Our Travels in a Nutshell: Conwy, Wales

Thursday, June 19

Despite the magnificent sunset and red sky last night, we opened our curtains this morning to see grey skies with low cloud and trees blowing in a fairly strong wind. This called for a quick check of the forecast on I-pad and thankfully it was for the cloud to clear as the day progressed, the wind to drop and no rain, with a top temp of 19 C.

We continued with our plan to explore the Snowdonia region which meant we had to head back to Betwys-y-Coed - the gateway to Snowdonia and the neighbouring towns and villages. The brochure read "A gem of an area, gifted with hidden lakes, cascading waterfalls, historic bridges and serene river havens with a distinctly alpine feel enhanced by the dense Gwydyr Forest surrounding Betws-y-Coed. Breathe the fresh air, sample the edible delights of the area in the cafés, bistros, restaurants and pubs, many of which use locally sourced and often award-winning produce - experience the very best this special area has to offer". We couldn't resist. Because we have already gone on and on about lovely Wales, we have decided to use their words and show you in pictures rather than the same old superlatives we have been using.

Initial grey skies and low cloud

In no time, the clouds cleared and it was back to sunny Wales

A gem of an area ... pretty stone villages

.... hidden lakes and streams,

.... cascading waterfalls

& historic bridges.

About to sample the edible delights of the area

Noelle in the courtyard of the Welsh Food Centre

As you can see, the Snowdonias lived up to the brochure description ... and more. We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch of traditional food at the Welsh Food Centre - "Bodie Oggie" (a pastie-like pastry crammed with lamb and vegetables) for Al and breaded fish cakes for Noelle, both served with locally grown salad vegetables. These were followed by the most luscious fruit tarts with fresh cream - it's a wonder any clothes fit us these days!

After the beautiful mountain scenery, we decided to head for the town of Llandudno on the north coast but still only a 30 mile drive away. We were surprised when we arrived to see the town's large size and that all it's buildings were Victorian. The town is on a large crescent-shaped bay lined with large pebbles and edged with a wide boardwalk. The houses reminded us of London. We walked around the city centre and read the info boards that explained that back in the 1840's the Victorians had the chance to develop a whole new resort area around the bay (whereas the old slate mining town was built on the lower slopes of the Great Orme mountain) and to build something way ahead of its time. The roads in the town centre follow the shape of Llandudno Bay with the cross streets forming a grid - all very orderly and quite different to most other Welsh coastal towns we have visited. Each block of land was much larger than those of the mining cottages in the old part of town. Also, the Victorian town planners insisted that the new buildings had to be three or four storeys high as opposed to the one and two storeys of the old mining houses. They were very clever with the way they integrated the old and new areas so the result was very charming and the town thrived as tourists arrived in their droves. Judging by the majority of people we passed in the streets, it has now become a place for the grey-haired brigade - a real "God's Waiting Room"! Most of the properties close to the Bay are now hotels and B&B's interspersed with cafés and restaurants. The shopping centre is full of souveneir stores, cafés, pubs and anything that appeals to the elderly or the holidaymaker.