Conwy Celtic Fayre

We paid a visit to the Conwy Celtic Fayre yesterday. Unfortunately the weather was not too good. This is the first time the fayre has been held on Conwy quayside so it was not as well attended as the Autumn Celtic Fayre which is held in Llandudno and has become a real attraction. However the setting on the quayside with the town walls as a backdrop and the view up to the spectacular Conwy Castle did make this quite special.

Historical information about Conwy

Conwy itself is a very popular town to visit. This is the information board in the car park showing all the places of interest..

From the car park you go through a subway and this is what you find on the otherside.......Quite a spectacular route into Conwy town

Bilingual sign

..and then signage to the Fayre in both Welsh and English

 



Leading up to the marquee were wooden cabins selling art and craft goods and refreshments. As you can see there were not many people around due to the weather. In the background is Conwy Castle.

Andrew Southall and artwork

My attention was  particularly drawn to pictures done by a local artist from Anglesey and in fact I bought the picture he is holding to put in the Breakfast Room at Lymehurst. You can check out his work on http://www.angleseyart.com/

In the Marquee we came to a stall selling all sorts of  olive oils, vinegars and herbs from Greece http://www.greekoildirect.com/

 

Greek Oil direct

On the same stall he was also selling  some hand made soaps which contained essential oils. I bought some pink rose and French white clay soap! sounds very unusual but it smells absolutely divine and apparently is good for problematic skin.

Natural olive oil soap

Next purchase came from  The Cheshire Cheese Company.  http://www.cheshirecheesecompany.co.uk/ Here there were all sorts of cheeses including "Taste of the Raj" a curry cheese! and wait for it.............."Sticky Toffee Heaven" .............and yes it has toffee in it. You have to taste it to believe it.



And as you can see from the photo the cheese makes you grin !

Hopefully more people will get to know about this fayre so it will be better attended. I think my daughter took more photos  of different stalls so she might well be adding those to the blog a bit later on

What's happening in Llandudno in May and June

May 22nd
Part of the Welsh Road Running Championship 5 race series. Around 5,000  competitors of all abilities from fun runners to serious athletes will be descending on Llandudno for this event.
http://www.llandudno10.co.uk/.

June 1-4th
The Three Castles Welsh Classic Trial and Heritage Tour.
Competitors leave Llandudno each day on a different route covering no less than 200 miles a day.
http://www.three-castles.co.uk/

June 4th-12th Conwy Biodiversity Week
 Events held across Conwy provide an in valuable chance to discover the wild life that lives on our doorstep.
http://www.conwy.gov.uk/?biodiversityweek

30th June -3rd July
 North Wales Bluegrass Festival
Now in it's 23rd year, 8 Blue Grass Concerts will be held in Bodlondeb Park, Conwy. Instrument workshops, Appalachtian dancers and a line up of 20 top Bluegrass bands/
http://www.northwalesbluegrass.co.uk/

Llandudno Transport Festival comes to Llandudno

 Not content with hosting the Victorian Extravaganza  http://www.victorian-extravaganza.co.uk/ in Llandudno town centre  the Transport Festival http://www.llantransfest.co.uk/ took place at the end of the promenade at Bodafon Farm Park. Vehicles of all types ages, sizes were on display in the fields looking over the bay. A haven for vintage vehicle enthusiasts.and what a spectacular setting.

Tractors galore all colours shapes and sizes.




All the vehicles were so beautifully retored and cared for.

No bland cars here !

Cars with character and again in such good condition. The Little Orme in the background.

This just looks like a match box toy.

                                                                                                                                                                                              






 Live entertainment in the form of a fair ground organ........seating provided while you listened to Ruby!

Motor bike enthusiasts also catered for.

Good to see that there were plenty of two wheeled vehicles on show.

There were plenty of stalls too, selling every conceivable part or extra for the vehicles and lots more too. Quite fascinating to see what was on sale and in some cases guessing what the things were!! 

A new nameplate for Lymehurst and I found it atThe Llandudno Victorian Extravaganza

The last stall I came to at the Extravaganza was Brian Taylor's. He was busy at work on his vintage treadle powered fretsaw cutting out nameplates and names

I've been debating for ages about putting up a nameplate for Lymehurst but just haven't been able to decide on what type. Because Lymehurst is in a quiet residential cul-de-sac I have not wanted to have anything too obtrusive that might annoy neighbours, so when I came across Brian Taylor sitting at his vintage, treadle powered fretsaw cutting out names and nameplates in wood, I thought this would be  perfect for my nameplate.I have ordered a name plate so hopefully that will arrive in the post. Brian has a website where you can see examples of his work. http://www.namesinwood.co.uk/

Evening after the 2nd day of the Extravaganza

The 2nd day brought in even more crowds to the Extravaganza and the weather was yet again fantastic. I wandered down on to The Promenade in the evening. It was quite a contrast to the hustle and bustle of the day and it was  an unusual and  pleasant suprise to be greeted by the sounds of an old fashioned organ playing  on the Promenade. On the beach families were walking and playing in the last of the sunshine. A lovely end to the day

Llandudno Victorian Extravaganza 2011

Well the weather was fabulous yesterday and as you'll see from the photos Llandudno was packed with visitors thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.You can find out more about this event on http://www.victorian-extavaganza.co.uk/

 The main streets were closed for all the funfair rides and stalls.

 The good old fashioned Merry-Go-Rounds and helter skelters

 After the parade of vehicles they parked up so visitors and enthusiasts could inspect them and take photos

The promenade was part of the route so the backdrop of the sea , pier and Great Orme made it all the more spectacular.



Traction engine llandudno



Vintage cars

 One of the bands which took part in the parade

 Several people were roaming around in traditional victorian clothing  and this added to the oveall atmosphere of the day.

Victorian fair ground rides

 View at the top of Mostyn Street with The Great Orme in the background.

 One of the more modern rides.

 Another Victorian character looking particularly cheerfull

 The old fashioned big wheel with beautifully decorated entrance way

and finally one of the very old traction engines ( I'm sure I'll be put right if I've given it the wrong name!!!) So hopefull these pictures will give an idea of what it's like at the Extravaganza. I should also add that the Llandudno Transport Festival http://www.llantranfest.co.uk/ also takes place on the 30th April -2nd of May so lots going on.

The Llandudno Victorian Extravaganza

I'm finding that keeping a blog is harder than I thought!! Luckily we have had quite a busy March and April and so no time to sit and add to my blog. I will however be adding some photos of the Llandudno Victorian Extravaganza later this afternoon. It is probably Llandudnos biggest event. The main streets are closed off and filled with fair rides from the very traditional Merry- Go-Rounds to those really scary high and fast modern rides. There is street entertainment and then the main parade of old vehicles ranging from traction engines, lorries buses and beautiful old cars to bicycles. It's such a spectacle,  well worth coming to see. Photos from today will follow.