Llandudno - the Queen of Welsh Resorts

Wales overall is a beautiful area and within that Llandudno in the North Wales is the Queen of the Welsh Resorts.

Llandudno seen from the Great Orme with Little Orme in the left background

Llandudno is the largest seaside resort in the Wales and lies in the Conwy County Borough. Conwy is famous for the Conwy Castle. Llandudno lies at the limestone headland known as the Great Orme. So once I reached Llandudno my first priority was to climb the Great Orme from where one gets great views of the town, sea, promenade, pier and the Little Orme etc.

Llandudno Pier

Now there are four ways to reach the top of Great Orme – one is by the tramway, the other by the cable car (this was not operational at least on the day that I was there – maybe because it was too windy for the cable car), third is by road and last but not the least by foot. I chose the last one as this is the best way to enjoy nature and what fantastic views I got from the Great Orme. It was very windy at the top.

Among the other things to see in Llandudno is the Pier from where one gets good views of the sea as well as the town.

Llandudno Promenade with the Great Orme in the background

Promenade is an equally charming place to walk around with the sea on one side, the town behind you and the Great Orme majestically there on the left and the Little Orme to your right. An Orme in English means sea sepent which the two Orme's are supposed to resemble. The good thing about a good tourist place is that it takes plenty of care to welcome the old and the physically disadvantaged and I could see that Llandudno is taking great care in this aspect. I saw lot many old people using some aid or the other to move around on the promenade and there are plenty of benches for the weary feet to take rest and to admire nature.

Tourist taking a ride to see Llandudno

For the tourists to take a look at the town there are also tourist vehicles that one can take ride in the open air road wagons. The town is bedecked with flowers all the time. Llandudno also generates green energy by means of wind turbines located off shore.

Wind Turbines, Llandudno

Also read - 

Conwy Castle, Wales
Town Walls of Conwy
Chepstow in Wales, UK

Town Walls of Conwy

The town walls of Conwy were built at the same time as the Conwy Castle between 1283 and 1289 AD. Together with the castle, the walls of the town are considered one of the best defenses in Europe.

The Conwy Wall & Tower

One can walk on the wall and can get on and off at various places. The walls and the castle gives us a feeling of how a medieval town used to look like in those days!

View of the Wall from the Conwy Castle

The English conquerors used to live inside the walls and the Welsh people outside these walls. The Walls were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

View from one of the higher towers of the wall

The wall consist of 21 towers. The towers rise upto 15 meters and each section of the wall has independent detachable stairs so that the section can be isolated in case of attack.

View of the Conwy Town from the Wall

The highest point of the wall gives an amazing view of the whole of the Conwy town along with the castle, surrounding walls of the town, the clock tower, the Conwy river and the hills in the background.

The Wall, Conwy Town and the Conwy Castle

Though miniscule in length, width and size compared to the Great Wall of China it still is one of the important defensive features of the medieval Europe.

Also Read: Conwy Castle

Conwy Castle, Wales

Conwy Castle is considered among the greatest fortresses of medieval Europe. Situated in the north coast of Wales the castle was build by Edward I when he conquered Wales. The English built several such castles to humble the Welsh. The architect was James St. George, the master castle builder of Edward I.

Conwy Castle with Conwy town in the foreground

The castle was built between 1283 and 1289. UNESCO considers it as a one of the finest examples of 13th and 14th century military architecture in Europe and it is also a World Heritage Site. The Conwy castle is located next to the Conwy river. 

Entrance to the Conwy Castle

Murder holes protected the main gates of the castle where from the gaps the guards dropped missiles on attackers. The castle has dungeons where the prisoners were kept and executed. The Castle also has probably the best kept medieval royal rooms.

Chapel and the Stained Glass Windows

There is also a chapel inside the castle which has stained glasses and sometimes the king used to watch the services and who all were praying from a hidden room above and the view he used to get was something like in the photo below!

A king's view of the Chapel

View of the Outer Ward from the King's Tower

The castle has eight identical towers and two barbicans. There is an outer ward and an inner ward. The castle and the walls around the town were built at the same time which costed Edward I 15000 GBP to build which would be around 45 million British Pounds in today's terms.

The view of the three bridges on the Conwy river from the Castle

From the eastern towers and barbicans one can see all the three bridges crossing the river Conwy. (See the above photo). On the left is the 20th century road bridge built in 1958. In between is the Thomas Telford's suspension bridge and on the right is the Robert Stephenson's tubular railway bridge.

Spectacular view from the King's Tower

This breathtaking view is from the King's tower. The towers offer spectacular views of the Conwy river, seaside, nearby hills and countryside as well as the sailing boats. You feel as you are up in the sky talking to the clouds itself! 

The admission ticket is of 5.75 GBP. The railway station is next to the castle itself.

Chepstow in Wales, UK

Recently I had an opportunity to go to Chepstow, a small town in the Wales in UK in December 2008 where I stayed for two days. It is a very small town by the river Avon. Just sitting by the river and looking at the nature can make your day. Here are some photos of this town that I would like to share with you.

River Avon near Chepstow

Hotel Marriott St Pierre Majestic Entrance Where I Stayed

Flowers at the Hotel

A Lake View

A Majestic Tree

Partially Frozen Lake

A Fort in Chepstow

Unfortunately by the time I got an oppurtunuity to visit this site it was already dark (it gets dark by 4 PM in winters) and there was no lighting arrangement at the Fort. Probably this is something to be taken care of by the Chepstow and Wales Tourism departments to atleast light up the outer walls!

A Church In Chepstow

Morning Frost in Chepstow

Frost in Chepstow

The frost was a feature in December in Chepstow and all grass use to look white in the mornings. The frost used to be there till at least noon and then again used to come back later in the evening