Conwy Sightseeing Cruise

Whenever I’m near the sea I’m reminded how much I love it and that I don’t visit the coast nearly often enough. On this trip I decided to go on one of the local sightseeing cruises which are recommended on pretty much every “things to do in Conwy” list. It’s not really an activity you can book in advance, being reliant on weather and tides etc. but if you go down to the quayside you can see in the morning what sailings are going to be undertaken that day.

A half hour cruise costs £7.50 for an adult and there are two boats available – I was on the Queen Victoria. The cruise company is a long-running family business with three generations involved and operates from February to October. The first available trip I could get was a half hour explorer but there are other routes available, some for up to an hour or longer.

The Queen Victoria was launched in 1987 with under cover seating and can carry up to 80 passengers – though on my trip there were probably about eight other people not including the crew. The commentary was very interesting – it’s here I learnt about the pearl from Conwy being in the crown jewels and also about Harold Lowe, Fifth Officer on the Titanic. He returned with a lifeboat after the ship sank to pull people from the water and went on to save many others (he was played in the film by Ioan Gruffudd). He was born in the area and lived in Deganwy, not far from Conwy for a number of years – there is now a blue plaque on his house. You can’t see it clearly from the boat but later that week I found myself in the town and made sure to pay a visit. He would go on to serve in the First World War, retire in 1931 and died in 1944.

The boat was very comfortable and there were plenty of opportunities to photograph Conwy and its surroundings.

I’d definitely agree it’s one of the must do attractions on a visit to Conwy.