From rolling green hills to castle walls, to beaches and piers, all the way to bright blue ice cream. My weekend spent in Northern Wales was full of enjoyment and breathtaking sights.
Fortunately for me, some of my boyfriend's family is from Wales and his aunt and uncle have a place in Conwy Valley. And because this aunt and uncle are some of the kindest people I know, they offered to let us come and spend a weekend there with them.
On our first full day in Wales, we took a scenic drive and stopped off at some key points. A place we passed through was the beautiful and charismatic town of Penmaenmawr, which is actually the town in which my boyfriend's aunt (aka our Welsh tour guide for the weekend) grew up, along with his dad. The town was set so beautifully amidst the mountains and so close to the sea.
Next, we headed to the Bangor Pier. I'll let the photo do the talking…
Here, we sat down and enjoyed a cream tea (which is a scone, clotted cream, jam, and a cup of tea) from the stunning tea room right on the pier.
The adrenaline junky came out in me on our next stop to a place called Zip World. They have one of the largest ziplines in the world, as it runs just under a mile over an old slate quarry. We were able to go on a tour that took us up onto the mountain and learn about the history of the quarry.
Unfortunately,a £85 zip line was not in the budget, but a £20 forest coaster was. We traveled a bit further and were able to take a personal one seat coaster up into the forest that whizzes you through the trees. (And to our surprise, you actually get to ride it three times!) I mean if roller coasters aren't already fun enough, imagine controlling when you want to slow down (never) and speeding through a gorgeous forest.
Our last day in Wales consisted of another scenic drive that brought us into the walled town center of Conwy and then to the beach town of Llandudno. Conwy is surrounded by historic stone walls outlining the whole town.
You can walk along these castle walls and see some of the best views of the area.
Conwy is also where I had the best ice cream I have ever had...and I've had a lot of ice cream. It was blue banana flavored and looked just as great as it tasted (my apologies for the already licked ice cream pic.. I couldn't wait to start eating it!)
Llandudno is a charming beach town that has a serene seafront and an energetic atmosphere simultaneously. The pier in Llandudno offers a more 'carnival-esque' vibe, in comparison to that of Bangor Pier. We were engulfed into game rooms, rolling 2 pence coins into machines trying to win the most tickets we could, but then just a step outside and you were back in the calm presence of the seaweed scented air.
Although I, of course, did not see all of North Wales in just two days, what I did see was breathtaking and I cannot wait to go back and explore more.
