Llandudno promenade, North Wales, UK by Denis Egan

Llandudno is a relatively small town with just 20,000 residents, but often swells during spring and summer months from visitors that are keen to see what Llandudno is all about. In this article, we’ll give you a few ideas for things to do and see whilst in Llandudno for a day. Whilst we always suggest staying a few days to get the full experience, visiting the town is always worth going to, no matter when or for how long.

Hopefully you will be in the town in the morning, meaning you can start the day with a spot of breakfast in one of the hotels in Llandudno overlooking the bay or one of the towns many friendly café’s. After you’ve stocked up on some energy, it’s time to start enjoying the town.

In the morning, you should get yourselves over to the tram station at the base of the Great Orme. From here, you can jump on the tram which will give you a scenic, easy and pleasant ride up to the summit of the Orme. You can also drive up- or even walk instead, but you must know it can take a while due to the steepness of the hill. Once you reach the top, you can take in the breathtaking views, ramble through the land, visit the Bronze Age Copper Mine and get a bite to eat or something to drink at the Summit Complex. Kids will love the opportunity to play in the park at the summit and with a mini golf course; you can’t go wrong with a visit to the Great Orme.

Llandudno Pier, North Wales, UK by Denis Egan

Heading down the other side of the Orme will take you back to the main town. We’d recommend taking a wander through Happy Valley and visiting the Victorian Pier as the next point of call. The pier is famous and remains a prime attraction of the town and is home to a range of shops, amusement arcades and bars & eateries. After you’ve checked this out, you could take a wander across the promenade, trip to the artificial ski slope and toboggan run, sit on the beach, browse the extensive selection of shops located on Mostyn Street, Parc Llandudno Shopping Complex and the Victoria Shopping Centre. You can even see if there’s something on at Venue Cymru, where an exceptional range of shows take place throughout the year, allowing the locals and visitors of Llandudno is enjoy some world class entertainment.

Llandudno can be seen in a day, but as you can now see, should most definitely be given a little longer. To experience Llandudno properly, book in at a hotel in Llandudno, providing the perfect base to your memorable adventure.

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Asinara National Park is not your usual holiday destination, but a place worth visiting while you are in Sardegna. Known as Devil’s Island, it was used as a high security prison during the 1970s as well as during World War I. It has a large variety of habitats and is the home of the Albino Donkey.

The island of Asinara from Falcon Cape, Sardinia by enrico_sirola

Archipelago di La Maddalena National Park has 180 km of coastline and is a protected geo-marine area made up of a group of islands. It is between Sardegna and Corsica in the Bocche di Bonifacio area. A Dolphin Research Center is in the park that is interesting for both adults and children.

The Gennargentu National Park is on the east coast of Sardegna and has the beautiful Gusana Lake. The wildlife in the park includes the Sardinian Wildcat, marten, weasel, edible and garden dormouse, Sardinian Fox, the Griffon vulture and several different species of eagles and falcons. The highest mountain in Sardegna, Punta La Marmora, is also in the park.

There are 7,000 prehistoric fortresses called nuraghi around the island built by prehistoric people. Sun holidays will direct visitors to Nuraghe Losa and the Giants’ Grave in Dorgali. These huge structures were built during the Bronze Age. There are 321 large tombs made from huge, uncut slaps of rock. There was an obelisk near the entrance and each has a characteristic rectangular plan. There are three main types of tombs.

Nuraghe Losa, Sardinia, Iitaly by Jack Aubrey

About a thousand years after the nuraghi people, in 1000 BC, the Phoenicians built the city of Tharras on the northern cape of the Bay of Oristano. Today, it is an archaeological site. It was mentioned by Ptolemy and was the most importa   nt place on the island. The city was abandoned in the 10th century after being used by the Phoenicians, Punics and Romans. It is an open air museum and the most interesting structures remaining are the tophet, the bath installations and the temple foundations as well as the area where there were houses and artisan workshops.

Italy has some of the best places in Europe for enjoying a hot summer day out in the sun, with most of the budget airlines flying there now it’s a perfect destination for late bookings

James is a writer based in Soho, London who loves camping/travelling around Europe.

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The largest of these rocks is called Yes Tor and rises to a height of 620 meters above sea level. The local peat bogs are among the largest in Europe. There are herds of ponies running free across the protected area, which serves also as a granite mine. You can also find here a number of prehistoric monuments.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Mark A Coleman

Like for the whole Britain, also for this area is typical a fog, which occurs suddenly, absorbs the surrounding countryside and suddenly disappears as well. Dartmoor landscape has always been an inspiration for writers and ideal for creating mystical and sometimes spooky stories. The park is connected with many legends about the mysterious unknown characters and bloodthirsty monsters. It is a place where the legend about a Baskervilles Dog was born. There are constant rains, strong winds, foggy weather and damp. Gloomy atmosphere of this area is also doubled with the famous Dartmoor prison, which was built in 1806 here and was used for the prisoners of the Napoleonic wars. The local largest village of Princetown once served as a hostel for prison staff.

Since 1951, Dartmoor National Park includes also a huge swamp of the total size of 945 km2. First settlements dating back more than 10 000 years, when it was still densely forested plateau. The felling of local forests started in the Stone Age, when the hunters and gatherers tried to get as close as possible to the animals. Also the first agricultural settlements were established here in the Early Stone Age. During the Bronze Age was that landscape completely without forests. There were found the remains of settlements from the Bronze Age, such as houses, yards, burial grounds, megalithic series, stone circles and obelisks having religious significance. There are also the remains of stone walls that were delimiting the pastures and fields, which prove the early human existence. The objects that people used everyday, such as ceramics, various metal objects or bones, were unfortunately not preserved at all.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Tomorrow Never Knows

Dartmoor National Park protects a number of rare habitats. The central part of Dartmoor is composed of a large marshy area. The surrounding terrain is a combination of moorland and meadows, and in the valleys you can find oak forests. Typical for this landscape are also granite rocks – “tors” and roaring rivers falling into deep gorges, cave systems and limestone ridges. There were found the remains of prehistoric animals in the local caves. This collection of the remains is one of the largest in Great Britain and its age is estimated to more than 150 thousand years. For example, in a cave Joint Mitnor Cave were discovered the bones of hippos, hyenas, lions, wild pigs and even Straight-tusked Elephants.

The largest part of the national park is covered with the rare mud. Dartmoor bogs have a depth of at least half a meter, but there are also places where they reach even a depth of 7 metres. In the park there is also very rare Tor Royal Bog, covering an area of 8 km2. National Park became home to a large number of marsh birds.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Michal Stehlík

In the Dartmoor National Park you can even find very interesting sight. It is a large Merrivale megalithic complex. You can also visit the Postbridge, sometimes called the Clapper Bridge. This is the most beautiful and best preserved bridge from all the bridges built in this area during the 13th and 14th centuries.

Necessary equipment for hiking along this marshy landscape is the compass and actual map. So do not forget them!

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More than 5.000 years ago, the early inhabitants of the area, used slabs of limestone to build temples and portal tombs, sometimes called dolmens. Poulnabrone Dolmen is probably the most photographed monument throughout Ireland. It lies on the west of the Ireland, in County Clare, in the Burren karst area. A number of these interesting sites are spread throughout the Burren.

The entire structure of Poulnabrone Dolmen consists of 9 m deep burial chamber whose entrance is turned over to the east. Archaeological research in 1985 showed that there were 16 to 22 adults and 6 children buried, including their personal things. Found here such as stone axes, bone pendants, ceramic products and weapons. Poulnabrone Dolmen was therefore an important ceremonial site used in the Bronze Age.

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The area around Tanumshede has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994.

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The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1986 in a co-listing with Avebury Henge monument. It is a national legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage, while the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.

View Stonehenge — the well-known prehistoric monument stone monument in United Kingdom in a larger map

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The entire region not only includes the peninsula, but covers an area of more then 188 kilometres. In the north, you will find the Loughor Estuary and to the east one can find Swansea Bay.

Gower Peninsula, Wales, UK by Mike Mantin

There are numerous caves that can be found along the edges of the peninsula. The most popular of these caves includes the Minchin Hole Cave and the Paviland Cave. The central portion of the peninsula is agricultural land. While there are some villages in the area, very few have been developed extensively.

It has been well known that the area of Wales has been inhabited by civilizations dating back to the Upper Palaeolithic Era. Over the years, a number of archaeological discoveries on Gower Peninsula have been made. Back in 1823, an archaeologist uncovered the skeleton of a male who had lived in the peninsula more than 33,000 years ago. Several burial chambers that have been successfully dated back to the Neolithic period have also been uncovered.

Out of the original nine stones Bronze Age menhirs that once existed on the peninsula, eight of them are still standing upright today. It is here that one will find the infamous Arthur’s Stone which weighs in at a massive twenty-five tons. To imagine that these massive rocks were cut and moved to the area during the Bronze Age is simply amazing.

Three Cliffs Bay on the Gower Peninsula, South Wales, UK by Walter Daw

You will not only find a castle in the peninsula that dates back to the medieval period, you will also find the Roman fort of Leucarum. The Roman built fortress can be found where the River Loughor’s mouth existed back in the first century. Today a Norman Castle exists in the location.

You will find that the area is home to a total of six castles. You will find the Bovehill Castle on the Gower Peninsula as well as the Oxwich, Oystermouth, Pennard, Weobley and Penrice Castles. While not all of them are in the best conditions, they are nonetheless a very popular part of visiting the area.

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