Sunday 4 May 2014

Away to the Sea


Well the sun may have disappeared as we travelled and the cloud descended, but our little day trip to North Wales was smashing all the same. In a way, the greyness set off the colours and textures of Llanddudno so well. The seafront is ever so elegant; lovely Georgian terraced hotels painted in subtle shades of cream, white and grey.

We wandered along the pier, me taking photos and the boys spending pocket money on toys and trinkets. The pier is truly beautiful. Everything from the bleached planks, wrought iron railings and the wooden huts filled with paintings, stained glass and tea shops were just perfect.

Afterwards we took a little boat trip around the bay and admired the view of brooding Snowdonia rising above the town. The wind was a bit keen though so we abandoned our plans for a beachy afternoon and headed a little up the coast to one of my most favourite places.
If you gave me a toothbrush I think I could actually move into Conwy Castle. Every time I visit I get tingles up my spine. Medieval history is something I find completely fascinating, ever since I became obsessed with Robin of Sherwood (classic 80s tv!) as a child. 

Conwy is a fabulous place, what one of my uni history friends calls "a climby castle" and I know exactly what she means. There are turret stairs you simply have to climb, wall walks, rooms inside the walls and great towers where you can still see enormous fireplaces where our ancestors warmed themselves, maybe alongside their king.
There are great reconstruction drawings around the site that do such a great job putting the ruins all back together for you, and a kids trail that our boys really enjoyed. We climbed the highest towers that are pretty scary but reward you with stupendous views across the bay, the walled town and the mountains. 
Back home my university books are out again and I'll be lost in medieval England for a while. Back soon :)

19 comments:

Sue said...

Fab photo's Steph, Thanks for sharing
glad you had a good time
Best Wishes
Sue xxx

driftwood said...

oh I do love a good castle!

Unknown said...

Brings back lovely childhood memories for me spent all along that coast. Walking around the Great Orme, the World's Smallest house on Conwy harbour and of course the castle!
Love love love your shoes! What? Where?
Bobbie x

Curlew Country said...

Hi thanks for lovely comment. Shoes are Sainsbury's bargain. Nothing special but very comfy. Love them x

fluffydog said...

Love the pictures. They bring back fond memories - we used to live in North Wales and I worked in Conwy for a short time. Thanks, we might just have to go and visit again.

Mary Nolan said...

Lovely...I was there this past summer, as my Auntie lives nearby! Very cool castle. (I live in chicago...so obviously we have no castles here...lol)

Mary Nolan said...

Lovely photos! I was there this past summer with my cousin...my auntie lives nearby there and since I am from Chicago, any castle is quite impressive!

Hazel said...

I've never been to Conwy castle- will have to add it to the list.
We like Ludlow Castle- another climby one.

I'm with you on medieval history, and thank you for the Michael Praed reminder :)

Frances said...

Oh, that visit looks like so much fun. Cowry does seem to be a Real Castle...wonderful for you and yours to be able to climb the stairs, up to the magnificent vista.

Wow! Enjoy your time traveling to medieval England.

xo

Helloitsgemma said...

Beautiful places, North Wales has a special place in my heart.

Hazel said...

I love Conwy! Such a pretty town. x

Clare Mansell said...

Hello Steph, just popping over from the Blogtacular facebook page. Lovely photos, you are a girl after my own heart I think! Hope you don't mind me saying, but you need a Bloglovin button, I was looking for it so I could subscribe! :-)

Curlew Country said...

Hi Clare, that's ever so kind :) I'm off to visit you properly now too (love your profile pic I must say).

I've just overhauled my blog and thought I'd added a bloglovin button (the + one?) but will check it out. All that coding stuff made my head ache, bit of a technophobe me! Highly likely I've messed it up so thanks for pointing it out, much appreciated :)

Curlew Country said...

Hi Clare, yes I've checked and its the + button alongside the twitter, Pinterest ones above my profile pic. Hope that works for you. Thanks again. X

Karen said...

I knew where you were the minute I saw the pictures of the stained glass and railings before reading the text. I took the exact type of pictures when we went there :-)

Anonymous said...

Really enjoyed this post Steph - it features some of my favourite places. I'm lucky in that my folks are up in North Wales. So glad you had a good time there - so many people are dismissive of the UK's wonderful seaside towns.

PinkCatJo said...

Fantastic post - what a super day. You can't beat a trip to the seaside. I spotted a Welsh windmill there too - never seen one before. I may have to go to back to Wales for a visit to buy one! x

PinkCatJo said...

Fantastic post - what a super day. You can't beat a trip to the seaside. I spotted a Welsh windmill there too - never seen one before. I may have to go to back to Wales for a visit to buy one! x

Unknown said...

Hi Steph

I am from Staffordshire as well. I came across your blog whilst doing some research as I am trying to start my own blog. I have written 2 posts so far but im new to all this and no sure I am doing it right or whether i am using the right site. I would be grateful of any help

Angie x