North & Mid Wales Holidays

Call it what you want, "The North Wales Jewel", "The Nice of North Wales", "The Happiest Place in the UK", but Llandudno is probably one of the most impressive areas of North Wales. The town has been inhabited since the Bronze Age, with the fabulous Great Orme looking over the town contianing copper, but dwindled in popularity until the Victorian Times, when a streak of competitiveness between two railway developers effectively put Llandudno on the map. There was a race to see who could make a railway line to Holyhead, and effectively start trading to Ireland. One route went through mid wales but was miscalculated near completion. The second was along the North Wales coast, which was successful, and provided a railway line to Llandudno.

When tourism began becoming popular from the cities, Llandudno was a popular destianation for individuals from Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield, who loved the sweeping bay scenery. From there, tourism boomed and the rest - as they say - is history.

Llandudno Sites
Llandudno Camp Sites
Visit Llandudno
Llandudno Bed & Breakfast from My Llandudno
Llandudno Promenade Hotel - Lauriston Court is a Llandudno Promenade Hotel, highly reccommended!
March Hare Music - North Wales based retailer of Freshman Guitars
Queens Head Glanwydden - Llandudno Restaurant, Llandudno Country Pub & Llandudno Self Catering Cottage.
World Care Waste - skip hire in Llandudno
Restaurant Llandudno Fine Dining Indian Restaurant in the heart of Llandudno
Llandudno Hotels Gorgeous seafront hotel in the heart of Llandudno
Hotel Llandudno 4 Star Hotel in the heart of Llandudno with stunning ocean views

Rhyl has been and will continue to be a popular town along the North Wales coast. The town, with a population of around 35,000, is the destination of many caravanners and campers. It's main benefits are that you're almost equidistant from the beautiful hills of snowdonia and the bustling market town of Chester, so it's prime location for a holiday - especially for families, as both the popular local towns of Rhyl, Towyn and Kinmel Bay, as well as a lot of the caravan sites in the area, cater specifically to families.

Rhyl is also undergoing a multi-million pound regeneration project to improve the seafront to hopefully attract more tourists and businesses to the area.

Rhyl Pages
Rhyl Camp Sites
Towyn Caravan Site - Marine Park Holiday Park

One of the most beautiful areas in Europe, Snowdonia is one of Wales' 3 National Parks, and the first one actually designated as a National Park in 1951.

The area is hugely popular, thanks to great road links and railway links, with both day visitors and paying visitors alike. Much of the area is owned privately (around 70%), but there's still a lot of areas to roam, including up Snowdon, the biggest mountain in England and Wales.

The area is popular with walkers and those wishing to participate in outdoor persuits. However, there are a number of injuries and even deaths each year in the area due to ill-equipped walkers. For people who prepare well, take care and are relatively fit, the area is an enjoyable experience for all.

The national park's shape is an odd one, as there's a hole in the middle. The reason for the hole is the town at the centre - Blaunau Ffestiniog - relied heavily at the time on slate mining. Since then it has declined, but the remnants of the mines still remains around Blaunau.

Snowdonia Pages
Snowdon Portal - including information on accommodation, log book, weather forecasts and safety advice.
Snowdon Camp Sites
Snowdonia Self Catering Accommodation
Snowdonia HotelTy'n Rhos Country House
Motorhome Hire GoExplore Motorhome Hire
Bed and Breakfast Snowdonia Dolffanog Fach - Welsh Retreat
Holiday Park Snowdonia West Point Beach Resort Holiday Park
Caravan Park Snowdonia Morfa Lodge Holiday Park
Caravan Site North Wales Ogwen Bank Holiday Park & Country Club

Conwy is only a small town in North Wales (population of around 3,000 people), but it's historical significance swells its population with a large number of tourists.

Conwy is the home of Conwy Castle, a late 13th century Castle, built by King Edward I, during his second invasion of Wales. The castle remained as a defensive outpost for only a small period of time, and since the mid 17th century it has remained in a similar state to it is today.

The castle actually surrounds the town of Conwy, it was rumoured that Edward forcibly removed a lot of Conwy's original settlers, and replaced them with well-to-do businessmen to allow the town's economy to flourish.

There are a number of famous buildings in the town, firstly Aberconwy House - which is the only 14th century merchant's house still standing in Conwy, the second is The Smallest House in Great Britain - which with 3.05 x 1.8 meters dimensions - is the smallest previously inhabited house in the UK, though it has not been lived in since 1900, when the last tenant, a 6ft 3 fisherman, moved out as it was a hygiene risk.

Two other points of note are two bridges that cross the river into Conwy. The first is Conwy Suspsension bridge - which is a footbridge built by Thomas Telford, the second is Conwy Railway Bridge built by Robert Stephenson. What's unusual about both bridges is that they are seen to match the original Britania Bridge and the Menai Bridge in design and also in dimensions (just a smaller scale model of each).

Conwy Sites
Things To Do In Conwy
Caravan Park Conwy Seren Y Dyffryn Holiday Home Park
Network Yacht Brokers Conwy
Taxi Hire Conwy - Castle Mini Coaches
Visit Conwy - A guide to Conwy
North Wales driving school - Glan Conwy School of Motoring
Sulphite Free Wine - Buy preservative free wine
Granite Worktops North Wales Ruby Granite
Airport Transfers North Wales

Colwyn Bay is a large town sandwiched between Llandudno and Rhyl. Originally a rather small farming community (was is now known as Old Colwyn), Colwyn Bay grew in the Victorian era with the building of the railway from Chester to Holyhead. From there people who wanted to visit both Rhyl and Llandudno usually stayed in Colwyn Bay.

The town now remains a useful hub on the North Wales coastline, even since the decline of tourism. Nevertheless, the quaint borough of Rhos-on-Sea which is walking distance from the town centre makes this town still a fun day out.

Also in the town is Colwyn Bay FC, one of only six Welsh football clubs to ply their trade in the English league, and have been in formation for over 125 years.

Colwyn Bay Sites
Best of the Bay - Colwyn Bay Town Guide
Skip Hire in Colwyn Bay - World Care Waste
Manshop UK - a UK wide tailor of big mens clothes, based on Station Road, Colwyn Bay.

One of the cultural hubs of North Wales, Bangor is one of the smallest cities within the UK, with just over 10,000 people. The city status is gained from it's cathedral which - after being founded in 6th Century AD - is one of the oldest cathedrals in the UK, and also it's University, which effectively doubles Bangor's population during term time.

The city of Bangor formed around the cathedral, which was founded by the Celtic Saint Deiniol. Bangor had originally some sort of wall or perimeter, as the word "Bangor" comes from a Welsh word for a type of fenced-in enclosure.

Education plays a huge role in Bangor's development. Friars School in Bangor was founded in 1557, and is one of the oldest schools in Wales, which is over 450 years old. Originally only a boys school, Friars School became a mixed comprehensive in 1971.

The second educational institution in the area is Bangor University. Founded on 18th of October 1884, the university specialises in Biological & Ocean Sciences, as well as Welsh being it's speicalist subjects. The Biological & Ocean Sciences benefit with a link to Coleg Menai, located on the banks of the Menai Straits, making it one of the most popular places in the UK to study those courses.

Bangor Links
Hart Parry - Chartered Accountants Bangor
TH1 Hairdressing a Bangor Hairdressing & Bangor Beauty Salon
Bangor Taxi Hire from Castle Mini Coaches
Joseph Lawrence Accountants in Bangor are a leading Accountants Gwynedd.

A small town located on the Llyn Peninsula, Pwllheli (which name means "saltwater basin") was founded in 1355, and grew thanks to it's unique geography. The town straddles both sides of the peninsula, so maritime industries such as shipbuilding became popular, as did fishing, and fishermen sold their wares to customers in the centre of town in a market every Wednesday.

Nowadays the town's more popular with tourism, with a former Butlins complex in the town, and two blue flag beaches. The town is also home to Plas Bodegroes - one of only two Michelin Starred Restaurants in the United Kingdom.

Pwllheli Links
Network Yacht Brokers Pwllheli

Located near Anglesey, on the mainland, Caernarfon is a royal town locted in Gwynedd. Once considered to be the capital of the country when the capital was to be chosen, it lost out to Cardiff. However, it is still a culturally important town, with a vast history dating back to the 13th Century. King Edward I of England built the castle as a sign of his dominance over the Welsh.

A visit to Wales really should constitute a visit to Caernarfon, as it's the most Welsh-speaking community in Wales. Over 85% of the town residents speak welsh, and in the 10-14 age group, 97.7% could speak it fluently. Part of the reason for this is the adoption of a regional dialect called "Cofi", which allows the haphazard mixture of English and Welsh grammar and even words. Even so, a large proportion of the signs are in Welsh as a first language, a rarity as in most of Wales English is given as the prominent language on road signage.

The other fascinating thing about Caernarfon is it's place in Welsh history, as the traditional location for the investiture of the Prince of Wales. This has done twice, once in 1911 with Edward VIII, and the second in 1969.

Outgoing Links
Black Boy Inn - a popular Caernarfon Hotel and pub.
Caernarfon AccommodationTy'n Rhos Country House

Historically a significant town, Buckley is a town a couple of miles away from the Welsh/English boarder, and whilst not an area of outstanding natural beauty, or near the coast, Buckley does attract a few tourists per year due to it's varied history.

In the mid 1600s, the town was discovered to be lying on a faulty rock formation, which allowed for coal and clay to be directly mined from the seams to the surface. This grew the town as it became the heart of the pottery industry in North Wales. Miners from Liverpool and Ireland headed to Buckley to live and work, which gave the town it's unique accent.

In 1932, the town was one of the first in Wales to produce it's own Pantomime. The producer, Dennis Griffiths, used the programme to invite any and all complaints to arrive written "on the back of a £10 note (non returnable).

Another little history fact was that a WWII German bomber crashed into "The Trap" (a boating lake in the centre of the town). The pilot and crew survived, and were taken in by the locals as Prisoners of War.

In the 1990's, Buckley found another area of expertise. The Tivoli Nightclub had some of the biggest and brightest bands from music play there (including Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin in the mid 1970s). And in the 90's, it was a venue for the rise of Britpop, with Oasis, Radiohead, Ocean Colour Scene and Super Furry Animals playing there. Now more of a commercial dance venue, The Tiv (as it's locally called), has a rock night every Friday with bands such as Skindred, Hed PE and OPM playing there.

Buckley also has an annual jubilee, which happens every July.

Buckley Links
Buckley Industrial - Buckley based company that produces hoses, flexible hose connectors & hose assemblies.

A small market town in the centre of North Wales, Bala is only a small town, with a population of less than 2,000. However, this figure swells in the summer due to the amount of tourists that visit the town.

Bala is famous for one thing in particular, as it's lies on the North bank of the biggest lake in Wales, Bala Lake. 4 miles long and a mile wide, the lake is incredibly deep, a great source of pike, perch and trout, as well as a few rare shellfish. The River Dee (the river that flows all the way to Chester) passes through Bala Lake, and legend has it that the river and the lake's waters never mix. It is also popular with tourists due to the amount of water activities including kayaking, sailing yachts and power boats available to rent on the lake.

Running through Bala and around the lake is the Bala Lake Railway. A preserved railway, the railway runs on 2ft Gague Steam engines, and well worth travelling on if you go to Bala.

The other reason why Bala is popular is it's proximity to the Snowdonia national park. However, because it is outside the park, Bala is generally a lot cheaper. This doesn't necessarily mean it's lacking in beauty, because it's a fabulous little village, in a picturesque part of Wales.

Bala Links
Bryn Melyn Farm - A number of cottages and self catering Large Group Accommodation bala

The Isla of Anglesey lies off the north west coast of Wales, and is a predominently Welsh speaking community. Anglesey has around 70,000 residents, and is the largest island off Wales. The island has had an important history over the years, with druids being on the island as early as AD 60, however people may have lived on Anglesey for years before, when Anglesey wasn't an island. This is unconfirmed, but Druids, and later the Romans, are known to have lived on Anglesey.

Due to the island's size and population, the Island has few notable events in history, nevertheless it is extremely popular for two reasons.

The first is that it's used as a thoroughfare for people wanting to go to Dublin. Ireland is a short 70 mile ferry away from Holyhead which lies itself off the coast of Anglesey, and as such many people take in Anglesey for a couple of days before going through to Ireland.

And that is reason #2. Anglesey is an area of outstanding natural beauty, which is remarkably accessible with few mountains, a long coastline and incredible scenery.

Anglesey has an airport, called Anglesey Airport, which does have some civilian use. Airplanes from Anglesey run twice daily to Cardiff, however there is talk of increasing the number of flights & range of destinations, with flights to Dublin, London & Amsterdam being considered as well.

The Island is also a principle competitor in the Island Games, a competition held every 2 years where Island nations compete for medals. Anglesey have the 16th best record in the competition, with a total of 78 medals (16 gold, 26 silver and 36 bronze).

Anglesey Links
Dye Sublimation Printing Nova Chrome
Anglesey Taxi Hire from Castle Mini Coaches
Based in Anglesey but covering the whole of the UK, Monaprecast are major manufacturers of concrete building blocks, block paving, & architectural and ornamental concrete products for homes and businesses nationwide.
Holiday Homes for sale Anglesey St David's Park
Self Catering Accommodation Anglesey Lakehouse Holiday Self Catering Cottages

Located in the mid point between Colwyn Bay and Rhyl, Abergele is a fairly large inland settlement. Often passed over by a large majority of visitors, Abergele does have it's own coastline, in it's suburban town of Pensarn, which is home to a few caravan park as well as entertainment such as funfair rides & amusement arcades. The train station at Abergele & Pensarn serves both these towns.

The town itself is fairly big with just short of 18,000 residents, and has a large urban area with shops, pubs & other services (a large Tesco dominates the outskirts of the town). It's also home to it's fair share of myths and legends, and has a rich and varied history for over 2000 years (by carrying out DNA tests on local residents, there was a large amount of Romany & North African DNA similarities, which suggest a large settlement of people in the area during the Roman times).

Abergele is known to be a settlement as early as the thirteenth century, when Edward I stayed there in 1294, and there are number of forts from the Iron Age dotted around the town. Apart from that though, very little is known about the town for much of the dark ages, as well as the Tudor & Stuart times.

During the reign of George IV in the UK in the early 19th Century, a castle was built called Gwrych Castle, which is still standing today. Unlike a lot of castles, it passed into private ownership pretty quickly and has been used for a number of things, including housing of 200 refugees in World War II, a tourist attraction, a training venue for the boxer Randy Turpin & motorcycle rallys. Now it lies in a state of disrepair, after it's previous owner failed to renovate it. Instead the Californian Businessman sold the castle to Clayton Hotels in 2006, and currently a £6million project is under way to renovate it.

Abergele Links
Abergele Mobility are stockists of a wide range of mobility equipment such as electric scooters, bathing aids, wheeled walkers and other mobilitiy aids.

St Asaph is located on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, North Wales, between the coastal towns of Rhyl, Prestatyn, Colwyn Bay and Llandudno and is easily accessible via the A55.

St Asaph is built on a hill which overlooks two rivers, the Elwy and Clwyd offering outstanding views. It also boasts some colourful and rich heritage, the smallest ancient Cathedral in Britain, and some wonderful riverside walks along the banks of the Elwy.

St Asaph has a small population of approximately 3500; but also has a very rich history dating back to 560 AD. In additional to the Cathedral, St Asaph is also home to five other churches. The Parish Church of St Asaph and St Kentigern, Penniel Chapel, Llanelwy Christian Fellowship, St Winifrides and Bethehem Chapel.

The Cathedral is one of the oldest Celtic shrines in Britain, at 182ft long and 68ft wide, and was founded in the 6th century.

In recent decades the economy of St Asaph started to succeed, first with the development of the A55 and then in more recent years a business park has been built attracting investment from home as well as overseas.

St Asaph is host to numerous festivals throughout the year such as; North Wales International Music Festival, which attracts music lovers from all over, Woodfest Wales in June, Gala Day in August and the Beat the Bounds charity walk in July.

St Asaph is also very proud of its connections to some very famous people such as Canadian actor Richard Cox, William Morgan who translated the Bible into Welsh in 1588, Alfred George Edwards who was the first archbishop of Wales, Ian Rush, former Wales's football captain, Lisa Scott-Lee the singer and composer William Mathias the name just a few.

St Asaph Links
Adjustacraft Mobility Scooters St Asaph have a wide range of mobility adis such as Mobility Scooters, Riser Recliners, Adjustable Sleep-systems and Chair Lifts.
North Wales Chartered Accountants An enthusiastic, pro active experienced Chartered Accountants who's goal is to deliver quality sound solutions for you and your business.

The beautiful market town of Welshpool is located close to Shrewsbury in Mid Wales. Welshpool is within close proximity to North Wales and is located within Montgomeryshire with glorious unspoilt countryside all around. Welshpool is traditionally an agricultural service centre and has the largest sheep market in Europe. You will most certainly not be stuck for things to do in Welshpool. Visit Powys Castle which is recognised as the best preserved Castle & Garden in Wales. Ride a working steam train, visit the local museum, or explore the lush, scenic countryside where there are many of activities to undertake such as golf, fishing horse riding, quad trekking, walking and wildlife.

For those wanting to spend a bit of time in Welshpool, Brightwater Lakes Caravan Park Mid Wales has something for everyone. It is set in 30 acres of gorgeous countryside and has ample activities and facilities to keep the whole family entertained.
Pemberton Holiday Homes

Love it in North Wales? Why not move here permanently? A lot of people from Manchester, Liverpool, Stoke and Birmingham eventually move to North Wales to settle down, raise a family, and generally enjoy a lot less stressful living. The cost of living in areas such as North Wales in a lot smaller than most parts of the UK, and there's plenty of growing opportunities for talented and skilled people such as yourselves!

Here are some links that'll help make your move easy!

Wales Live - Keep up to date with all the latest travel and trouism news in North Wales
Property North Wales is a website for helping you find an estate agent, solicitor, mortgage brokers and HIP providers based in North Wales.
Gogledd.com is a community website that features links and active forums for visitors, fans of North Wales sports clubs, and local residents alike.
Accountants North West and Wales is a list of accountants, and financial advisers in both North Wales and further afield in Chester, Cheshire and Merseyside.
Care Wales will help you find a care home for elderly relatives sympathetically during difficult periods.
A great bunch of Family Law Solicitors North Wales are Gamlins. They can help you out with any legal issues you could be facing.
Alwyn Jones are expert builders north wales, suitable for a wide range of planning & construction projects.
A well established and professional company of architects north Wales is Tarmaster Jones, a young energetic team with 30 years experience between them.
Need a new kitchen worktop Ruby Granite worktops north Wales has a wide range of granite, marble, welsh slate and more to make your kitchen stand out from the rest.
If you need something looking into, then why not speak to Hocart Solutions. They're a number of North Wales Private Investigators who can sort out problems you may have.
Need some quality wooden garden furniture - Great Garden Products has a wide variety of garden furniture including greenhouse staging.
If you are going to run a business with cars or vans scooting all over the area, why not check out Gemini Tech for GPS Vehicle Tracking System Installation in North Wales. Even if you are going around the North West, you can safely use your phone with a hands free car kit. Gemini Tech also offer Hands Free Car Kit Installation in North Wales
Our you looking to host a corporate awards ceremony in north wales, Dragoncrafr specialise in engraved corporate awards and other gifts for birthdays, weddings and christenings.

Bed and Breakfast - BBtravel.com is a bed and breakfast travel directory offering a vast selection of quality bed and breakfasts accommodations all around the world. If you're looking for a unique place to stay, BBtravel is the smart choice.

Tulip Inn Amsterdam riverside - Hotels.nl is dedicated to providing the best prices and the easiest and most accurate online bookings for hotels in Amsterdam, Aanbieding and all Holland.

Rajasthan Travel - The site reveals a detailed introduction of Rajasthan. It also provides the picture of the history, locations and various stories hidden in its lap along with other evidences and places of entertainment.

Cheap Hotels in Amsterdam - Find complete tourist information, cheap and best-located hotels, and apartments along with instant and secured online hotel booking, travel advice, airport, and weather.

Photos from North Wales by Highwaylass