The Local Knowledge Guide To North Wales


We visited North Wales last year and loved it so much, we went back again this summer! The weather may be a little unpredictable (!), but there really is so much to do over there. Sometimes you just need to speak to someone who’s already been. So for any of you that are looking for inspiration, here are a few of the things our family got up to!

(I’ve included the postcodes so you can find these places easily)

Beaches in North Wales

Colwyn Bay

— LL29 8ED —

North Wales Colwyn Bay Ice cream

Colwyn Bay is a vast sandy beach which is great for collecting shells. There are also rock pools which our girls loved peering into. There is a promenade with lots of benches along it so you can have a lovely wander along there or sit and admire the view.

North Wales Colwyn Bay Collecting Shells

There is a watersports centre here so we had lots of fun watching the jet skiers! Be aware that the beach is fully submerged at high tide but there is a lovely pirate-themed playground on the front which we spent a long time in.

North Wales Colwyn Bay Pirate Play Park

Next to the playground is the Bryn Williams bistro  – the roof slopes right down to the ground and you can walk to the top and see right across the bay.

Llanfairfechan

— LL33 0PL —

North Wales Llanfairfechan Colourful Houses

Llanfairfechan is truly breath-taking – an extensive beach bordered by mountains! There are also some gorgeous houses on the front, painted lots of bright, beach-y colours. If you’re looking for a nice place to have a picnic, this is it (!) because you can park right on the promenade.

Because the sand is so flat, the tide goes out a very long way! It also means that the children can go quite a way into the sea and still only be knee deep in water.

North Wales Llanfairfechan Jumping In The Sea

This is quite a soggy beach so sit near the top where the sand is firmest. If you’re planning to play on the beach, I recommend keeping to the right hand side of the café and ramp (going straight forward means you get a muddy patch of beach).

North Wales Llanfairfechan Paddling Pool

If you head left along the promenade, you reach a play park, large duck pond, and giant paddling pool. This was a great way to keep the children entertained while we waited for the tide to go out.

Penmaenmawr

— LL34 6NJ —

North Wales Penmaenmawr Beach

Penmaenmawr was our favourite beach from our visit to North Wales last year, so we had to pop back again. This year was a bit breezier than last time so we sheltered in the café / souvenir shop on the promenade. We’re also in the throws of potty training so it was very useful to have the public toilets close by (20p charge).

North Wales Penmaenmawr Beach Body Board

The paddling pool here was brilliant again as the sand is fully submerged during high tide, but you can still get onto the pebbles and our girls had great fun throwing stones into the sea.  There is also another play park.

North Wales Penmaenmawr Pebbles on Beach

But when the tide goes out, a large expanse of sand is revealed.

We have always used the on-street parking near the paddling pool before, but this year we discovered that you can park on the promenade if you go a little further along the North Wales Expressway (A55) and turn off towards the beach.

We had a lovely walk along the promenade here and the sea just seemed to go on for miles and miles!

North Wales Penmaenmawr Girl Scootering Down Promenade

North Wales Towns

Conwy

— LL32 8FZ —

We actually stayed in Conwy (camping at Conwy Holiday Park which was fab!). It’s a great town that is close to all the North Wales action! The girls loved driving under the Conwy Castle arch every day and assessing the height of the tide by the amount of water in the estuary.

North Wales Conwy Harbour

The town is full of quaint little streets and there are plenty of souvenir shops for little ones to spend their pennies. We parked in the Morfa Bach Car Park (postcode above) and walked in on the city walls.

North Wales Conwy City Walls

We spent a lovely afternoon down at the harbour watching the boats and eating ice cream. There is crabbing available and lots of benches and walls to sit on.

It did get quite busy, though, so we headed over to the grassy bank by the estuary bridge. There were lots more benches here and the girls could run about without me panicking about them careering over the edge of the harbour wall!

North Wales Conwy Harbour Boats

Llandudno

— LL30 2YN —

Llandudno is the tourist town of choice in North Wales. With two beaches, plenty of shops, and the Great Orme to have a look at, it’s not surprising.

North Wales Llandudno Rainbow

I would recommend parking at the Maelgwyn Road Car Park (that’s the postcode I’ve listed) as it is close enough to walk to either beach, depending on what you fancy doing.

We started off with a wander along the famous Llandudno pier which is by the North Beach. It is packed full of amusements and souvenir shops. I get a little anxious on piers that have big gaps between the floor planks, but thankfully that wasn’t a problem here. Also the fence along the edges only had small gaps so I was confident that the girls wouldn’t be taking an unexpected dip in the ocean!

North Wales Llandudno Pier

The view from the end is just amazing, even on the rainy day that we visited!

North Beach isn’t really a beach to play on, but there were donkeys for the children, a Punch and Judy show, and lots of benches along the promenade. The United Beach Missions (UBM) hold free bible-themed children’s entertainment here over the summer (2:30pm) if you fancy a few child-free minutes!

Next we went to West Shore. The tide was in and there were lots of people doing kite surfing. The children played in the park here (more public toilets for 20p) and then we went for a walk round/over the Great Orme. The path starts just where Abbey Road becomes Marine Drive and is quite a steep climb initially before levelling off. Don’t be put off, though, because our 2 year old managed it and the view (and café) at the top are well worth the effort!

North Wales Llandudno Great Orme

North Wales Attractions

RSPB Nature Reserve

— LL31 9XZ —

This was a really lovely, well-kept place. We’ve never visited an RSPB before, but we’ll definitely try more after seeing this one. It cost us £12.50 for a family ticket and we spent the whole day there. It’s open 9:30-5pm, but we noticed that there is gate allowing you onto the land for free after 5pm.

North Wales Conwy RSPB Picnic Area

The lady at reception was lovely and chatted away to our girls about all the different creatures they might see at the reserve. There was a free children’s treasure hunt and an additional one for a small fee. We decided to do both!

North Wales Conwy RSPB View From Eco Room

At the entrance, there is a lovely little play park and some toys for the children to play with. There were also picnic benches dotted around so we could take our own food in (although I think there is a café too).

North Wales Conwy RSPB Play Park

We had a map but ended up just wandering around the little paths and seeing where we ended. We went out onto the longer walk which comes back along the bank of the Conwy estuary. This gives some fantastic views of the castle. It also gave us a chance to see some wild ponies as they graze on the land at certain times of the year.

North Wales Conwy RSPB Going On A Walk

We managed to go on a sunny day, but don’t worry if the weather turns because there is an “eco room” (made out of straw) which had some toys in for the children to play with.

Eirias Park

— LL29 7SP —

We originally went to Erias Park because there is a swimming pool there and we needed a rainy day activity. But once we’d finished swimming, the sun came out so we decided to explore the rest of the park.

There is lots of open grass and a lovely duck pond with some picnic benches. We decided to have our lunch here, but watch out for the seagulls – they were very keen to join in!

North Wales Eirias Park Duck Pond

Just next to the pond is a large playground with areas for older and younger children.

The park backs onto Colwyn Bay (see above) so we wandered down there next and spent some time at the beach.

Conwy Water Gardens

— LL32 8TP —

North Wales Conwy Water Gardens Duck Pond

In all honesty, we weren’t expecting much from Conwy Water Gardens because it’s free. How wrong we were! There was so much there!

North Wales Conwy Water Gardens Otters

The otters were my favourite bit, but there were lots of creatures to look at. Little paths wind their way around ponds and enclosures and you just wander around and have a look. They were selling duck food (there are A LOT of ducks) but we didn’t bother.

North Wales Conwy Water Garden Duck Pond

I think it is closed on Mondays so make sure you check before heading over.

North Wales Conwy Water Gardens Play Park

There was also a little play park, a reptile house, and a pancake house. We didn’t eat there but it is highly recommended by some friends of ours.

Conwy Castle

— LL32 8AY —

School Holidays Dressing Up Conwy Castle North Wales

Conwy Castle is impressive! It is very well preserved and there are lots of towers to climb and walls to walk along. It costs £26.60 for a family ticket, and it was the highlight of our childrens’ holiday!

North Wales Conwy Castle Bow and Arrow

You definitely have to keep your wits about you, taking a 2 year old up the towers; most of them are open and drop hundreds of feet with only a hand rail as a barrier. But you could see for miles up there and the scenery in North Wales is fabulous.

North Wales Conwy Castle

Conway Castle is a bit smaller than Caenarfon Castle (which we visited last year) but there were lots of interesting information boards around, some aimed at children too. We were particularly impressed with the augmented reality game (free) which encouraged us to hunt for baby dragons around the castle.

North Wales Conwy Castle Searching For Dragons

 

So that is the end of our whistle-stop tour around North Wales. Which places took your fancy? Have you ever visited North Wales? Where does your family like going on holiday? I’d love you to tell me in the comments section below 🙂

Disclaimer: I have not received compensation to mention any of these places. I wrote about them because we enjoyed our visits. For more info, please check out my disclosure policy.

Pinterest The Local Knowledge Guide to North Wales


 

Why not buy one of our fab t-shirts for your own adventure! . We’ve got lots of designs like this stylish Papa Bear Tee!

Other colours and designs are available!

Papa Bear T Shirt Lucy At Home Heather Military Green


Brilliant blog posts on HonestMum.com

JakiJellz

Lucy At Home

Mummy in a Tutu

Listed on Days Out Now. Check out their interactive map to see what’s on near you!

 

24 Comments

Add yours
  1. 4
    The Squirmy Popple

    These photos brought back so many memories – when we lived in Chester we would often travel into North Wales because of the stunning coastline and amazing castles. We even had our ‘babymoon’ on Anglesey. It’s a really special place. #BlogCrush

  2. 11
    The Pramshed

    Loved reading this post as we are also regular visitors to North Wales but I’ve never been to this part. We regularly go to Abersoch and Llanbedrog, but drive past Llandudno and Llanfairfechan, maybe next time we will make a stop enroute. Beautiful pictures too. Claire x #ablogginggoodtime

  3. 13
    Wendy

    Your photos are stunning lucy. I am from mid Wales and visited north Wales a lot when I was younger. We used to visit the small Island of Anglesey so I’ve not actually ever been to any of these beaches but now I really want to. Glad you had such a lovely time xx #blogcrush

  4. 15
    Lisa Pomerantz

    What gorgeous photos! Looks like a fab time and a wonderful place to be! It is always fun for me to see kids swimming in one shot, and in heavy coats the next! I hope you had as lovely a time as these shots! #BlogCrush xoxo

  5. 16
    Alana - Burnished Chaos

    So many gorgeous places. My husband’s granny is from Llandudno and it’s where she met her husband. They have both passed now and their ashes were scattered off the Great Orme and they have a bench in the remeberance garden at the bottom. We went their last summer to pay our respects and it’s such a beautiful place, we really want to go back and explore more if the area x
    #Ablogginggoodtime

  6. 17
    Jaki

    I haven’t been to Wales in such a long time but hope to go soon. Your photos are gorgeous. Thanks for joining us at #TriumphantTales, hope to see you again tomorrow! X

+ Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.