White Rabbit Sculpture, Llandudno

This rather pretty statue can be found just by the West Shore Beach and is yet another one of Llandudno’s homages to Alice in Wonderland, this time representing the white rabbit who is always running late. It was unveiled in 1933 by former prime minister David Lloyd George.

The plaque reads “On this very shore, during happy rambles with Alice Liddell, Lewis Carroll was inspired to write the literary treasure Alice in Wonderland.” This is almost certainly complete nonsense as while Alice Liddell and her time at Llandudno did indeed inspire Carroll, who was a family friend, the book was written long after there is evidence that Carroll came to the town himself. Still, it makes for a good story.

This is the newly restored version – the original sculpture by Frederick Forrester was very skillfully restored by Nick Elphick in 2012 after it was damaged by vandals and moved to its present site in 2015, after previously being by the model boating lake. It has some lovely details, not just of the coat and watch of the rabbit but for instance the frog and the squirrel on the plinth too.

Worth stopping off to have a look on a visit to the West Shore, it may actually be my favourite of the many Alice in Wonderland themed sculptures dotted around the town.