The Quieter Shore
While North Shore is Llandudno's grand statement of Victorian resort ambition, West Shore is its quieter, more contemplative counterpart. This beach faces the Conwy estuary rather than the open Irish Sea, giving it a sheltered character and a very different quality of light — the views here are across to the hills of the Conwy Valley and the mountains of Snowdonia rather than out across open water. On a clear evening, with the Carneddau catching the last of the sun above the estuary, the outlook from West Shore is one of the most beautiful in North Wales.
The beach itself is gently shelving and relatively sheltered from westerly winds, which makes it a calm and pleasant spot even when the sea is choppy on the north-facing main beach. Families with young children often prefer West Shore for this reason: the water is usually calmer, the waves gentler, and the beach less crowded than its more famous counterpart across the peninsula. Dogs are welcome year-round, which makes this the beach of choice for visitors with four-legged companions.
The Alice Connection
West Shore carries one of Llandudno's most charming historical associations. Alice Liddell — the real girl who inspired Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland — spent her summers here as a child. Her family's holiday home, called Penmorfa, stood on West Shore from the 1860s, and Alice is believed to have visited Llandudno for the first time in 1861, when she was eight years old. She continued to spend holidays here for the next eleven years, which means that a significant portion of her childhood was experienced in this bay.
Lewis Carroll, whose real name was Charles Dodgson, was a close family friend of the Liddells; the Alice stories emerged from his relationship with the family. Whether Carroll himself ever visited Llandudno is not definitively established despite the local tradition, but there is no doubt about Alice's own connection to this stretch of coast. Penmorfa itself was demolished in 2008, but the White Rabbit statue at West Shore commemorates the connection. The bronze figure, unveiled in 1933 by David Lloyd George and sculpted by Frederick Forrester, was restored in 2012 by Nick Elphick. A full account of the Alice in Wonderland connections covers the story in detail.
West Shore Beach Cafe and Facilities
West Shore Beach Cafe is one of the most pleasant places to eat or drink in Llandudno. The cafe serves locally roasted Heartland coffee alongside homemade cakes, shepherd's pie, fish and chips, and salads — a wider range of food than many beach cafes, and all of it well made. It is also dog-friendly, which makes it the natural choice for visitors who have spent the morning walking on the beach or on the Great Orme with their dogs. The cafe terrace has views across the beach to the Conwy estuary and the hills beyond.
The facilities at West Shore are more limited than those at North Shore, reflecting its quieter character, but the basics are in place. The beach itself is cleaner and less crowded than North Shore at peak times, and the absence of the commercial promenade strip gives the area a more relaxed atmosphere. This is the Llandudno that residents themselves often prefer: quieter, more authentically itself, and no less beautiful for the lack of crowds.
Getting to West Shore
West Shore Beach is on the western side of the Llandudno peninsula, separated from the main town by the lower slopes of the Great Orme. On foot from the town centre, follow the road around the base of the headland; the walk takes about 20 minutes. By car, West Shore is well signed from the town centre and has its own car park. The walk along the base of the Great Orme between the two shores passes the lower terminus of the tramway and the Happy Valley gardens.
The White Rabbit statue is easy to find on the beach-side path at West Shore — simply follow the promenade from the car park towards the beach. From the beach, the views of Conwy Mountain and the Carneddau are at their best in the morning light. North Wales Golf Club is located at West Shore, one of the oldest golf clubs in Wales, and the course occupies the ground between the beach and the base of the headland. For a quiet morning or evening in Llandudno, away from the promenade crowds, West Shore is the place to come.
Day trips