You can’t visit Conwy without taking a walk along the quayside and admiring the boats and the seemingly larger than life seagulls. There’s a pub and fish and chips shop, plus a stall selling ice creams and hot drinks etc. There are also boat trips available (I did one of these which will feature in a later post) and the quay leads on to part of the Wales Coast Path (various sections of which will also feature in later posts).
There a number of interesting sculptures at the quayside and also unfortunately a number of memorials to those who lost their lives to the sea. One of them is to the crew of the Katy who died in 1994. As you can see by the flowers they were clearly well loved, and lost at far too young an age.
A memorial with a happier ending is this impressive anchor which was presented by a former mayor of Conwy borough. On 6 May 1968 the future mayor Jack Williams, and the crew of his fishing trawler Kilravock heard the distress call from a passenger cruise ship, the St Trillo. It was carrying 50 locals and 325 visiting Americans back to their luxury cruise liner when it lost power after its propeller became entangled with the liner’s ropes. In heavy wind it was pushed dangerously close to the rocky headland of Llandudno – the Little Orme. The Kilravock managed to get there in time to pull the liner to the safety of Llandudno Pier, watched by thousands on the shore. Interestingly no one is sure what ship this anchor once belonged to, but it was the Kilravock that pulled up it some years before the rescue.
And then there is this sculpture by Graeme Mitcheson called Mytilus Edulis. If it’s not immediately obvious – it wasn’t to me! – these are mussels. Made of limestone the sculpture celebrates Conwy’s mussel fishing industry which has been in evidence in the town since the Romans and continues today – you can buy locally fished mussels nearby. According to legend a pearl found in a mussel in Conwy was presented to Catherine of Braganza, Charles II’s queen, and now is part of the Crown Jewels.
It’s a very pleasant place to walk no matter the weather – I experienced both rain and sun in the space of a few days and each made for atmospheric photos. Also be mindful that the wildlife doesn’t mess around and is always on the look out for food! [In this case I think it was eating a mussel rather than someone’s chips].
You can find more photos of the quayside here.
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