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Post by Rion on Aug 10, 2010 18:01:29 GMT -1
I'm jetting off to Wales in a few days with the boyfriend, he's never seen much of the UK other than London. We'll be staying in a cottage near Llandudno, any recommendations from you wonderful people?
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Post by Francis on Aug 10, 2010 20:04:35 GMT -1
I'm jetting off to Wales in a few days with the boyfriend, he's never seen much of the UK other than London. We'll be staying in a cottage near Llandudno, any recommendations from you wonderful people? Hi Rion I live about 20mins drive from Llandudno! I recommend you come and help me worm sheep over the weekend. Working with the animal that so shapes the scenery of Wales will really ground and tune you in to the landscape around you!  But seriously (although I am only half joking!) tell me what you're looking for and I'll suggest some places. About 15 mins from Llandudno is Eglwysbach which is having its agricultural show this Saturday - with some of the best livestock from the Conwy Valley and Snowdonia on display, tractors, crafts, horses, veg and the inevitable fair ground rides and pap. Other than that the Ogwen Valley is very dramatic, the "Druid's" Circle above Penmaenmawr is impressive and set in stunning scenery, Llandudno is a 'nice' victorian seaside town but there's very little that's welsh about it. Actually I won't go on with random thoughts - if you let me know what your after (other than night life!) I'll suggest where you might want to go. |
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Post by Rion on Aug 12, 2010 6:30:23 GMT -1
Haha, well while sheep worming sounds tempting I think I'll pass! I don't really know what I'm looking for - cool old ruins, pretty villages, nice walks... Ogwen Valley and Penmaenmawr sound very nice, I'll have to drag him thataways. The cottage itself is in Eglwysbach, but I wasn't sure how well known that was, so I wrote Llandudno |
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Post by deiniol on Aug 12, 2010 11:00:49 GMT -1
My family's from around there, and I used to live in Llandudno, so I'm not unfamiliar with that patch of the country. Francis has made some good recommendations: Llyn Ogwen is beautiful- if you fancy a hike, walk up to Ffynnon Lloer, which lies above Llyn Ogwen. The views from there are amazing. Also worth seeing is the Sychnant Pass, and the Rhaeadar Ewynnol (which is a bugger to find, if you ask me. On the road between Betws and Capel Curig- but worth it.) Actually, if you've got a car, just drive around the Dyffryn Conwy until you find something interesting. It is, in my opinion, the best place in Wales.
There are plenty of old forts from the Iron Age, Roman and sub-Roman periods in the area: there's the old auxiliary fort at Caerhun, Deganwy Castle (Maelgwn Gwynedd's chief stronghold), and there's Pen y Gaer, just uphill from Llanbedr y Cennin (which is where my family is from, a few generations back). And there's the remains of Llywelyn Fawr's castle at Dolwyddelan.
The high mediaeval castles in North Wales (courtesy of Edward I- one historian referred to them as "the beautiful chains of our subjugation", IIRC) are worth seeing. The castle at Conwy is linked to the town walls, which gives the entire town a kind of castle-y feeling. I like Conwy: it's very pretty and nice to wander around for an afternoon. A bit further afield there's Beaumaris and Caernarfon castles, which are also interesting.
Llandudno itself, as Francis points out, is a fairly standard Victorian seaside resort. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. The pier's nice, and the longest in Wales. The Parade, the road which runs the length of the seafront, is very picturesque with all its grand old victorian hotels. And there's even the pleasure gardens- optimistically named "Happy Valley"- which offer fantastic views of the bay, ice cream, a stone circle, tobogganing and so much cruising action that you can't throw a Mivvy wrapper away without hitting a queer acting furtive in the bushes. Oh, and how could I forget the donkey rides?
However, for any kind of nightlife, that's going to be your best bet. Ah, how I miss the heady delights of the Llandudno scene, with its two nightclubs, handful of bars (even a Wetherspoons now!) and defunct Yates Wine Lodge. Actually, speaking of the Wethers, it's actually worth going in. Not for the food or beer (heaven forbid!) but the Palladium is a converted theatre, and much of the original fittings have been left behind.
Most of the bars in Llandudno are lined up along Mostyn Street, the main west-east road running parallel to the North Shore. The best ones are to the western end of this road: for decent enough food there's the Fat Cat (a chain based out of Bangor) and over the road is Fountains, which is also pretty good and serves a reasonable pint. In the same area is the London Hotel, which is also not bad. My local when I lived in Llandudno though was the Cross Keys, on Madoc Street: good ales and food, with the only downside being the weekly karaoke on Fridays. For nightlife qua nightlife, Llandudno very sensibly keeps its two nightclubs at the opposite end of the town to the bars, closer in fact to Craig-y-Don. There's the scummy one, the Boulevard on the corner of Mostyn Broadway and Ty ny Ffrith Road, and the Washington (the decent one where I used to work) a block over on the corner of the Parade and Clarence Street. Every Thursday is gay night (at least it was a couple of years ago).
One of my first jobs as a chef was working as a commis chef in the King's Head in "Old Llandudno": the part of the town which existed as a village clinging to the slopes of Pen y Gogarth trying not to fall into the swamp below. I always liked that part of the town, even if it is somewhat taxing on the thighs. The King's is on Old Road, just behind the tram station. The tram goes from there to the top of the Great Orme, from where you can explore the rest of the headland. There's a bronze-age copper mine, lighthouses, the original church of St Tudno, standing stones (these are genuine standing stones, not neo-druidical fantasies erected in the 60s to celebrate the Eisteddfod), Kashmiri goats, quarries, a sheep farm and other assorted Points of Interest.
Pob lwc a thaith dda!
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Post by Rion on Aug 12, 2010 13:09:53 GMT -1
Oh wow, diolch yn fawr iawn Deiniol. Lots of great suggestions, I'll be sure to check them out.
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Post by Midori on Aug 14, 2010 9:41:17 GMT -1
Take warm clothing and expect rain.
Cheers, Midori
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Post by Rion on Aug 19, 2010 20:22:31 GMT -1
Many many thanks to everyone for their thoughts and suggestions, we had an amazing time and will doubtless be back once we move to the UK permanently.
Midori, good advice!
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Post by deiniol on Aug 19, 2010 21:48:05 GMT -1
Many many thanks to everyone for their thoughts and suggestions, we had an amazing time and will doubtless be back once we move to the UK permanently. Midori, good advice! Nu, what did you get up to? (This is why you should get a blog, Rion.) |
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Post by Rion on Aug 21, 2010 14:41:58 GMT -1
Nu, what did you get up to? (This is why you should get a blog, Rion.) Possibly the most Jewish message ever posted on this board  I actually do have a blog, but as it's largely irrelevant to Brython I've never mentioned it. I'll post a link when I get around to writing about our Welsh adventure. |
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Post by deiniol on Aug 21, 2010 19:11:50 GMT -1
Nu, what did you get up to? (This is why you should get a blog, Rion.) Possibly the most Jewish message ever posted on this board Oy gevalt! Being fair, it's also a common expression among eastern europeans. Spend enough time around Slovaks, Poles and Belorussians and you pick it up. I look forward to it. I always enjoy reading about other peoples holidays: saves me the bother of having to take them myself  |
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Post by Rion on Sept 5, 2010 20:18:19 GMT -1
Oy gevalt! Being fair, it's also a common expression among eastern europeans. Spend enough time around Slovaks, Poles and Belarussians and you pick it up. I look forward to it. I always enjoy reading about other peoples holidays: saves me the bother of having to take them myself That's interesting, I'd never heard it before I came to Israel. Must be a Yiddish import. Here's a link to my thoughts on Wales: belief-in-miracles.blogspot.com/2010/09/hen-wlad-fy-nhadau.html The rest of the blog is either me ranting about Israel or explaining things about the Middle East to folk, so read on at your peril. |
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