Colwyn Bay
From Wikitravel
[edit] Understand
Colwyn Bay is a coastal town in north Wales. As with much of the north Wales coast, the town has suffered with the decline in the tourist industry since in the mid-twentieth century. While it does not have the charm of nearby Llandudno, it hasn't declined as much as nearby Rhyl and still has many interesting locations.
[edit] Get in
Colwyn Bay is fairly well serviced by public transport:
- Car - Colwyn Bay is right on the main east-west road passing through north Wales, the A55.
- Rail - Colwyn Bay station is also on the main north Wales route that services Holyhead, with it's links to Ireland. The station is at the bottom of the main shopping street - Station Road.
- Bus
[edit] Get around
Buses run throughout the Colwyn Bay area.
[edit][add listing] See
- The Welsh Mountain Zoo. The best attraction in Colwyn Bay, while not a large zoo, the interesting location on a hillside (not quite the 'Mountain' advertised) allows for more interesting habitats for animals. A free bus usually runs from Colwyn Bay train station. However, check the zoo's website to find out when it's running.
- Eirias Park is a large, grassy park about twenty minutes walk from the town centre. As well as the park with it's boating lake, there is a fairly well equipped leisure centre with indoor pool, squash and tennis courts, and a good athletics track. There is also a new skatepark on the grounds
- The Promenade and Beach are about three miles long, while the beach is realtively sandy, it's not that picture-esque. On the promenade is the town's "Victoria Pier" which is in a sad state and in dire need of renovation.
- Take in a play or a musical at Theatre Colwyn. While small, it sometimes gets interesting productons and shows films at the end of their cinematic runs.
[edit][add listing] Do
The promenade includes an excellent cycle-path and can also be used for watersports and fishing.
- Walking - Colwyn Bay offers some good opportunites for walking - Bryn Euryn in particular offers great views over the local area and the ruins of Llys Euryn [1], a historical late medieval house are worth exploring. Pwllycrochan Woods in Upper Colwyn Bay is also well worth visiting.
[edit][add listing] Buy
- Station Road has a WH Smith's, Boot's and other independent stores. There's also a bi-weekly market on Thursdays and Saturdays, it's not that great but there's some local and freshly grown goods amongst the tat.
- The Bay View Shopping Centre Shopping in Colwyn Bayhas a Morrison's and an Iceland, but not much else of note.
[edit][add listing] Eat
There are numerous places to eat in the town. Most are independent fast food places (fish and chips, kebabs, Chinese, etc). In addition there is:
- 'The Coffee Corner' - a traditional coffee shop.
- 'Speaker's Corner' - a fair attempt at a trendy/alternative coffee shop/sometime venue.
- The 'Wetherspoons' - Cheap, mostly edible food.
- 'Virgilios Ristorante' - Fairly good Italian food.
- 'The Pen-Y-Bryn' - great, mostly traditional British food, for relatively good prices.
- 'The White Lion' - just outside of Colwyn Bay in Llanelian. Traditional good pub food. Not quite as good as it's reputation, but well worth a try.
[edit][add listing] Drink
Colwyn Bay can get rough on occaisions, but usually the 'Wetherspoons' is kept fairly trouble free. The Pen-Y-Bryn, in upper Colwyn Bay is usually far more quite if you prefer that kind of atmosphere.
[edit][add listing] Sleep
[edit] Get out
- Llandudno - A victorian seaside resort that has kept much of it's charm and well worth a visit.
- Conwy - The medieval castle and walls are excellent.
- Conwy Valley - a trip up the beautiful Conwy Valley will take you to Bodnant Gardens, Betws-Y-Coed and beyond to the Snowdonia National Park.
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