Riding the Fforest Coaster & Back for the Llandudno Sunset

We have officially lived in the U.K. for two years now. Even writing that, it feels unreal. Time has gone so quickly, even in the midst of this unusual time. My last post was the last day of school, and the new school year starts again in just a few days. I haven’t written much about this, but Tim’s been called back to do a new job back in his company’s Wisconsin office so we are moving back sooner than we thought – at the end of this year. We have mixed feelings. We’re eager to see much-missed family and friends, but also feel like we really just got settled. There’s so much we still want to do and see, and will miss our friends, activities, life here as well…. but that’s a post for another day.

With that in mind, we’ve been trying to make the most of the summer holidays (while being safe/following UK guidelines). We’ve taken a few short trips so I’m going to try to catch up on writing about our adventures!

One of the first places we visited after our big move was Llandudno, in North Wales (recapped here). Last time we visited the nearby Conwy Castle and headed home before sunset, so we were ready for a redo on this area – this time reading our audience slightly better.

We headed for the more fun route of heading to Zip World Fforest, not far from Llandudno and near the scenic Snowdonia. It recently reopened and I booked in all of us for a ride down the mountain on the Fforest Coaster.

 

The boys loved it! Actually, we all did. We got three rides up to the top (someone had to go with Nathaniel each time but Bennett could go on his own), then released a hand brake and coasted around the bends and curves of the track on the hill – getting braver each time, laughing and shrieking the whole way down.

And a video of their rides! (Ignore the cautious lady in the back ha)

After we were done, we went out to the parking lot and decided it was a perfectly picturesque spot to unpack our cooler and have our picnic.

After lunch, we headed to Llandudno, where Bennett wanted to explore the pier. He had visions of playing games in a cramped, bustling arcade – which we were sure wasn’t open – but there were a few simple rides they were able to do, finished off with some ice cream. It was our first real experience of being around PEOPLE and it was a bit odd. (Did anyone else feel that as you started going out again?) We ended up only spending a short time on the pier before climbing a nearby hill for the view and then driving up further to the edge of the peninsula.

At the peak of the peninsula is The Great Orme, a park with lots of walks, wildlife and beautiful views of the surrounding ocean. We walked there for a bit, letting the boys run and stopping them for a few photos.

We headed back down into town, prepared with blankets, a football, and drinks, to kill the next couple of hours before sunset. We were in it for the long haul…but needed sustenance! The boys and I stayed in the car while Tim found the fastest things he could get from nearby restaurants – a large order of fish and chips and pizza. We feasted like kings in the Ford Kuga, then headed back to the west side of town to hit the beach.

I’m going to spoil the “we learned lessons learned from last time!” moment here. Despite a few asks, we pulled up to the beach and shortly after, one of the boys declared he had to go to the toilet. Two years ago, the same request had resulted in scrambling and eventually a panicked run into Starbucks. The same pay-to-use toilets were now officially closed due to Covid, so we headed into town again, but were even more out of luck since Starbucks wasn’t letting anyone use toilets. By this point, one child declared the moment had passed and the other said they would use the bush…so we pressed on.

We settled back into a spot for the sunset. The setting sun just caught the edge of the peninsula, and then it was gone. 2020 may not be ideal, but certain moments still are. Here’s hoping we meet again someday, Llandudno.