I’ve decided to start a new section on my blog about all of the places I visit as part of my travel section with guides to different places I go to. The first location I’ve decided to write about is Llandudno in Wales where I went with my lovely boyfriend Tom for our anniversary; it is a stunning coastal town on the Welsh coast and we spent four days and three nights there for a long weekend over the Easter holidays.
We set off on Friday afternoon taking an Arriva Wales train from Birmingham New Street to Llandudno, via Llandudno Junction, and arrived into Llandudno in the early evening after a three hour journey. The latter end of the journey was incredibly pretty as the train went alongside the coast, and as someone who adores the sea it made me very happy.
We stayed at the gorgeous The Cliffbury Guest House, only a ten minute walk from the beach and we were lucky to get the room right at the top of the house with beautiful views of the Great Orme out of the window, which proved to be stunning in the late evening when the sun set behind it and the whole town was covered in a lovely golden glow.
As we’d arrived quite late on Friday we booked into the hotel and then headed out to find some food. We walked into the town, where we found plenty of little cafés, gift shops and eventually decided on getting fish and chips. We enjoyed a massive portion of crispy battered fish and golden chips from St Georges Plaice which we ate sat on a bench along the promenade watching people walking up and down the beach front. It was after that that we first discovered the arcades, and eventually ended up developing a teeny tiny gambling addiction (not really, but you’ve got to admit that those grabber machines are terribly addictive!).
On Saturday morning we were up bright and early for a lovely breakfast provided by Gareth and Claire, the wonderfully welcoming owners of the guest house, and we indulged on their array of fruit, yoghurt, cooked breakfast, jam and Welsh cakes. I stuck to something a bit more continental whilst Tom went for a cooked breakfast, complete with ‘the best mushrooms he’s ever had’ (his exact words!) and on the second day he even tried some kippers! The fish was scrumptiously fresh, even I had to try a bit. When we first heard that breakfast was so early we were a little worried, as it meant we had to be up at about 7:30am, but after one early morning we realised that it meant we were up and out and ready to enjoy our day which made the day even better.
Saturday morning ended up being quite dull and rainy but it didn’t stop us from having fun as we headed off down to the beach front. We went for a walk down the pier, that was delightfully old fashioned, and gazed out over the water. The pier ended up being quite empty due to the weather so we didn’t have to fight through crowds to get to the end of it, where we found yet another arcade (not that we were complaining!).
The pier extended out into the water and offered panoramic views of the bay that Llandudno is nestled into. The water was actually surprisingly calm surrounding the bay and it was incredibly relaxing to watch the water lap up on to the sandy shore.
We escaped out of the rain into a café in the town called Café Culture for lunch where I had a ham panini with chips and salad and Tom had a hot chocolate and scone. From afar it actually looked like the café’s sign looked like my blog name, can you imagine; Chloe Cecilia Goes Café Culture!
After a scrumptious lunch we decided we’d had enough of spending time in the rain and headed back to the hotel room. We spent the afternoon playing board games and watching a little television until the sun eventually came out and the grey rainclouds faded away.
Once the weather had got a little better we headed back out and went walking down on the beach, where Tom tried to teach me to skim stones (rather unsuccessfully).
There was a gorgeous sunset painted across the sky when we got to the beach and I couldn’t help but feel in awe at this beautiful pink sky. It was so pretty that this photo doesn’t even need a filter; this part of the world is just so beautiful!
After an evening stroll on the beach we set off to find dinner. Tom in particular is a big fan of Wetherspoons and when we discovered there was one in Llandudno we decided to go check it out. Nothing could have prepared us for what we found when we walked through the door of this unconventional Wetherspoons. The Palladium was a restaurant that had been transformed from an old theatre, but it retained all of the gorgeous features of this Victorian building. We ended up eating on what would have been the stage, surrounded by stage lights and there were even rows and rows of seats that had once upon a time been there for the audience.
I went for my classic burger and chips combination whilst Tom, clearly the more adventurous one, went for one of the ‘gourmet burgers’. After finishing up our meals we stayed for another drink then made our way back to the hotel room to turn in for the night.
Sunday marked the day of our first anniversary and the weather didn’t disappoint. When we woke up the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and we were up and out bright and early. With the clear sky we decided it would be a great time to travel up The Great Orme cable car to see Llandudno, and the surrounding areas, from the top of the mountain. After another wonderful breakfast at The Cliffbury we set out to enjoy the lovely day.
The cable car is one of the most popular attractions in Llandudno and there was a queue forming even though we got there quite early, so I’d definitely recommend getting there before the rush, especially if you’re visiting at a busy/peak time.
The journey took about ten minutes from ground level to the top of The Great Orme and we travelled just under two miles to get there. The cable cars were intended to carry two so it was perfect for mine and Tom’s journey, as it was cosy but not too cramped. With the open cable car we were surrounded by stunning panoramic views of Llandudno which extended out for as far as the eye could see.
At the top of The Great Orme we played a game of mini golf (I won!) and had a walk around the fields and into the visitor’s centre. There were three ways down from the summit; by car, by tram or by cable car, but we used our return tickets to take the cable car back down to the bottom. The return journey provided us with even more stunning views and I decided to put the camera down and really take it in.
At the bottom of the cable car we found a garden, known as The Happy Valley, and went to explore it. There were little fairy doors and Alice In Wonderland themed statues dotted around, making this garden a truly adorable experience.
After strolling round Happy Valley we headed to The Looking Glass for ice cream. I ordered my favourite flavour, raspberry ripple, and Tom had a cherry marshmallow cone. Gareth, the owner of the B&B, had recommended this ice cream parlour to us and it didn’t fail to deliver. This ice cream was honestly delicious, only second to gelato I’d had in Italy, and if you’re in Llandudno I’d definitely recommend visiting this Alice in Wonderland themed ice cream parlour.
We went for another walk around the town, and had a stroll down the pier in the sunshine, where we won lots of tickets on the machines (we got 500 on one machine when we worked together #couplepower). Tom tried to teach me how to skim stones, which I still wasn’t very good at, and I had a little dip in the incredibly cold sea, before heading back to the hotel room for a little relaxing before our dinner reservation at Romeo, an Italian restaurant in the town. Romeo really was a hidden treasure, tucked away above shops on one of the streets leading down to the main street. I opted for a delicious ham and mushroom pizza, with a garlic pizza bread for starters. This restaurant was so high end and cosy, with beautiful decoration and amazing food. I couldn’t even handle dessert I was so full from the starter and main!
Monday morning sadly brought round the end of our long weekend, but we did manage to spend an hour down by the water and of course counted up our arcade tickets. We ended up deciding on a little cuddly unicorn, which we named Llana del Dudno, and mini speaker; we did have 1250 tickets after all! The weather was glorious again so we took the chance to take a couple of shots for my Instagram out on the jetty, before heading off to catch our train.
Our trip to Llandudno truly was the best way to spend our one year anniversary and I couldn’t think of a better person to spend it with than my amazing boyfriend Tom. I love you darling!
Book a stay at The Cliffbury for yourself here.
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Love Chloe x
This seemed like a very lovely and picturesque trip! 💗
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It’s a beautiful part of the world! x