Well not that dirty – a shameless attempt to attract readers. So lets hope you read it. Every 8th of the month, if it lands on a weekend, me and Mrs Lyon try and stay over somewhere (see footnote as to why) and we could easily have chosen a town like Skipton or York or many of the other beautiful places near to where we live. Why Colwyn Bay (it’s a run down and unattractive place)? What it has got is two marvellous restaurants - the wonderful understated “Toad” and the more famous “Bryn Williams”. Bryn Williams is a well known chef who appeared on a BBC programme called “Saturday Kitchen” and who cooks great fish.

As well as eating, our other passion is walking and Colwyn is a great walking area. The walk from Colwyn Bay to Llandudno is about nine miles but its an easy walk. It takes you past the almost attractive town of Rhos on Sea. The beach there is a vast expanse of sand that is a magnet for dogs and, of course, their owners. The happiness on the dogs faces and, of course, their owners is a joy to witness and better than any amount of anti depressants or talking therapy. It left me with a big smile on my face.

The first sight of Llandudno from this approach is awesome. Llandudno has an attractive curve of white hotels that bend around its bay. Built as a spa town with many buildings erected in the reign of Victoria it has always, and still is, a popular seaside resort. The beach isn’t particularly attractive as it is made up of hard pebbles and small rocks but it has some lovely places to stay and eat and wonderful walks which include encounters with mountain goats and seals. The return trip to Colwyn Bay was a little less energetic – we got the train.

The following day was an atmospheric walk from Deganwy to Llandudno Junction. We took the train to Deganwy and walked along the River Conwy with its wonderful birdlife and good views over to Conwy Castle. Had we not got an afternoon restaurant reservation we could have taken a further half an hour and gone over the bridge to lovely Conwy.

On the way back to Manchester we stopped at run down St Asaph, a weeny city, that has an attractive cathedral. Its claim to fame is that the songwriters behind “Pack up your sorrows in your old kitbag” were born and bred there and the poet Hemans."The boy stood on the burning deck" a famousline in the poem “Casabianca” – the boy dies awaiting the order to abandon ship from his already dead father. The Café “Jacobs Ladder” is worth the trip to St Asaph – its akin to walking into someone’s front room – the customers are like long lost relatives – what a find for a serial nosey parker.

I am hoping to include a few photos that we took - no goats or seals, sorry.

Footnote: The importance of the 8th: we got married on the 8th and whilst on honeymoon and because I am a serial nosey parker I got chatting with a couple who had been married for over 50 years and one of the many tips they gave us was to keep the marriage exciting by having monthly date nights, so that’s what we do.

From Deganwy to Llandudno Junction

Along the River Conwy

Conwy Castle in the distance

The beach at Rhos on Sea

Doesn't sound as if any of it has changed much, apart from the restaurants, over the years since I was last there. Though no doubt the traffic is worse. Always had a soft spot for Llandudno with it's run-down magnificence. Did yousee any of the goats?

Nice report and a good idea having a dirty weekend when you can.

What a lovely trip!! About 20 years ago we drove around the UK, including Wales. We spent 3 days in Conwy and a couple of days in Llangollen. We really enjoyed every part of Wales. Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful pictures and narrative, we’ve been to north Wales, including Conwy, but unfortunately didn’t have time for much more, thanks for telling us about your trip.

A lovely idea to have a date night/weekend every month, wish you many, many more of the same!

What a lovely report - dirty title or not I love that area -- but thinking back its probably been 20 years since I was in North Wales. Jeeze - where does the time go??

We like Llandudno but haven't stayed there recently. We now tend to go a little further onto Anglesey and stay in and around Beaumaris for our version of your weekend.

Love the photo of the castle

Love Anglesey .... much more than Colwyn Bay. I haven't walked much of Anglesey but have had the best of walks around Benlech on Anglesey and nearby Red Wharf Bay. I have a Walk Guide Book for Anglesey and plan to do much more.... maybe when the 8th comes round at a weekend and in summer.

We love Williams’ restaurant, Steve…. the view is stunning and we have always had good food , although the reviews are mixed. Did you know his wife is the lead singer of Texas?

I was in St Asaph on Thursday (being a parent) and it feels like England , as soon as you cross the Conwy , you definitely enter another country.

Love Anglesey out of season. Thanks for the write up.

Newborough beach is stunning but like most places now - ruined by Instagram.

Thanks BritishCaicos. When we were in "Bryn Williams" my wife searched for him to confirm that it was him that spoke to us and informed me that his wife was the lead singer, one of my wife's favourite bands - so she was made up. I loved the restaurant setting but weren't bowled over with the food. The nearby Toad was a much better food experience and the chef there is very much up and coming. We will try Bryn Williams' recently opened restaurant in Mold - he is always excellent on Saturday Kitchen (BBC) and I like his philosophy - fresh and local..

Doesn't look like much have changed from your post, how about the day-to-day traffic there, in 2022 it use to be so bad.

I didn't notice difficult traffic but maybe in summer its different.