A Day In Llandudno

To take advantage of the good weather we've been having so late in to Summer we spent this Sunday in Llandudno. It seemed lots of other people had the same idea as it was quite busy.

We headed to the pier first of all then walked up to Happy Valley gardens. On a previous visit we walked past the park but have never wandered in. 

The views of the sea are amazing due to the park being on a slope.
Dotted about the town are wooden carvings of Alice In Wonderland characters. This is because Llandudno has links to a girl named Alice who is thought to be the inspiration for the character. The carvings are numbered and you can follow a trail to find them all. We didn't do this but found some in the park.

The caterpillar,

white rabbit

and a table ready for the mad hatters tea party.

A brass band began to play and we noticed even the band stand was decorated with characters.
Little L was a bit disappointed that we didn't manage a paddle in the sea because we headed for home earlier than we normally would due to school the next day. 

As we were leaving Llandudno we spotted this old building and stopped to take some photos.

 At first we did think that it was derelict but after looking more closely noticed that the doors weren't too shabby and bins around the back looked pretty new. A man appeared and began tidying up some litter as I was taking photos so I asked about the building and was told it was still in use for music events three times a week. I'm glad it's still in use and not like so many old buildings that I've seen which have just left to rot away.

A Day In Morecambe

Yesterday Anders and myself spent a day in Morecambe. I hadn't been since I was around eight years old and it was some where Anders had never visited before. Due to my love of art deco buildings the main reason for our trip was for me to see the Midland Hotel.

I loved the seahorses and curved frontage above the main entrance of the hotel.

We found many more art deco buildings while walking around. I don't think I have seen so many in one location.

One of my favourites was this old Odeon cinema.

Walking along the seafront I spied this bookshop so had to cross the road and go in for a quick look.

I've never been in a bookshop so jam packed before, I didn't know where to begin looking. It was quite busy with people browsing.

We got talking to the owner and I mentioned the art deco buildings that we had seen. He told us that there was a boom in art deco building in Morecambe due to new rail travel links at the time. He also mentioned some buildings for us to keep our eyes open for. It was very nice of him to spend his time talking to us.

Walking along the seafront again we headed in the opposite direction towards the remains of Frontier Land. When I visited as a child I think it would have been called Morecambe Pleasure Park.

After the obligatory seaside bag of chips which Anders declared to be the best he'd ever tasted it was time for us to head home. We had a great day, lovely weather even getting a bit of a sun tan. Morecambe is definitely somewhere we will return to again.

Colwyn Bay

On the Easter Bank Holiday weekend we took our first seaside day out of the year to Colwyn Bay. I've only been once before to take some photos of the old pier and I was hoping that is was still there.

Its still standing but I don't know what the plans are for it. It would be nice if it could be brought back to its former glory.

There were plenty of people about enjoying the beach. Little L had a good time collecting rocks, shells and dry sea weed. She got her trainers full of sand (I can't imagine how that happened)

We then went a little way along the coast to Rhos On Sea. It was while we were here that we noticed a mist coming in from the sea. When we drove back towards the pier some time later it couldn't be seen until we were right on top of it.

On the way home we stopped off at Rhyl for Little L to have a go on the 2p machines. The machines must have been well stocked with it being the Easter Holidays because Little L seemed to come home with quite a collection this time. Any keyring that she manages to get from these machines she keeps in a bunch so when she gets them out it reminds her of her seaside trips.

A Day In Southport

Today we went on a child free day out to Southport. A new place for us both as I have never been and Anders found out that had been as a child but he can't remember going. Although the weather wasn't great I was still looking forward to visiting a new seaside and better still .. it has a pier.

We headed straight for the pier and sea and to reach it from where the car was parked walked through King's Garden. A lovely park with a lake, playground, crazy golf and miniature railway ( the golf and railway appeared closed for the season ). The gardens look like they would be an extremely popular place during the warmer months.

The pier wasn't far at all from the gardens. I have never been on a pier which starts so far inland but saw that it went over a marine lake (the lake in the gardens). 

Much of the pier after that is over land .. a skate park one side with a putting green on the other .. a retail park one side, a retail park on the other. Not very sea sidey at all. It is only when you reach the half way point along the pier that you actually reach the sea. 

Blackpool Tower and the big roller coaster could be seen from the pier even in poor weather. 

Trams run along the pier to take passages from one end to the other. The tide was fully in so there was no shell collecting but by this point I couldn't feel my toes and my cheeks felt so cold I think I could have resembled Father Christmas.

After the seaside we headed towards town. I've never seen so many chip shops in one place and so close together, some next to each other. 

Jewellers is another thing there is no shortage of but I do love a nosey in those windows especially the old fashioned jewellers which seemed to be every other shop. There were plenty of main retail shops about but I think that the majority in the town were independent shops which is really good to see and not many empty premises. 

Still in town we reached the end of the row of shops and crossed the road where it seemed to be mainly residential properties. There were some very nice houses and I couldn't resist taking a snap of this one which looks to me like a sea shell over the door. 

Along the same road we found the mermaid fountain.

 This is one side of the war memorial. 

This style of street lights are everywhere. With the lights lit, it must look beautiful in Winter when it snows.

Back over the road I took some photos of the shop fronts.

While taking snaps I saw this and we decided to go for a look.

 Definitely our kind of shop. One to have a good rummage in. Baskets of shells and crystals. Cabinets of oddities. Lots of old books. Anders spotted one that was dated 1773 with a £2,500 price tag.

Heading back to the car we nipped in to an arcade. I had a couple of goes on a grabber machine then put a pound in for Anders to have a go. He won both of these with that pound. He's so pleased with himself I never heard the end of it all night.

There was a hall of mirrors on the way to one of the arcade exits. I've not seen one of these for years.
We had a great day out and we'll certainly make a return visit  with the children.

Conwy Pirate Weekend

Last Saturday we braved the bad weather and went to the Conwy Pirate Weekend. One of my friends told me about the event and had invited us to grab a tent and camp (they have a caravan and stay the weekend) but a babysitter for the weekend can be a bit difficult so she suggested coming with the children. Little L is Pirates of the Caribbean mad so as soon as I mentioned it (in March I think) she has not stopped asking about it. My friend told us that lots of children go and love it. Both her and her husband dress up for the event. She makes the costumes herself which are brilliant and has won best dressed pirate woman for the past two years.

When we arrived Little L was becoming really excited seeing lots of other children also dressed as pirates heading towards the quayside. There were plenty of things to keep children busy, craft activities, pirate lessons, bouncy castles,etc. as well as stalls selling food and crafts, a stage with live music, pirate circus and magic act.

Little L spotted someone dressed as her favourite pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow. She couldn't keep her eyes off him. He did stop and high five her a couple of times and was kind enough to stop for a photo. It made her day.

We watched as the ship Vilma sailed into the quay with some nasty pirates on board. Cannons were fired from the quayside to ward them off. Having never been around cannons being set off before I wasn't prepared for what it feels like when standing near by. I wasn't even that close and I felt the boom of it going off through my body. My husband has said its because of this, that and the other, trying to give me a quick science lesson. All I know is that I didn't like it.

A mermaid made an appearance which the children seemed to love but I did hear two little boys say 'ew, gross' when they took a look.

Just before we left Conwy I spied some owls which were brought along to the event by Cymru Falconry Friends. We were allowed to pet them and most didn't seem bothered in the slightest by all the attention.

This one made a grab for Little L twice which she found funny. She did think that it was a baby and said it was a little cutie.

This one was my favourite. I don't know what kind it is but I loved the colour.
Llandudno is only about 5 miles away from Conwy so we decided to nip there before going home. 

When we arrived there was a Punch and Judy show on and Little L wanted to watch. She thought it was hilarious but we only stayed until the rain got too heavy to stand in the open then took shelter in an arcade.

The rain had been on and off all day and it was definitely a lot cooler on the pier. There were warnings of patchy fog posted at intervals along the road driving in to Wales in the morning.

Views of Little Orme and Great Orme taken from the pier.

Walking off the pier we grabbed a bag of warm doughnuts. I never bother with them at any other time, its my seaside food. When we reached the end of the pier I felt something hit me on the head. It was a seagull after my doughnut. I couldn't believe it. I have seen it happen to another person a few years ago in Llandudno (the gulls are terrible there) but it was a first for me. They don't do it lightly either. My husband and children were cracked up laughing. I heard 'did you see that women get hit on the head' so it must have been pretty amusing to people nearby as well. Well at least it didn't get my doughnut.