Last Friday we went to North Wales for a much needed weekend break. It was just what the doctor ordered, since the summer holidays have been pretty uneventful. I expected to go on numerous picnics in the park but it has rained almost daily since the kids broke up for the holidays. We were worried that the rain would ruin our North Wales break, but alhamdulillah (all praise to God) we found some sunshine!

So we left Manchester on Friday evening, with  the skies looking grey and dull, and the sat nav telling us it would take almost two hours. It should’ve been just over an hour from Manchester, but with us leaving at the sensible time of rush hour on a Friday evening, we caught the best of the traffic.

We arrived in Prestatyn at 7pm, and we booked into Pontins Prestatyn Sands. The apartment was basic, and the holiday park was packed with lots of visitors arriving until later that night. I would not recommend the basic apartments at this particular Pontins holiday park, but it’s okay as a base if you don’t plan to stay in the apartment for the duration of your stay. We were worried because we had read some scary reviews about this holiday park, but it was okay, especially since it’s pretty cheap.

There was a light drizzle of rain that evening, but we decided to walk to the nearby Barkby beach for a little stroll. It was relaxing and the scenery was beautiful.

We even spotted a rainbow on our way back to the apartment.

We finished the night by eating our delicious takeaway food that we had purchased from Manchester before travelling to Prestatyn.

The following day, we drove to Llandudno to visit The Great Orme. The scenery was beautiful on the 45 minute journey there.

The Great Orme was breath-taking. We parked the car on a street that wasn’t at the top of The Great Orme, so we got to enjoy the walk to the top of The Great Orme and even saw some Kashmiri goats along the way 🙂

After taking in all the sights of The Great Orme, we headed to Llandudno Pier and relaxed at the beach, which was less than a 5 minute drive from The Great Orme. It was a Saturday so it was really busy, and the sun was out so was lovely to sit and relax.

The next morning, I woke up nice and early and was thrilled that the sun was shining brightly. We had a quick breakfast and got ready to head to Barkby beach. We arrived at the beach at around 10.30am, and the weather was beautiful. The sand was gorgeous and warm, and we enjoyed a good few hours relaxing and exploring the sand for shells and crabs.

I even got the chance to catch up on some reading – a suspense novel called ‘Our Little Secret’ by Claudia Carroll which I have reviewed here.

We had an amazing time in North Wales, and I would highly recommend a visit there. I particular enjoyed visiting The Great Orme and Barkby Beach on a warm Sunday morning 🙂