Articles > A Dream of Alice: By the Sea in North Wales

Push open the door at no 3 Trinity Square and you step back into your childhood dreams. Here’s Alice in her blue and white pinafore dress, the Cheshire Cat, the Royal Court, follow the voices and in the rabbit hole, the story unfolds like magic.

They say Lewis Carroll found inspiration for his tale while holidaying in Llandudno. It’s easy to believe, for this corner of Wales is a true wonderland, all mountains and beaches, castles and islands and pretty towns tucked into the fold of heather-clad hills.

Below the rugged headland of the Great Orme jutting out like a dragon into the Irish Sea, Llandudno claims two fine beaches lying almost back to back. The quiet West Shore framed by Snowdonia is for bracing walks and spectacular sunsets while across the peninsula, the North Shore curves around a sheltered bay graced by an elegant promenade, a sprinkling of palms and a Victorian pier. Stretching for nearly half a mile, sky blue whatever the weather, the pier is lined with kiosks and pavilions selling Welsh flags, seashells and delicious clotted cream fudge. There are sailing trips and donkey rides, buckets and spades and Punch and Judy shows. In summer the deckchairs come out in force and the sound of the brass band echoes along the shore.

Llandudno oozes charm and nostalgia. Victorian canopies and arcades run along the streets where boutiques and teashops bustle from morning to night. You’ll find a Victorian mall on Mostyn Street, a museum and a church or two begging to be explored. Beyond the honey-coloured Palladium, cottages clamber up the cliffs, fronted by rose gardens and exotic palms.

Meanwhile a nostalgic tram ferries visitors to the top of the Great Orme. It’s been in service since 1902 but happily competes with the cable car which, weather permitting, boasts the longest ride in Britain. Up there at nearly 700 feet, you join the windswept ramblers enjoying a picnic with a view or a pot of tea in the summit complex. The Great Orme is a mysterious place dotted with caves and ancient stones and copper mines dating back to the Bronze Age.

Above the thrilling toboggan run and dry ski slope of Happy Valley, you reach the Country Park where sheep and goats graze among clumps of heather and dwarf gorse. Wild geranium, rock apple and 400 species of plants grow in this wilderness, a haven for myriad butterflies, including the unique Silver Studded Blue. You might spot kestrels and buzzards, snow buntings in winter, guillemots in summer, skylarks, stone chats and cormorants nesting in the cliffs. Far below gleams the little chapel of St Tudno, the hermit who gave his name to the town and wherever you look, the views are fabulous from Llandudno to Snowdonia and Anglesey, and on a clear day all the way to the Lake District.

Anglesey is a just a short drive away across the Menai Strait. There are many reasons to visit the island but first stop has to be the station with the longest name, “St Mary’s church by the white hazel pool” for short, and the adjoining James Pringle weavers centre where Welsh tweed and angora wool mingle with carved love spoons and homemade jam. Then comes the coastline, most of it designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a stunning patchwork of golden sands and lagoons, cliffs and rocky bays. You can try all sorts of watersports, take a boat trip to Puffin Island or cycle along the leafy lanes to the haunting castle of Beaumaris. But soon across the water, the mountains beckon, eager to unveil more scenery and family attractions.

We decided to indulge in a leisurely trip aboard the Welsh Highland, one of the Great Little Trains of Wales, which chug through moorlands and wooded valleys, past placid lakes and mountain streams. Ours went from Caernarfon to the lonely station of Rhyd-ddu at the foot of Snowdon but you can choose from half a dozen or so narrow gauge rides, with plenty of steam and polished brass.

For the children, it’s a fairytale, on a par with the white rabbit and the fantasy village of Portmeirion where they gaze in wonder at domes and turrets the colour of ice-cream. Feeling active, buzzing with energy? You could take them to the adventure park of Greenwood Forest or the sheepdog centre of Ewe-Phoria but be sure to stop now and then to savour the peace and explore the villages scattered in the hills.

Back on the coast, the holiday crowds paddle and swim or fly their kites on the award-winning sands of Colwyn Bay and Rhos-on-Sea. Seagulls wheel and shriek, oystercatchers dive in a flash and a boat sets sail in search of porpoises, dolphins and seals. The bay has the only traditional puppet theatre in the country and a weekly farmers’ market full of local cheeses (just try the Purple Passion), honey, fresh vegetables and the finest Welsh lamb you have ever tasted. Later you might treat the family to a cream tea with scones and Bara Brith (Welsh fruit loaf) or sample a bowl of cawl, the traditional lamb and vegetable soup, followed by seafood served with samphire plants gathered on the beach. Welsh cuisine is back in fashion.

At Llandudno junction, you catch your first glimpse of the mighty Conwy Castle guarding the mouth of the river by the same name. It was part of the “iron ring”, designed by Edward I as he completed his conquest of Wales in the late 13th century. Today the castle is a roofless shell but on their rocky spur, sturdy walls and round towers take your breath away. Wander along the battlements, spiral up the towers and like the sentries of long ago, you survey the town, mountains and valley and the estuary where pleasure craft and fishing boats drop anchor in sheltered waters.

The town was built at the same time and large sections of the medieval walls remain accessible, stretching all around for over three quarters of a mile, flanked by twenty-one towers and three gateways. They are the finest of their kind in Britain and worth the climb for the view.

In this World Heritage Site, we found history in many guises, from the castle and town walls to the Telford suspension bridge, open to pedestrians for a small toll, the restored mansion of Plas Mawr and the Mussel Museum which tells the story of the local fishing industry, predating the Romans. Don’t miss the Ghost Tour in summer or Britain’s smallest house, once a fisherman’s cottage, now tended by a Welsh lady in national dress.

Conwy is delightful, a place to browse in craft shops, pop into the art gallery, feast on mussels or fish and stroll through streets festooned in pretty inn signs and window boxes. Up valley is the lovely Bodnant Garden with mill race and lotus pond and the town has its own sandy beach west of the estuary.

As the Queen Victoria sails down river, young and old enjoy the breeze, the glistening waters and dramatic views of the castle and Great Orme. In the distance, Llandudno, the Queen of Welsh resorts, glows in a golden light and on the North Shore, the North Wales Theatre prepares for the evening show. Perhaps it’s time to return for you won’t want to be late “for a very important date”...

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