Happy Valley Botanical Gardens are tucked away at the side of the Great Orme just along from the pier. The land was that of a former quarry which was gifted to the town by Lord Mostyn in celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. The quarry was turned into gardens with an open air theatre and miniature golf course which has since been turned back into gardens and a ski slope and toboggan run.
Llandudno’s promenade is approximately two miles long and is a great place for a walk with historic buildings and hotels on one side and the sea and the sands on the other. I’d walked part of the promenade along the North Shore nearest the Pier on a previous trip but this time I also walked to near the end of the promenade as I went to visit a farm nearby (more of which next time).
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On what proved to be a slightly more blustery day than I had expected I decided to head out to Newark Castle. I didn’t know much about the site other than it was now ruins so I would highly recommend taking advantage of the guided tour. It doesn’t happen every day so you do have to ring Newark Tourist Information in advance but I found it very interesting and it does give you the opportunity to enter areas which are usually closed to the public, such as the towers and undercroft.
Nottingham Castle is a staple of Nottingham’s cityscape and somewhere I’ve visited a lot, but not specifically written about. The name Castle is perhaps a bit of a misnomer, and tourists can be taken aback that it doesn’t fit the stereotypical appearance of a castle. In fact the current incarnation is the 17th century ducal mansion that was built on the site of the Medieval Castle.
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As per my previous post, once I had explored the inside of the Horniman Museum, I then proceeded outside to the gardens. I’m very glad that I took a walk around, even though the rain was absolutely horrendous, because not only did I see this lovely Grade II listed Victorian conservatory which was originally at the Horniman’s house in Croydon…
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