Wynn
