Llandudno
September 2011
The presence of a six-month old baby, we felt, reduced our holiday options in 2011. Daisy had spent nights in Haddington at Lynne's parents, but occasionally uneasily. We thought about going dahn sarf, perhaps to Cornwall or Devon, but in the end favoured an approach which meant that if it all went wrong, for whatever reason, we were only 90 minutes away from home.
Lynne's impeccable research resulted in the selection of a cottage in Penrhynside, a short distance from Llandudno, which had the added (and basically required) benefit of a cot. We drove over at lunchtime on Saturday 10th September, and it did indeed take an hour and a half. Lynne was happy because she could perfectly choreograph mealtimes for Daisy. It was a reasonably straightforward drive: M60-M56-A55, but then roads got impossibly steep and narrow near the cottage, which tested my clutch control and judgement somewhat.
This is the cottage - No. 2 Llysfaen View (it's pronounced "Kliss-fine", necessary information for takeaway orders). I can't get it better in shot because the street was not very wide - more a path than a street.
Having arrived there, we spent a little bit of time chilling.
Daisy made herself feel at home. You can see the jungle mat in the shot above.
We wandered down to Penrhynside village, which did not comprise much more than a Co-op, a Chinese chippy, a Chinese restaurant, a sandwich shop, and a couple of other places. We did see this welcoming sign, however. Aw that's nice. It was also lovely blue skies - we had been fearful of the weather but it was fine today. Later I headed back down to pick up a chippy tea. Ooh, lovely.
Sunday morning and lie-in time. "Where's me breakfast in bed?", cried Daisy, in her own inimitable way. Due to her unreasonable demands, Lynne and I were forced to sleep in the spare room on the first night, on two small beds. At least we didn't have to squeeze into the cot (was the positive mantra we repeated many times that night).
"Excuse me, I'm reading this book, but if you must disturb me I would like a bacon sandwich on granary bread with tomato ketchup, all whizzed up into mush." (No, we don't feed her any of that stuff.)
Time for a bit more exploration on the Sunday. To the back yard! Some very steep steps took me here. A bench against the fence provided the opportunity for rest after the gravity-defying exertions.
It was worth it, though, as the bench location offered a fine old view. Albeit a cloudy one. Yes, the glorious blue skies hadn't lasted, and nor would they with the wind picking up.
Additional facilities were provided in the form of a highchair, as Daisy tried an assortment of fruit and veg purées, strangely all seeming to contain a high proportion of apple. Daisy seems to have a savoury tooth, however, and prefers those which comprise only of vegetables, particularly carrot and sweet potato. Here, she expectantly waits for her next course.
Well, whatever the weather on the Sunday, we had to venture out. Daisy was ok - she was sheltered in the pushchair contraption, and had her coat on. She still sought further methods of avoiding the whipping wind, however, whilst doing a Robocop impression. We need to get a hood for her that says "Do not disturb". That or "Serve the public trust. Protect the innocent. Uphold the law."
We braved the elements to head along Llandudno Pier. But a brave face on it, old chap!
Luckily, there was a bar at the end, so we could seek out respite from the high winds and rain, have a pint (well, I could) and give Daisy some more puréed food. Llandudno was also spelt out on the bank opposite. Always good, I find, to have reminders of where you are, in case you forget, or in case you get to somewhere without planning to.
The coastline was pleasant, even in the slightly challenging conditions.
To illustrate just how changeable the weather was, the following picture was taken less than half an hour after the above shot. Look how glorious it looks. As you might have now guessed, we ate lunch outside the King's Head (no apostrophe evident below but I'm putting one in). Tempted by the elaborate selection of pies, we instead settled for sandwiches after last night's chip-a-thon. It was a rare moment of restraint.
These days, we must find somewhere that has room for a pram and so did not try to venture inside (apart from to order and to visit our respective aunts). Oh how things have changed, etc. But sitting outside did mean that we had a great view of the tram station.
And of stuff like hills.
And also of the tram as it trundled by. It seemed to spend more time waiting at the tram stop than actually travelling up and down, but there you go. Pram acceptance was minimal so we decided to save a trip to the top for another day. It was (still) only Sunday after all.
Wandering back through Llandudno, Lynne did the sulky face of someone outside a shop called Grumpy's (again, apostrophe inserted - how much must they cost?). But it all improved when she realised it was a sweet shop. Not that I allowed her in.
Sunday night was clearly stay in and order pizza night (from Bay Grill 2 - The Revenge (ok, it didn't have The Revenge in the title)), so next day we were tasked with trying to burn off the fat content contained within the square pizzas we nearly consumed in full. What better way than to head round Conwy Valley Maze on the Monday. We were a little sceptical about it being open given the high winds (the phone rang then went to voicemail), but we went ahead and drove there anyway. Sat outside in the car, I tried again and a guy picked up. He said they were battening down the hatches. When I enquired if he would be open later in the week, he asked of our location and, realising our proximity, invited us in.
Suspecting the pram may not be the best option, I wisely (it turned out) suggested trying out the baby carrier. A few size adjustments later and we were go. There's no escape, young Daisy.
It was all fairly nearly kept, if a little damp underfoot (not that he could have done much about that, apart from installing a massive tarpaulin cover like for a cricket ground).
There were many odd-looking items around the maze, which had price tags attached. Evidently they were for purchase.
Before we entered the maze, we handed over £20 to the guy who ran it (or owned it, who knows) who showed us (but didn't give us) a map and pointed out the vague locations of places to try to find. Generally speaking, I didn't remember much of what he said, but occasionally we did succeed in locating these places. Here a stone lion guards a blue gate, unsuccessfully it turned out.
And here: a rocking horse. It was not a good seat from which to feed Daisy, so instead I sat on an upturned log which doubled as a seat. That was much more comfortable. She had a pretty good time in the carrier, though, helping us with directions and generally just waving her arms about and making noises. Her speciality.
I wouldn't recommend getting this as your primary coffee table.
I can be pretty honest here when I say that I have no idea what this is meant to be portraying.
Horses and pink women perform acrobatics. Naturally.
More women! Sorry, I can't resist.
Crazy mushrooms! Need I say more?
No idea what these rabbits are doing. But it sure looks like fun.
We spotted some crazy rapids walkers type people. (They have a better name, I'm sure, but I can't remember it.)
Here is the house next to the world's largest garden maze (it says on this website).
On to page 2.