Category: Beaches

Running in Llandudno – a quick Runaround!

Llandudno, a seaside resort town in North Wales, offers stunning views of the Great Orme and the Irish Sea. It’s also a great place for runners to lace up their sneakers and hit the pavement. Whether you’re a seasoned runner or just starting, Llandudno has something for everyone.

One of the most popular running routes in Llandudno is the Promenade. The flat and wide pathway stretches along the beachfront and offers uninterrupted views of the sea. It’s an ideal location for a leisurely jog or a quick sprint.

Another popular route is the Great Orme. The Great Orme is a limestone headland that rises 207 meters above sea level. It provides a challenging run for more experienced runners. The route offers panoramic views of the town, the coast, and the surrounding countryside.

For those who enjoy trail running, there are several options in the area. The Llandudno to Conwy cycle path is a well-maintained trail that offers a mix of terrain, from grassy meadows to rocky paths. The trail runs parallel to the coast and provides breathtaking views of the sea.

If you’re looking for a longer run, you can try the Conwy Mountain Trail. The trail is a 9.5km loop that takes you through fields, forests, and up to the summit of Conwy Mountain. The trail offers challenging terrain and spectacular views of Snowdonia National Park.

For those who prefer a more social running experience, there are several running groups in Llandudno. These groups offer a supportive and motivating environment for runners of all levels. They provide opportunities to meet new people, share tips and advice, and explore new routes.

Llandudno also hosts several running events throughout the year. The Llandudno Easter 5k and the Llandudno Christmas 5k are popular events that attract runners from across the region. The events offer a chance to compete, test your fitness, and have fun with other runners.

In conclusion, Llandudno offers a range of options for runners of all abilities. Whether you prefer a leisurely jog along the Promenade or a challenging trail run up the Great Orme, there’s something for everyone. The stunning views, supportive community, and variety of routes make Llandudno a perfect destination for runners. So, grab your running shoes and hit the road – or trail, or beach!



Beautiful Llandudno Sunset – Video from West Shore

Here is a little video of a sunset I witnessed on my latest trip to Llandudno, I have been lucky lately in seeing some beautiful sunsets when visiting North Wales! This one I managed to capture the sun just as it was dipping below the horizon, to the sound of birds chirping and gulls crying, and I thought I would add a little Bach as well!

Hope you enjoy this Llandudno sunset as much as I did!



Red Skies Over Llandudno and the Great Orme – August 2012

This August I made it back to Llandudno, and spent 3 glorious days out in North Wales, taking a variety of pictures and videos of Llandudno and surrounding areas, including a return visit to Anglesey! Armed with this archive of material I plan to share as much as possible in coming weeks, and begin with some pictures I took during a walk over the Great Orme on Saturday August 18th, 2012.

I had arrived that day and the weather was lovely, although the forecast for the next day was not great. After unloading my stuff in the Westdale guesthouse, I headed off with my camera. Last time I visited Llandudno I had only had my phone camera as both my cameras had broken, but in the meantime I had dug out my video camera, which also takes stills, and decided to brush the dust off it and make some use of it!

I started off by taking some videos of the windfarm off Llandudno Bay as the turbines were sharply visible on the horizon and could be seen turning in the strong offshore winds. I took some photos, and then, in a reverse of my last visit, set off on an evening walk over the Great Orme from the North Shore to the West shore (last time I had done it the other way round in equally lovely weather!).

I walked through the toll gate and began my ascent, and before long I spotted one of the Great Orme’s Kashmiri goats, who always cross my path when I visit Llandudno and wander over the Orme! I got some great shots of them, including a video of one of them leaping over a dry stone wall when a car approached! I was passed by some girls with scouse accents who asked me if I had seen the seals, I said I hadn’t as I had been focused on the goats, they said they had seen dolphins in the waters the night before. They jogged on and I passed a pair of climbers, one of whom was getting quite cross with his climb and swore at his equipment, the chap holding his rope below apologised but I just smiled and wandered on.

The walk across the Great Orme is very deceptive and I realised I was less than half way when the sun was beginning to get low in the sky. This presented a great opportunity to see the skies darken, and witness a beautiful Llandudno sunset, so I took plenty of shots as well as just enjoying the view, as the sun began to go down, and watched as it spectacularly lit up the clouds, setting fire to the sky and burnishing the heavens with a beautiful glow.


As the skies darkened further, I passed millionaire’s row on the Great Orme and was able to capture some landscape photos with out buildings providng relief, as well as the natural contours and shapes of the Orme itself. I kept snapping until my camera could barely get enough light to function, but I ended up with some rather magnificent shots of the Llandudno skies filled with fire as the sun backlit the clouds and I feasted on some beautiful views of the slowly dying day against the backdrop the the Great Orme, a place where I always find myself totally at peace with myself and everything around me.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of red Llandudno skies taken from the Great Orme. Do comment if you like them, and thanks for reading. I hope to update with some more pictures and videos of Llandudno soon!

First Trip to Llandudno in 2 Years!

It’s been a long time! Had a lot of stuff going on for me, last year I ended up in a long distance relationship so ended up spending most of my summer hopping back and forth to the south coast of England near Brighton, but that is over now, and having also come to the end of a university course, it was time for a trip to my beloved Llandudno!

I felt a frisson of excitement as I began to see familiar sites from the train, and when I stepped off it was like a homecoming. Very little seemed to have changed, although the Alice In Wonderland sculptures caught my eye immediately as interesting new additions.

I was staying at the lovely Westdale, just away from the main tourist bustle of the promenade hotel area, and really enjoyed the experience there as the owner is very kind. I had several daytrips during my stay, taking advantage of the Red Rover bus ticket, and visited Bangor and Caernarfon, as well as a wild mystery tour of Anglesey where I ended up in Holyhead. Unlike with Llandudno, the minute I stepped foot there I wanted to leave, although this might have been as much to do with the fact I had a 2.5 hour bus ride back, as the fact that I didn’t really warm to the place. But I did spot some places to explore on a future trip, and enjoyed passing over the Menai Bridge and going through llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch! Maybe I will stop there next time.

In the meantime I got back to Llandudno for 2 lovely evening walks along the west shore, probably my favourite place in the whole world, where I enjoyed some beautiful Llandudno sunsets and also spotted some unusual cloud formations. Both my cameras recently broke, so I was making do with a rather poor quality basic camera phone, but the pictures didn’t turn out all that bad, really!

Very well done video of Llandudno

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to get to my favourite resort but am hoping to sometime in 2011. For this reason I’ve not been able to update this blog much with stories of my adventures, but I thought I’d share a view videos of Llandudno that I’ve found in various places – for example this very well done video which shows a lot of the sights of Llandudno on a gorgeous sunny day – just how it’s meant to be experienced (though I’ve experienced every extreme of weather on my travels there!) Enjoy this video and I hope to post more soon!

My first trip of 2010 – Wet, Chilly and Misty!

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been to Wales and enjoyed all things Llandudno, and a while since I’ve visited this Llandudno blog, but I did visit last year, and have some photos I’m going to catch up on. For now, I shall record my first day in Llandudno in a bit of a cold and wet May!

It’s been a busy time for me, and I was recently released from some responsibilities that were tying me to Manchester a little bit – so what better way to relax than get away to the coast for a few days? I set off from a busy station, and after finally rendesvousing with the hotel landlady (The Astonwood – highly recommended!), I went off to do a bit of limited exploring. Limited, because I have a busted knee from running, and was not up to much walking.


In any case, Llandudno on this day was cold, and very wet. At least the rain did stop, but it was very dark and grey and both Ormes were shrouded in mist! Check out the pics!

LLandudno Pier & Great Orme From Gorgeous Gussie!

Well, the clocks have gone back and winter is upon us, so what better time than to dig out old videos of Llandudno from one of the nicest days of 2008?! This was the last day I was able to spend in Llandudno this year, back in June, due to a variety of things, but what a packed day it was – shattered rib and all!

This video shows Llandudno Pier receding and then pans over the Great Orme from out at sea, from the pleasure boat Gorgeous Gussie. I love these little boat rides, and this video is a nice little memento I thought I’d share – you can even hear the tour guide begin to give his spiel on the Great Orme before the video cuts off (I had a new little digital camera and wasn’t sure how much video it could hold, or would have taken longer videos!)

Sorry the video has been lost to the mists of techological time!

Pictures from my June Weekend in Llandudno

As promised, I have had a look through the pictures I took on my recent trip to Llandudno, and chosen a few to make a small gallery. I hope to blog a little bit more about some of the scenes depicted in more detail in coming weeks, as there is lots to write about what was a very enjoyable (but also a bit disastrous!) weekend in my favourite little place on the coast!

It seems a distant memory now – so thanks be to digital cameras, as I have plenty of snapshots to look back on as the memories grow colder, and am delighted to be able to share these images as I know readers are very fond of Llandudno too, and it is nice to share one’s appreciation of a place and its people and attractions 🙂

Click here for the Llandudno Pictures Gallery