I HAD been enjoying a nostalgic trip to Llandudno - a town I visited at least once every summer as a child - when I found myself doing something I’d never actually done before.
I’d walked the length of the pier, breathed in that familiar mix of sea air and doughnut‑stand sugar, and on a whim decided it was finally time to take a boat trip.
Two boats - the Sea Jay and Seaborne - run from the jetty on the promenade, offering everything from 25‑minute spins around the pier to hour‑long voyages that take in both the Great Orme and the Little Orme.
No booking, no fuss: you simply hop aboard and pay once you’re out at sea.
I had 90 minutes before a lunch reservation at the Cottage Loaf, and with the longer trip about to board, I joined the queue and stepped on deck.
I’ll admit, the “pay later” system had me mildly anxious.
Could you get a phone signal that far out in the Irish Sea?
What if my card was declined?
Would I be forced to walk the plank?
I was a strong swimmer in my youth, but I’d had a big breakfast at the Grand Hotel and my nain always warned me never to swim after eating.
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Thankfully, my card worked just fine, and £15 for an hour felt perfectly reasonable - and there’s a £7.50 option for those who prefer a shorter spin.
Once the boat pulled away from the jetty, I was treated to a completely new perspective on a landscape I thought I knew inside out.
We glided past the iconic Victorian pier, its ironwork stretching proudly into the water, before hugging the rugged edges of the Great Orme.
The captain pointed out the cable cars, Happy Valley tucked into the hillside, and the castle‑shaped lighthouse perched dramatically on the cliffs.
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Walkers waved down at us from the coastal path, and the highlight of this stretch was seeing the exposed evidence of the Orme’s ancient past - the world’s oldest prehistoric copper mines, visible from the water in a way you simply don’t appreciate from land.
Then came the crossing to the Little Orme, a registered bird sanctuary and a completely different character of headland. Rugged and windswept, you could easily forget how close you are to civilisation.
The cliffs were alive with movement: seabirds on the water, seabirds in the air, seabirds clinging to sheer rock faces as if gravity were optional.
And yes - we were lucky enough to spot a seal bobbing in the water, its head appearing and disappearing like a shy celebrity avoiding the paparazzi.
The return journey took us along Llandudno’s famous promenade, offering a playful “spot the landmark” moment: Venue Cymru, The Goat, where I’d eaten the previous afternoon., St George’s Hotel. All the familiar faces of a town that has shaped so many of my childhood memories.
The hour flew by - or should I say sailed - and I stepped back onto the jetty feeling genuinely enriched.
Seeing Llandudno from the water gives you a fresh, invigorating perspective on a place so many of us think we already know.
It’s something I’d wholeheartedly recommend to visitors and locals alike: a simple, joyful reminder that even the most familiar towns still have new angles waiting to be discovered.
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