Our Second Weekend on Great Orme - November 2-4, 2007
Virtually immediately after our visit last year, or perhaps even during, we decided we wanted to come again. Even with owner Fiona's active help we still had to wait until the first weekend in November to find a time where all three rooms were free. All four rooms I should say, since after much persuasion we finally managed to persuade her to open up the fourth room for our friends Ritchie and Helena, who were unable to join us last year.
That fourth room is not usually let and, unlike the other three suites doesn't have a sitting room or en-suite, but having seen how keen we were to have the "whole group" together Fiona eventually relented and agreed to let us have it at a reduced rate. If you're reading this and hoping to go there sometime with a party of four then please don't take this as a precedent. It was very clear she was uncomfortable with the arrangement and was doing it as a special favour. It also meant laying an extra two places at the already-crowded breakfast table in preparation for those wonderful "full Welsh" breakfasts we remembered from last year.
Fri November 2
Once again we took the day off to make a long weekend of it, and this time decided on a detour to Ikea on the way to Llandudno. After lunching on plates of Swedish meatballs (my verdict: glad I tried them, no more thank you) and buying one or two bits we stopped off at M&S to buy some snacks and nibbles for the evening session. Unlike last year there was no pressure to arrive early at the Lighthouse, since we'd already agreed we would occupy the same rooms as before. Everyone was satisfied with their choice of room last time and happy to stick with it this time, which just left latecomers Ritchie & Helena with the slightly less attractive fourth room.
We headed into town in the general direction of the Wetherspoons house we'd found last year, and were pleased to discover a somewhat more traditional hostelry right next door. Within minutes we'd secured pints of amber nectar and were happily ensconced in the upper-level bar where it was quiet enough for a nice chat, a laugh, and a general unwind. In fact the whole experience was so pleasant we decided to repeat it again over a second pint. Then, with Phil & Vicky's arrival imminent, we strolled back to the cars and headed up round the Orme to the Lighthouse.
A warm welcome awaited us from Fiona and Ray. It was as if the Lighthouse occupied a time bubble and we'd never been away. The intervening year hadn't happened and all there was to life was the squat castellated haven, the soft murmur of the sea 300 feet below (invisible in the dark) and the friendly glowing lights of the warm kitchen, into which we unloaded our goodies - wine, beer, cheese, meat, pickles, pasta salad and assorted sweeties. Fiona offered us the kitchen table upon which to serve our spread. We'd turned last year's timetable on its head in view of the uncertain arrival times and decided to have nibbles night tonight and "posh nosh" tomorrow.
Then it was time to dump our bags in the room. The golden glow of the Telegraph Room's shutters reminded me instantly why I preferred this room. I've deliberately not repeated any description of the Lighthouse - you can read all about it in last year's report - but we never did have a really good photo of our room last time, so here's one to redress the balance. The year had not been kind to one of the shutters, which had suffered greatly from the salty dampness of the location, but the others were all still in perfect working order and a masterpiece of joinery excellence. I closed and latched them all, and the room adopted the aspect of a stately home library or reading room - wood all around, silent, welcoming. But it was now time to rejoin the mates and tuck in to our spread. As usual, each couple had virtually catered for the whole group so there was way too much food, but that didn't stop us trying to eat it all.
When we were almost totally stuffed, we were treated to an impromptu cabaret, as Ritchie attempted to take a timed photo using his new camera. I say "new" but in reality it's the one he bought for his 50th last year so it's almost a year old. In all that time he's not had occasion to use the timer, and great hilarity ensued as he tried to make sense of the plethora of buttons and menu options, and navigate his way to the correct combination. We knew it was serious when he resorted to the manual. This ten-minute interlude set the tone for the whole weekend, as once he'd worked it out he took every opportunity to practice. I don't think we've ever had so many group shots!
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Sat November 3
Despite our bed being 18 inches narrower than we're used to, and the mattress being so soft that we were continually rolling into each other, we managed a long and satisfying night's sleep. This was probably due mainly to the almost total lack of noise from outside, but led to us being beaten down to breakfast by Phil and Vicky. Starting one of Fiona's breakfasts at 9.30 generally means you've no chance of leaving the Lighthouse before 11am, which was when we set off for Ynys Llanddwyn. This is the "secret beach" Ray told us about last year, and has been our main target destination ever since.
Turning off the main road at Newborough, we took the winding track in the direction of the coast, paid our £3 toll to enter the national nature reserve, and parked up close to the dunes. None of us really knew what to expect as we walked through a gap in the dunes to the beach. The area doesn't really qualify as a "secret" beach although it certainly is off the beaten track. Having first found it though, it is the kind of place you would want to return to again and again. The sands are fine and golden, compelling even on this cloudy November day with its brisk cool breeze blowing across the water. The sight of the island a mile away around the curve of the bay was enough to draw us into the start of a walk, even though the visitors' notice informed us that the round trip was something like six miles in total.
At least this year's walk was relatively flat I told myself, and as it turned out large parts of the beach were compacted sand so the walking was easier than it had been through the dunes. The island rewarded our efforts with some spectacular views. A larger selection of photos (of the whole weekend) can be found in this Flickr album but I've sprinkled a few on here to give you a flavour. There is a coastal walk around the island, but Fiona had advised us to take the higher path for the better views and it proved sound advice as we were able to look down on the little beaches and coves all around the island, which has a crinkly coast that would make Slartibartfast proud.
At the far end of the island (which apparently is only really an island at very high tides) stands a disused lighthouse which was central to the film "Half Light" starring Demi Moore, filmed here in 2004. Ray was very keen to point this out to us on our return (clearly a big thing when it happened) and even offered us the DVD to watch while we were there. Just as we arrived at the point, the sun broke through the clouds and treated us to a spectacular light show. The island is also home to a small herd of wild horses. At least, Ray referred to them as wild horses - they seemed pretty tame to us. On our way back down the opposite side of the island they came and stood within a few yards of us and appeared to be completely unfazed. Used to visitors, obviously.
The south-easterly coast of the small island is a little less rugged than its opposite side, with small half-moon shaped beaches and grassy banks stretching all the way back to the mainland. Soon we were back on the beach and heading for the cars. The whole walk took about four hours including many photo stops and some clambering around on the rocks to find the best views of the sea. Looking back once we'd left the island gave us one of the most amazing views of the entire day. This island, apparently named for the Welsh patron saint of lovers, is a perfect place to wander with your thoughts and appreciate the raw beauty of nature. We all agreed it would be nice to see it on a gloriously sunny summer's day, but I was happy with the cool crisp autumn day we were blessed with, and very pleased that the steel-grey cloud cover had provided us with some stunning photos.
After a cup of tea and some of Fiona's delicious Welsh cakes and cinnamon fruit cake, we all retired to our rooms to freshen up for the evening meal. Our taxis had already been booked by the ever-efficient Fiona, so we set off for Deganwy at 7.30 and the Wild Orchid Thai restaurant. Occupying a short stretch of the hilly coastal road down into Deganwy town, a group of terraced houses seem to have become the culinary centre of the area. The Wild Orchid is right next door to the chinese restaurant Nikki Ips, which was also on Fiona's recommended list, while a few doors down there's another eatery whose name escapes me for the moment. We were seated upstairs and had a fabulous view over the bay, where firework parties continued to deliver colourful cloudbursts and starbursts during the whole meal, which was excellent. The general consensus seemed to be that the meal wasn't *quite* as good as last year, in terms of choice, but the banquet was exceedingly filling and tasty and by the time the Irish coffees had been quaffed we were more than sated.
Back in the Lamp Room we enjoyed another couple of glasses of wine before retiring once again for our final sleep.
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Sun November 4
Up slightly earlier today we were first down for breakfast having already packed our bags and the car. We had no firm plans for the day, except to make it last as long as possible, but one of our tentative ideas had been to visit the Bronze Age copper mine on the Orme which we'd seen last year from afar but not visited. Unfortunately it turned out that the mine had closed for the season at the end of October, but talking about it had whetted our appetite to return to the summit of the Orme, and this year to finally make the trip via the cable car which had been closed last year owing to the high winds.
After a minor detour to find a parking space, we assembled at the cable car station, where Nikki & Helena decided it looked a bit high for their tastes and opted to take the more sedate route via the cable tramway. So the remaining six of us made the journey in convoy - two to a car. This is apparently the longest cable car run in the UK, being over a mile from the base station to the summit. The ride, for those who don't suffer from vertigo, is a quiet and relaxing experience offering spectacular views of the pier, the Orme gardens, ski slope and the coast not to mention the sheep, walkers and even the occasional house that pass sedately by 160 feet below.
We were treated to some of the most fantastic autumn weather today. The clouds had almost totally disappeared and there wasn't a breath of wind as we stood by the tram station waiting for the other two to arrive. In fact at times the sun was quite surprisingly hot. We'd been luckier with the transport than with the mines too: a sign at the top tram station informed us that the last journey of the season would be 1:50pm that day at which point the tram would close for the winter. There was no indication when the cable car closed, but since neither Nikki nor Helena would travel that way, we had a definite and immutable end-point for our Orme visit today.
Now under some psychological pressure to curtail our visit, we hung about on the top just long enough to drink in the views, but for a more prosaic drink (a cup of tea and a sticky bun) we decided it would be more prudent to visit a somewhat less elevated establishment than the tea rooms on top of the Orme. So once again we bade farewell to this most peaceful location, and queued with the girls as they waited to catch the last tram.
Back on "terra firma" (i.e. down in the town) we met up at the car park and headed off to find a cafe. But with at least two couples having reasons not to hang around, we knew the inevitable was almost upon us as the tea was sipped and the custard slices munched. Next time we have a weekend away, we really are going to have to work out a proper itinerary for the last day, and prevent it fizzling out like this. After such an enjoyable weekend it was a bit of an anti-climax to finish up saying our goodbyes on the streets of Llandudno.
Postscript
After two consecutive years on the Orme, and having already booked a week away with mates in the Lakes for next year, we decided we'd call it a day and not plan another return visit to the Lighthouse. We'd "never say never," but the general view is that we've "done" the Orme now and there are loads of other interesting places we want to visit. So we look back on these two trips with fond memories and grateful thanks to Fiona and Ray for their excellent hospitality. We would thoroughly recommend a stay in their most original and unique establishment for anyone considering it, and the surrounding area offers many visitor attractions for the casual tourist or the more dedicated walker, which a simple Internet search will reveal if you're interested.