Llandudno (West Shore) Beach Photos

Llandudno (West Shore) Beach, captured on 35mm film, reveals an otherworldly landscape of shifting light, vivid skies, and quiet solitude along the North Wales coast.

Tucked away from the arcades and hotels of Llandudno’s busy North Shore, Llandudno (West Shore) Beach feels like another world. It’s quieter here—an expanse of sand and shingle backed by low dunes and framed by the Great Orme, looking out across the North Wales coast. Moreover, West Shore reveals a more contemplative side of Llandudno Beach, where the light shifts constantly, and the landscape transforms with every change in weather.

This photo essay shares a series of 35mm film photos I took that capture those changes. For example, the colours, patterns, and textures that make Llandudno (West Shore) Beach feel almost otherworldly. On film, its subtle tones and soft grain reveal a quiet, unfolding drama shaped by wind, light, and time, turning the ordinary into something timeless.


A Deep Blue Sky Over Llandudno (West Shore) Beach

At one point, the sky turned a deep shade of blue, unlike anything I’d seen before. In one frame, a lone jogger runs along West Shore beach beneath this vast blue canopy; a figure dwarfed by the scale of the sky. Furthermore, the stillness of the scene, broken only by that fleeting movement, captures something essential about Llandudno Beach: its sense of space and solitude.

A lone jogger runs along West Shore Beach.
A lone jogger runs along Llandudno’s West Shore Beach beneath an intense, cobalt sky.

Textures of Stone and Sand Along the Llandudno Shoreline

Looking out towards Great Orme, the pebbly beach and the distant quarry summit form a composition of muted greys and cool blues. Simple, yet deeply satisfying. Later, at sunset, the stony shoreline near the coastal path came alive with long shadows stretching across rippled sand. These are the moments 35mm film captures best (e.g., the subtle shifts in light and soft tones that digital often misses).

The pebbly beach stretches toward the Great Orme
The pebbly West Shore beach stretches toward the Great Orme, with the distant quarry summit blending into muted greys and cool blues.

Wind, Sand, and Light on the Welsh Coast

Further along, where the beach widens and the wind whips the sand, the grains lifted and streamed across the surface like rays of light made from the coast itself. Watching it, I felt the quiet rhythm of the place—the tide, the wind, the land constantly reshaping itself.

Wind, Sand, and Light on the Welsh Coast.
Shifting light, wind, and sand along Llandudno (West Shore) Beach, captured on 35mm film.

Human Traces on Llandudno (West Shore) Beach

Not everything I found was beautiful in the traditional sense. For example, near the distant town of Deganwy, a wheelie bin had found its way into the sea and settled, half-buried in the seabed. It lay there, absurd and immovable, a strange monument to our presence in the world. Moments like that are why I still prefer to wander with a film camera: to notice what others overlook. Ultimately, to capture the beauty in the mundane, like William Eggleston.

Llandudno (West Shore) Beach Photos.
A wheelie bin lay partially submerged in the seabed, having somehow ended up in the water.

From Conwy Marina to West Shore, Llandudno

In the far distance towards Conwy, boats of all kinds rest in the marina, neat and orderly. While closer to the beach, others lie abandoned, sun-bleached, peeling, and discoloured by time. Indeed, they speak of the passing years, of tides and seasons, of stories left untold.

And finally, further along the curve of West Shore, when the tide retreats, you can walk along the sand towards the magnificent Conwy Castle; its medieval towers rising above the estuary. It’s a sight that reminds you how history and landscape intertwine in this corner of Wales.

Views Along the Coast: Conwy Marina to West Shore, Llandudno.
Views along the coast: Conwy Marina to West Shore, Llandudno.
At low tide, you can follow the sandy shore toward the imposing Conwy Castle.
At low tide, you can follow the sandy shore toward the imposing Conwy Castle.

The Timeless Beauty of Llandudno Beach on 35mm Film

Llandudno West Shore Beach, through the lens of 35mm film, reveals more than a seaside town. It’s a study in transience—of light, of weather, of time itself. Each photo, therefore, invites us to look closer at the beauty, the strangeness, and the stories written in the sand.


More Photos from Llandudno (West Shore) Beach

Here are more photos I took along Llandudno (West Shore) Beach. Each image shows how analogue film turns ordinary scenes on this Welsh coastline into something timeless.


PHOTO DETAILS

Location: Llandudno (West Shore) Beach, North Wales

Date: Summer 2019

Camera: Contax G2 (35mm Rangefinder)

Film: Kodak Portra 160

Scan: Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 using VueScan software

👉 If you enjoyed this glimpse of Llandudno (West Shore) Beach, take a look at my other photo essays exploring forgotten places and the mundane beauty of everyday life—all captured on 35mm film.

About the Author:

Paul Pope is an international award-winning photographer and Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Birmingham. With over twenty years' experience spanning creative practice, research, and education, he writes at the intersection of photography and psychology, making complex ideas accessible, engaging, and visually compelling.

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