Today
we were up at 7.00am and ready to leave by 8.00am for our drive to Llandudno. Unfortunately,
today started out cloudy and wet! The rain got heavier the further we went!
When we put the destination into the GPS, it showed that we would arrive around
10.15am, but because of the weather and the fact that the GPS took us on some B
roads, it was after 11.00am before we arrived in Llandudno.
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| Alison is trying to warm up with a cup of hot chocolate |
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| a view from the top of Great Orme to Llandudno |
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| Llandudno from half way down the tramway |
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| I am trying to keep warm - a bit different to when we were here last time, Jane |
Llandudno is a
seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. Modern
Llandudno takes its name from the ancient parish of Saint Tudno but also
encompasses several neighbouring townships and districts including Craig-y-Don,
LLanrhos and Penrhyn Bay. Also nearby is the small town and marina of Deganwy
and these last four are in the traditional parish of Llanrhos. The ancient
geographical boundaries of the Llandudno area are complex. Although they are on
the eastern side of the River Conwy (the natural boundary between
north-west and north-east Wales), the ancient parishes of Llandudno, Llanrhos
and Llangystennin
(which includes Llandudno Junction) were in the medieval
commote of Creuddyn in the Kingdom of Gwynedd, and afterwards part of
Caernarfonshire. Today, Deganwy and Llandudno Junction are part of the town
community of Conwy even though they are across the river and only linked to
Conwy by a causeway and bridge. Once at Llandudno, we found the cable tram up
to the top of Great Orme. The Great Orme (Welsh:
Y Gogarth or Pen y Gogarth) is a prominent limestone headland on the north
coast of Wales
situated in Llandudno.
It is referred to as Cyngreawdr Fynydd in a poem by the 12th-century poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr Its English name derives
from the Viking (Old Norse) word for sea serpent,
which it is said to resemble. It is echoed by the Little Orme,
a smaller but very similar limestone headland, which is on the eastern side of Llandudno Bay in the parish of Llanrhos. But a hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate was in
order before we headed up to the top. It was still pouring with rain and the
tram is open, so we had to sit on the side that was least wet! At the top, we
made our way the 100metres or so to the café where it was dry and warm. But on
our run up we got saturated below our rain jackets! We wandered around the shop
and Alison got some post cards and a pin, then we got some lunch before getting
back on the tram for the ride back down. The rain had decreased, but it was
still very cold. At the bottom, we got back in the car and headed to
Betws-Y-Coed. Betws-y-Coed
("Prayer house in the wood", is a village and community in the Conwy
valley in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The name Betws or Bettws is generally
thought to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon Old English bed-hus—i.e. a bead-house: a house of prayer, or oratory. The
earliest record of the name is Betus, in 1254. Betws-y-Coed lies in the Snowdonia
National Park, in a valley near the point where the River Conwy is joined by
the River Llugwy and River Lledr, and was founded around a monastery in the
late sixth century. At Betws-Y-Coed, we went to the information centre to get
some more inspiration for the next couple of days, then wandered around for a while
before driving the 2 miles to Swallow Falls. We enjoyed the walk to the falls
and seeing the falls! It certainly has changed since I was there 36 years ago!
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| I think there is more water flowing than when we were here 36 years ago, Jane! (and it is much colder now too!) |
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| Swallow Falls |
After
our visit to Swallow Falls, we headed back to the car for the journey back to
the lodge. We stopped at Newtown to get some groceries, and arrived home around
6.15pm. It was a long day, a little disappointing because there was so much
rain. I didn’t get the photos I wanted to share with Jane but I did get to
visit these two places! Once home we got some dinner ready and relaxed in front
of the TV and updated our journals and blog.
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