We started day seven of our trip by going back west a few miles to Llandudno before continuing east out of Wales into England. Some typical and some not so typical British seaside sights today.
Photo of the day
Crosby Beach
Llandudno
Early Sunday morning at Llandudno Pier, eerily empty. Everyone was clearly still in bed, as they knew the heavens were about to open.Colourful hotels at the end of the Llandudno promenade. The start of the Great Orme hill and headland behind. We then drove around the Great Orme Heritage Coast loop, would have been great views if it it hadn’t been pouring down with rain.
Colwyn Bay
We looped back to Colwyn Bay where we stayed the night before. The promenade and road along the sea front was closed off due to an ongoing waterfront improvement project. In the distance we could see the pier, which looked in a sorry state… hopefully that is part of their improvement project too.
Prestatyn
The lifeguards were having a peaceful day at a very quiet Prestatyn Beach. Wind turbines off shore in the background, which became a surprisingly common sight on our coastal journey.
Talacre Lighthouse
The Talacre Lighthouse at Point of Ayr. Abandoned, but looked great, even on a stormy morning.
Flint
Flint Castle with impressive views over the River Dee. We bumped into a lovely Canadian family that had also been staying at the same B&B as us near Cardigan, we had also bumped into them at Cilgerran Castle three days earlier… small world.
Flintshire Bridge
Crossing the River Dee over a rather striking Flintshire Bridge, flanked by electricity pylons. Blue sky starting to peep through the clouds…
Leasowe Lighthouse
The now disused Leasowe Lighthouse, not the most attractive lighthouse, but still striking with the blue sky behind.
New Brighton
The view from New Brighton out to the lighthouse and beyond to the cranes on the other side of the River Mersey.
Crosby
One of the one hundred Antony Gormley’s ‘Another Place’ statues, submerged in Crosby Beach. A bit spooky but very striking. Very cool to see in person.A bit of beach marketing.
Formby
A lovely clean beach backed by sand dunes and pinewoods at the National Trust’s Formby Point. They’ve clearly struggled with beach erosion though, this looked like an old road or building that had collapsed in the beach and sea.
Southport
A Mr Whippy ice cream van finishing work for the day at Southport Beach.A striking looking weather vane style fish sculpture on the Southport Promenade.
Marshside
On our way to Preston for the night, we passed Marshside, with views across to Lytham St Ann’s, and Blackpool Tower ghost-like in the distance. A sneak preview of our trip tomorrow.
After beautiful weather on day five, day six started rainy and windy and continued most of the day. As today’s trip included Anglesey, the weather matched our expectations for the wind swept island… but we had fun nevertheless.
It had to be done, first visit on Anglesey was to the the town with the longest place name in Europe and second longest in the world: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Which means even the train tickets have to be extra big.…and the train station signs… etc etc… you get the idea 😉 Secretly I (Julian) was excited to visit, I had always wanted to since a kid. Check.
Plas Newydd
Next stop was Plas Newydd House & Gardens. The impressive interior is home to the largest canvas painting in the UK. We did take a picture of it, but we couldn’t get the whole painting in the shot, so best to just google it!A bit of colour on a grey day in the Plas Newydd Garden.
Anglesey, west coast
Most of the west coast of Anglesey looked like this, wet, windy and stormy.
Trearddur Bay
Struggling to get out to sea at Trearddur Bay, we watched a little longer, he capsized a minute later and gave up.
South Stack
The rain stopped by the time we arrived at South Stack Lighthouse on Holy Island, also a RSPB bird sanctuary. We also tuned in to Irish radio and our mobile phones started trying to connect to Irish networks, you then realise how close you are to Ireland.Great views of South Stack Lighthouse over some pretty severe cliffs. We walked a bit further on to also try and see North Stack Lighthouse, but the weather closed in and all we got was pictures of sea mist.
Beaumaris
Following the northern and eastern coast of Anglesey, we ended up at Beaumaris Castle. Seemed one of the nicest towns on the island.Beaumaris Pier, with seagulls hovering in the wind, almost in formation.
Conwy
Back on the mainland we passed through Bangor to Conwy, and its grand 13th century Conwy Castle, before heading to Colwyn Bay for the evening.
