Llandudno Bay, Promenade and Pier
When you enter the Llandudno Bay for the first time and you do not know what to expect, the landscape can take your breath away.
Luckily this is an area free of industry and the fresh air can refill your lungs immediately.
Tranquillity of this place is outstanding - if you are out of the tourists season - or better - if you are at the height of a tourist season with hardly any tourist around :) (due to post-lockdown).
The views from the end of the pier are so brilliant, the whole of Llandudno’s promenade with its magnificent sequence of Victorian hotels can be seen in beautiful setting of the rolling hills behind.
Llandudno Bay is stretching in the shape of a crescent between two slopes of the limestone headlands: Great Orme and Little Orme.
For a holiday resort the geography is simply ideal.
The shore of two miles is mostly made up of rough shingle but there is also a selected strip of sandy beach.
Llandudno was a small fishing village up to the mid-19th century when it was purposefully developed for its holiday potential.
An architect and surveyor of Williams and Jones from Liverpool, presented Edward Mostyn Lloyd-Mostyn, the future 2nd Baron and the landowner, with a bold plans to restructure the marshy bay into a fashionable seaside resort. They were welcomed with enthusiasm and Lllandudno, as we know today, was born.
The wide curving Victorian promenade runs parallel to the coastline. It is separated from the road by a green belt of palm trees, flower beds and long benches.
Many of Llandudno's elegant hotels are built on the opposite site of the road, giving the guests glaring seaside views.
The North Parade takes us into the town where the Floral Clock roundabout offers a wide variety of choices about how to spend our time and money.
That our choice have changed massively over the past decades, the evidence is the Palladium building - first a theatre, then cinema, bingo hall, and now Wetherspoon cavernous pub. (See the Llandudno Town experience)
The views from the Pier towards the shore is what many people associate Llandudno with. The Pier and the Grand Hotel had been an integral part of the whole initial planning and design.
We have started our Promenade walk from Tudor Road, leaving our car at the nearby Mostyn Champneys Retal Park.
The road, collectively known as The Parade, has a different name for each block. We took a relaxing stroll westwards; the Great Orme on the horizon.
Its name comes from the Olde Norse meaning dragon or sea monster due to its appearance to the Viking seafarers as a major monster rising from the sea. Today it is sometimes also refereed as the Alligator or the Crocodile.
The Great Orme is formed of limestone from the skeletons and shells of prehistoric creatures that lived 300 to 350 million years ago.
The bandstand is in use for occasional performances during holiday season with mostly local brass bands to play.
The more and less grand hotel buildings occupy the entire area behind the promenade.
The figure of the Hatman from Alice in Wonderland frequently gets the bang out of the seagulls. What does it do down here?
Alice Liddell (the girl behind the character) is said to spent many summer holidays in Llandudno. The author, Lewis Carroll may have visited the Liddells in Llandudno between 1862 to 1871.
There is a whole Wonderland Town Trail of the statues from the famous novel, a fun for families to go along.
The first of this statues was unveiled by much cherished Prime Minister David Lloyd George in 1933. Llandudno has made the most of its Alice in Wonderland connections ever since.
An imaginative leap into the fantasy world fits in perfectly with the most splendid of Victorian resort.
We must admit the traffic is well-thought-through, there is plenty of space for both cars and pedestrians that inter-blend with the pastel-coloured architecture.
Plenty too choose - to stop for a lunch.
The prom, beautifully clean, progresses to the concrete slipway where boat trips take off; behind it the sandy beach starts.
It brings spectacular views out to sea, the Pier with the Grand Hotel and other building tucked nicely into the slopes of the Great Orme.
Llandudno Cenotaph, the long obelisk, at the foot of Prince Edward Square marks the main entrance from and towards the town.
Plenty of seating along the promenade. There are toilets also located near the end, well-tended and clean.
During weekends and public holidays the area is filled with many activities, such as concerts, water sports, short sea-trips to see seals or even dolphins, of which you may find out on the boards at the North Shore.
The North Shore Beach is a relatively small area, sandy but even this gets stones; the kids have great fun digging them out and playing around. The open landscape is invigorating and energetic.
In good weather, however, it would be packed and noisy, mind you.
When the tide moves out there will be more pebbles and rocks, not comfortable to walk or sit on. When the tide is up, there will be noisy boats announcements and people coming in and out.
Also, between 1st May and 30th September, no dogs are allowed on the section between The Pier and Clarence Road (the roundabout by the Venue Theatre).
The Pier, the longest in Wales. the most recognisable of Llandudno landmarks, is next to the beach. It was built in 1878, now a Grade II listed, it remains largely intact.
Near the entrance, in the summertime, more of the great Victorian fun can be found - the famous Punch and Judy shows.
It used to be plenty of eating options of fish and chips, burgers, doughnuts - one had to be careful not to gain more then just the wonderful experience ;)
Now, when the lockdowns pushed the tourists industry to its limits, the life on the pier is slowly setting towards an uncertain future.
Attractions on the Pier have always been the many diverse small stalls of white-blue kiosks, offering drinks, ice creams, candy floss, souvenirs - not necessarily only from Llandudno or Wales.
Amusement arcades, fairground rides, classic games, penny machines, Zoltar fortune teller, all of those things were at the standstill, half-open.
Nevertheless, this long well-maintained Pier is really good for exercise, for taking photos, for listening to a good-choice of music, the non-invasive tracks of Abba and the like, seeping through the speakers, every once in a while reminding us to keep '2 metres distance' of other people.
Not many boats in the coastal waters and other seaside activities were seen, this time. The shore was quiet, and for us it was all that was needed.
We wondered how the personalised birthday memorabilia for £3.99 can be bought, but the stall was closed, to our luck, perhaps ;)
The Grand Hotel, seen from so many perspectives, should be the crown of the Pier, but unfortunately it is in an unfortunate state - this can be seen clearly walking past it.
Located on the Happy Valley Road, it is still a prominent Victorian building but far from its happy and glamour past.
No wonder - it is owned by the Brittania Hotels that is making sure that every year it lands on the very last positions of the hotels chains in the UK in terms of the quality of accommodation :(
We looked at the Tripadvisor reviews website later, and were not surprised by the comments: hotel is dirty, tired, smelly, rooms in need of facelifts, furniture outdated, balconies are rusty, covered in weeds, staff unwelcoming, food is poor and of limited choice, apparently there is no wi-fi.
Brittania hotels are on the budget side of the price but still people said that it was hugely overpriced for the service provided.
After around a 10-15 minutes walk, the Pier end is reached, what supposed to be the grand finale, the Deck Amusemen Arcade in the centre, Ocean Bar and Ocean Cafe on its sides.
We were glad that the Covid-stricken summer not brought too many visitors, so we could enjoy the weather and the space, and no queues.
Pleasant taste of the local Orme beer, the tables in a good state, relaxed atmosphere.
The Deck Amusement Arcade is situated in the main dome room.
Back outside, from the final deck we had a closer look at the Great Orme.
It is mostly owned by the Mostyn Estates, the same family business that brought Lllandudno to its existence almost 150 years ago.
The family’s estates in Wales were established in the 15th century and expanded since than - it makes the Mostyn Estates, the oldest landowner in Wales, except from the monarch.
It's headquarter is in Lllandudno on Mostyn Street. The heir to the family fortune and the title 'baron', is now Greg Mostyn. He was Britain's 13th richest under 30-years-of-age in 2013, according to the Daily Mail.
Llandudno Pier is considered to be the finest surviving Victorian pier in Britain; it is in an Indian Gothic Style, the British Tourist Authority says, 'like a Maharajah's palace floating on a lake'.
We have quite appreciated the massive construction of wrought iron and wood, its decorations, the latticework balustrades, as well as the effort that must be brought to maintain it in a good state of repair, apart from some weathering here and there.
This totally pleasurable Pier-walk took us towards the late afternoon.
We were heading into the town itself. The summary of this you may find in the next entry: Llandudno - the Town.
Lllandudno official motto in Welsh is "Hardd Hafan Hedd",
which translates as "a beautiful haven of peace".
Tottally agree.
Our walking effort to the town centre is there:
Sources:
theheritagetrail.co.uk/piers/llandudno pier
gonorthwales.co.uk/things-to-do/llandudno-promenade
llandudno.com/place/llandudno-promenade
www.visitllandudno.com/services/visitpage/LlandudnoBayPromenade
www.mostynestates.co.uk/bringing-llandudno-into-existence