Having arrived at my Aunty’s lovely, residential holiday caravan, in Rhyl, North Wales, the night before, we woke to a beautiful day and were amped up for a day of exploring.
Alice on the walls of Conway Castle with her Welsh dragon
My Dad had a great day planned for us and before driving up to Great Orme we made an obligatory stop at Rhyl beach so young Alice could sample Welsh rock for the first time (shh, don’t tell the dentist!).
Alice sampling Welsh ‘rock’ at the beachfront in Rhyl
We then enjoyed a beautiful drive up the Great Orme, marvelling at the scenery.
Granddad our wonderful tour guide, driving up the Great Orme
With my dear Mum and Dad
Looking back to the pier in the haze of the morning sun
Incredible cliffs (a favourite place for climbers)
Young Alice enjoying the scenery
Granddad and granddaughter
Before we reached the top of Great Orme we stopped at a beautiful church with the grave yards sitting overlooking the most incredible scenery, in an ethereal mist of morning cloud. We visited the church of Saint Tudno, built in the 12th century on a Christian site dating from the 6th century.
In the mist of the morning cloud, a graveyard on Great Orme, North Wales
At the summit of Great Orme we enjoyed a fun game of mini-golf at the ‘Rocky Pines Adventure Golf‘, with some creative scoring from young Alice and entertaining moves from Grandma! Lots of giggles and a great course.
Rocky Pines Adventure Golf
Alice showing us her mini-golf skills at Rocky Pines, summit of Great Orme
There are so many beautiful walkways and places of historic interest to visit on the Great Orme – and a number of different ways to get to the summit too!
The Great Orme Tramway that transports visitors to the summit of Great Orme.
After our game of mini-golf (Alice won, of course!), we drove on down to Conwy Castle for the afternoon.
Driving along the North Welsh coastline
Conwy Castle, North Wales
Built for Edward I, by Master James of St George, the castle is amongst the finest surviving medieval fortifications in Britain. In a word, exceptional. You can’t fault it, from the grandeur of its high towers and curtain walls to its excellent state of preservation. An estimated £15,000 was spent building the castle, the largest sum Edward spent in such a short time on any of his Welsh castles between 1277 and 1307. Money well spent. Conwy Castle website
The stunning setting of Conwy Castle, North Wales
Exploring the castle, from all levels and angles!
The castle had a fun puzzle activity sheet for children to complete, which had us walking every corner of the castle, from the highest turrets, along the castle walls, and down to the lowest levels we could access! It was lots of fun and kept Alice’s interest (the adults enjoyed completing ‘The Quest’ too!).
Alice on ‘The Quest’ working out a clue
Exploring Conwy Castle
After a lovely afternoon we headed back to the caravan so that Alice could enjoy a quick dip in the swimming pool before dinner.
We had arranged to meet up with the lovely ‘Granny Pat’ as she is known to many! The short story is, her son, daughter-in-law and grandson emigrated to New Zealand several years ago. I met them through my blog – as they’d got in touch when they were planning their move. They lived in Wellington for a few years, before settling far north of Auckland on a beautiful lifestyle section. Over the years I have enjoyed meeting ‘Granny Pat’ on her visits to NZ, and seeing as she lives in Prestatyn, a short drive from Rhyl, we had to meet up!
Pat booked us a table at the lovely Eagle & Child Inn, which we drove up to (a very steep climb!) as the sun was sinking in the sky over the coast.
A beautiful sunset over North East Wales.
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- Beautiful gardens
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- Lots of carved eagles!
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- Interesting toilet!
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- Gorgeous feature wall.
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- A magical sunset.
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- Alice caught a Mr. Mime!
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- Twilight in the garden
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- A lovely meal
The lovely Eagle & Child Inn, Prestatyn
We enjoyed a wonderful catch up and meal, talking way past sunset, with young Alice falling asleep on my lap after dinner! She was elated to fulfil her mission of ‘catching a Mr. Mime’ (Pokemon Go) on her visit to the UK! It took her a week and Mr. Mime popped up just as we arrived at the Eagle & Child Inn – I was relieved she caught it… as it would have been very disappointed if she hadn’t!
We drove back to the caravan for the evening and headed straight to bed, knowing we were to be out the door first thing the next day – to climb Mount Snowdon… but that’s another story!
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