For the past two years my friend Mike (Manchester Mike if you move in my Ipswich circle) and I have said we will go camping in Wales but never got around to actually going, so with a bit of time off work over Easter I decided the overdue trip to Wales was in order, I communicated with Mike that it was time and he agreed, a trip to Wales it was.
Martin (boyfriend) and I packed up the car with everything we deemed necessary for a weekend camping in April and set off from Coventry to Leeds (for boring blah blah house reasons), from Leeds to Sale (near Manchester) to pick up Mike and then to Wales!
We stayed at Henllys Camping and Touring site in Towyn, North Wales. Henllys has a field for campers and at £32, two nights camping for the three of us was very reasonably priced. The site usually only allows families and couples to stay, the camp site owner gave us the benefit of the doubt though, I guess trusting that we weren't going to destroy the place. Henllys is a nice site, I usually prefer dedicated tent sites but the decent toilet/shower facilities and the family nature of the site made up for all the caravans and camper homes.
Our camp with Welsh mountains in the background :) Towyn itself consists almost entirely of caravan parks. It has a population of almost 8000 and probably a tourist population of many times this, even in April the place was heaving. The whole place had a slightly run down feel holiday camp feel. I will admit I wasn't too keen on Towyn, but the other places we visited just short drives away were good.
Llandudno
Llandudno is a seaside town in Conwy, North Wales that was built during Victorian times. It is quite touristy, but that traditional family seaside-holiday touristy. We parked about half way along the North shore and walked the rest of it towards the pier. The pier is the longest in Wales and has many little shops selling things like shells, tourist memorabilia and ice cream on it.
Other attractions in Llandudno that we didn't check out but that I'd like to in future are the Great Orme, a headland to the side of the North shore. A tramway, originally built in 1902, takes you to the summit, or alternatively there is an aerial cable car that starts in the Happy Valley. The Happy Valley is another place I'd like to visit, lower down it has landscaped gardens and higher up a ski-slope and a 700meter toboggan run! The marine drive also starts in the Happy Valley. The marine drive is a four mile drive around the Great Orme from the North shore to the West shore that can either be driven or walked. Traffic is one way around most of the drive and by the looks of it (according to this website- http://www.greatorme.org.uk/marinedrive.html) there is loads to see. I am defineiely going back the Llandudno one day just to do this :D
Llandudno is a seaside town in Conwy, North Wales that was built during Victorian times. It is quite touristy, but that traditional family seaside-holiday touristy. We parked about half way along the North shore and walked the rest of it towards the pier. The pier is the longest in Wales and has many little shops selling things like shells, tourist memorabilia and ice cream on it.
Other attractions in Llandudno that we didn't check out but that I'd like to in future are the Great Orme, a headland to the side of the North shore. A tramway, originally built in 1902, takes you to the summit, or alternatively there is an aerial cable car that starts in the Happy Valley. The Happy Valley is another place I'd like to visit, lower down it has landscaped gardens and higher up a ski-slope and a 700meter toboggan run! The marine drive also starts in the Happy Valley. The marine drive is a four mile drive around the Great Orme from the North shore to the West shore that can either be driven or walked. Traffic is one way around most of the drive and by the looks of it (according to this website- http://www.greatorme.org.uk/marinedrive.html) there is loads to see. I am defineiely going back the Llandudno one day just to do this :D
Conwy
Conwy is a thirteenth century walled market town, only about 5miles from Llandudno but with a completely different atmostphere, it is simply spectacular. Most of the town walls have survived and you can go up into them and walk the 3/4 mile circuit around the town, which of course we did! There are stunning views across the historic town and the estuary as well as Conwy castle which was unfortunately closed when we were there.
Conwy is also home to the "Smallest house" which is the smallest house in Britain, and really is tiny! It was lived in until 1900 and is now a tourist attraction, because we were visiting Conwy in the evening this too was closed so we didn't get to see inside.
Conwy reminded me a lot of York, but sleepier. Many parts have been preserved so it still feels like a medieval town. It was one of my highlights of the whole trip.
Conwy is also home to the "Smallest house" which is the smallest house in Britain, and really is tiny! It was lived in until 1900 and is now a tourist attraction, because we were visiting Conwy in the evening this too was closed so we didn't get to see inside.
Conwy reminded me a lot of York, but sleepier. Many parts have been preserved so it still feels like a medieval town. It was one of my highlights of the whole trip.
View of the castle from the quay, Martin and Mike in the town walls and a view over Conwy from the walls
Betws-y-Coed and Swallow fall
On our final day in Wales we went for a quick visit to Betws-y-Coed. We got there along the A458 scenic route, although it is a national speed limit road I was probably driving at an average of 30-35mph! It's quite twisty and has some pretty steep descents, not at all like the roads I'm used to driving on. We stopped at the village Llanfair Talhaiarn along the way and had a drink in the Black lion, the pub owner was very friendly and the pool table was only 50p a game! I can recommend a visit here it if you ever find yourself in that part of the world.
On the day we visited, Betws-y-Coed was bustling with families out enjoying the unseasonably good April weather and hoards of bikers (there were literally hundreds of them.) We ate on the village green, ambled around the tourist gift shops and then drove up to Swallow falls about 1mile up the A5. Swallow falls is the biggest waterfall in Wales and is really very impressive. Because it was April the water was flowing quite fast and crashing down into the river, it is really a great example of how stunning nature can be. My camera had run out of batteries by this point but I will easily remember the falls without photos, it was a great way to finish trip.
First camping of 2010 was definitely a success, I am now itching for more and already planning. Further adventures will follow, but for now this is Georgia signing off and going to do something.
First camping of 2010 was definitely a success, I am now itching for more and already planning. Further adventures will follow, but for now this is Georgia signing off and going to do something.
