Llandudno/Conwy Summer Sqwalk 2011

30th June - 2nd July

Up for it were:

Dasher, Keithee's up for it, Malc Jay, Matt Jay, Granpop Bill, Mr Tahoohigh, Yuppy, Stubby, Jaycee, Tim Mothy, Jacko, Pedro, Spike, Ali G and Mid week Tone.

Dasher took Granpop Bill, Pedro and Joseph, the Stubmeister volunteered to take Mid week Tone, Yup and JayCee, and the rest teamed up as usual.

Proposed Route of Sqwalk:

We were booked into the Kinmel Hotel on the central promenade 12 months in advance of the sqwalk. (www.kinmelhotel.co.uk) There's no holding back Dasher when he gets his teeth into it.  Thank goodness it was booked so far in advance, otherwise we could have ended up in a really dodgy hotel with no showers, no tea making facilities, vomit green baths, and having to do battle with coach loads of aggressive pensioners at breakfast time ..........

It had been a pleasant run to Llandudno and the hotel was easy to find.  Parking was also easy to find with spaces being available directly behind the hotel; except for Dasher who struggled to find a spot. As we booked in we were informed that the hotel was overbooked but that arrangements had been made to accommodate some of us in their sister hotel, the Winchmore Hotel, just a few doors away.  Oh dear.

The room allocated was distinctly aged with no shower and a vomit green bath. There was a shower on the 3rd floor we were later reliably informed.  Very handy if you were on the ground floor.

'There's no kettle', spotted Stubbee. 'How will we survive?'

Seems Jaycee didn't get chance to use his Wether's vouchers, but at least he found a bargain shop! 

A walk along the pier and past the happy valley ski slope followed, and with a tight squeeze we arrived at the ice cream and drinks cafe. The ale must have taken it's toll as Mid week Tone, Yuppy and Mr Tahoohigh clumsily dripped ice cream down their shirts.

Returning down the Great Orme we followed the tram lines down to their starting point and the Kings Head where the 'Sun Dance' ale was well worth stopping for.  A black car advertising the pub said it all.

Ali G, Mr Tahoohigh and Granpop Bill stopped for a few more whilst the rest of us sauntered back to the digs to freshen up. Ali wanted 2 stop till the morning and have fish n chips 4 breakfast and catch the tram, but was reluctantly towed away.

After a quick freshen up we met up on the front and went in search of the Albert Inn in Madoc Street for a recommended evening meal. http://www.albertllandudno.co.uk/

Spike arrived at 730pm, having travelled on his bike and caught up with us there. 

After filling up we moved on and found the Cottage Loaf ale house in a back street, a quaint whitewashed cottage with small windows and colourful hanging baskets.

There was a stone floor, low beams and some good real ales on offer (Welsh Pride, AllGates Citra, Ostlers SPA and Duchars) but we didn't go overboard. We had to remain fresh for tomorrows hike.  The stone floor and low beams weren't on offer by the way.

Night photos taken by Ali G.

Impressive eh?

Early the next morning Stubby set off in search of a shower. 'It's like a 3centre holiday', he said, 'with a decent toilet next to the reception, the shower on the third floor, and our bedroom on the ground floor.'

Refreshed but exhausted, after doing battle with the curtain which hung halfway across the 2ft square shower, we headed off for breakfast at 8am.

We stood outside the dining room which had been locked until feeding time.  Despite being there first we ended up behind a queue of zimmer frames out to do battle at the self serve table.

The sister hotel was not serving breakfast till 830am so we took time to make a few phone calls and found a shortcut to the dining room in preparation for tomorrow's breakfast call.

With a delayed start there was some pressure on making it to the lunch stop by 2pm, so several set off on the walk with the others following and catching the tram up to the Orme summit to save time, and effort.  In the fresh air Spike, sporting his summer walking shorts, stooped down and uttered the unforgettable words 'eeh, you can't beat a draught round yer shaft'. How very true, I'm sure.

We took a few group shots at the Orme summit with Deputy Dawg fronting the gang, before making our way in a southerly direction down to what was originally going to be the breakfast stop at 10.30. 

"Dag nabit" , "Cotton pickin pesky"

After picking through the remaining breakfast crumbs, which the marauding old thieving swines had missed, there was no need to stop, except to admire the wonderful views over Conwy bay.

This was the Squarry Club's first seaside stroll which was most enjoyable. We sauntered down to the beach and headed along the estuary in the sunshine, stopping only to admire the scenery and on one occasion a pretty looking butterfly.  Researched later, Jacko confirmed the “butterfly” was in fact a Cinnabar Moth, a very common day-flying moth apparently.

We made it to the Queen's Head at Glanwydden at 1.20pm, around 40 minutes ahead of schedule. 

www.queensheadglanwydden.co.uk

Orme ale and Speckled Hen were on tap, although the latter was off according to Spike.

The food on Joe's plate was well positioned which avoided upsetting his spatial awareness condition.  The meals were excellent despite their slightly high cost.  Puddings were duly ordered for completeness, and they were gorgeous too, with Joseph noting that the menu should perhaps have read 'sticky taffy pudding'. 

Argee Bargee, with his vast newly found knowledge of the area described a couple of nearby pubs which he was aware of and would be well worth visiting on the way back.  Several plans were discussed, ranging from plan 3B to 5G.  One plan in particular involved moving on to the Penrin Arms, which was just a few minutes up the road.  Sounds good we all agreed although Dictator Dasher dashed all the excitement and confirmed we were sticking to plan 6A and returning directly to Llandudno.

Thanks for your proposals though Argee.  The thought was there.

So, we headed back to Llandudno with hopes of paddling our pinkies in the sea - plan 34, but we couldn't be bothered.

Arriving back around 4.15pm we sat on benches on the promenade and enjoyed a well deserved rest in the sunshine, watching and waiting for the static wind turbines on the horizon to start turning.

With another shower trauma out of the way, we met up on the front, and waited for Spike.  After paying extra for a sea view it appeared he kept his curtains shut.  Apparently his toilet faced directly out to the front, as he'd soon discovered, and the toilet door swings open exposing him to the elements.  What a horrible picture that conjures up.  His curtains therefore remained closed. Phew.

The King's Head was our port of call which we'd visited the previous day, apparently the oldest pub in Lllandudno. Spike's hair started sprouting in the sunshine and Ali Gee's windswept hair looked not dissimilar to Worzel Gummidge's. A seagull sat on the fence above him contemplating whether to begin nesting.

A couple sitting nearby proved to be from the potteries and were most friendly as you'd expect. We advised them on the best indian restaurant in town, not that we'd sampled it yet.

Argee Bargee's advice regarding the choice of indian, was spot on.  We made our way to the Asia situated on the main crossroads in town, which sat above a shop. www.theasia.co.uk.  The food and service was excellent.  In the corner sat the couple who we'd met at the King's Head who gave us the thumbs up.

There was another indian directly across the road called Dynasty, nicknamed Dysentery, by Argee Bargee and his pals.  Nuff said.

The following morning we beat the buggers to the dining room, but somehow still managed to arrive last to the serving station.  How do they do it?

It was pointed out that it had been the 'driest' walk we'd ever experienced, despite being so close to the sea.  But saying that it was most memorable and was, as you'd expect, a very well organised doo arranged by Dasher.

Great Walk, Great Orme.

Happy Days

Well Done Dasher

Yuppers

(enjoy yer breakfast)