High above the lush cream villas on the outskirts of Penrhyn Bay the road climbs up to the sheep-scattered heights of Little Orme’s Head – all pale grey rocky outcrops and seemingly sheer grassy slopes. Over the brow, Llandudno, “the Naples of the North”, is spread out on the level land below at the narrowest point of this extraordinary peninsular. The perfect crescent shape of its northern shore is edged with an arc of graceful white stucco terraces and hotels looking out to the Irish Sea and ending in a pretty blue and white painted pier. The western shore, where Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice, spent her summers as a child, looks towards Conwy Bay with its famous mussel beds. …

Read more about Llandudno in Candida Lycett Green’s new book Seaside Resorts, available now from The Oldie website for £14.99.
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