Alice in Llandudno

Returning to Wales from Dublin, we stayed near Conwy and Llandudno. We spent a whole morning touring the Conwy castle and checking out the Smallest House in Great Britain (quayside in the very quaint town of Conwy). After the castle we went to Llandudno, a beautiful seaside resort in Wales, where Alice Liddell (aka Alice in Wonderland) stayed with her family on summer holidays. We walked to the pier (Welsh kitsch and arcades; I guess someone in Wales loves American country music); walked a ways along the boardwalk (crammed with old hotels); lined up behind a long line of locals knowing something ahead must be good (we had hot Cornish-style pasties).

Along the boardwalk I talked to a local official (not sure of his title) about the location of Alice's hotel (apparently called Penmorfa in her day, it was later renamed the Gogarth Abbey Hotel).  Pointing to his little hutch, where he and a partner were lunching, he said, "Not here." He then went on to tell me that the hotel had been on the west side of the penisula (we were on the east and more populated side) and he was 99% certain it had been torn down a few years ago (I've since checked and it's true: maybe 2009).

Anyway, here's Alice (shot by Dodgson himself, I believe):

Alice Pictures, Images and Photos


Here's Llandudno (what we saw: the east side: a bit of the boardwalk and the Grand Hotel):

Llandudno Pictures, Images and Photos


Here's a bit more of the pier (with Grand Hotel in front):

Pier Grand Hotel Pictures, Images and Photos

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