A pretty seaside town is like ‘going back 50 years’, according to locals. Llandudno is a coastal resort in north Wales, overlooking the Irish Sea.
The seafront is the centre of the town, with a two-mile stretch of Victorian terraces intertwined with grand hotels. There are a number of beautiful shops, restaurants, churches, and museums to explore and the pier has a handful of slot machines and a pub overlooking the beach. The Great Orme Tramway, built in 1898, is another popular pastime for visitors and takes passengers to the 679-foot-high limestone headland. There is also a cable car (which is the UK’s longest) and a minibus option. “Living here is like going back 50 years,” Ray, 80, who retired to Llandudno almost three decades ago, told The Telegraph. “The older ladies still dress nicely. You can go out for walks after dark. There are no rough gangs going around swearing and fighting.”
Visitors can head underground to the award-winning Great Orme Mines, the oldest metal mine open to the public anywhere in the world. It has 3,500-year-old underground passageways that lead to the Great Cavern, the largest prehistoric underground excavation in the world.
“It’s a beautiful place to live,” says Helen Parkes, 37, who moved here two years ago from London with her husband and three children. “We sometimes say it’s like a holiday that never ends.
“It’s lacking in terms of retail and culture – Conwy next door has had more spent on it and has more independent shops – but living here, you do realise life’s not all about spending.”
Conwy calls itself “one of Britain’s best-preserved medieval cities”, with ancient walls that surround a town of narrow cobbled streets lined by historic buildings. At the centre is a dark-stone castle dating back to the 13th century.
Liz Westwood, 21, works at the Llandudno Pier Coffee Shop. “I came here from the Midlands to live with my nan and, in a way, start again,” she says. “You’ve always got the beach and the mountains. I get on with people of all ages, but there are young people here if you want to find them.”
Yvonne Hurst, 56 and from Manchester, has a caravan outside the town. She said: “I think it’s different to other seaside resorts because of the natural beauty, and so they keep it looking naturally beautiful. There’s no litter, they keep it clean.”
Those wishing to visit Llandudno can take trains from Manchester, Cardiff, Birmingham, and London. The town has several places to stay, including hotels and holiday lets.