This year’s AGM Weekend will be hosted in Llandudno, the Queen of Welsh seaside resorts.
The AGM meeting will take place from 2pm on Friday 25 September at Venue Cymru, Llandudno, followed by presentations and updates from Society staff.
Dr Kathryn Ferry will deliver the Friday evening lecture, exploring the seaside heritage and development of the town, before the day concludes with a reception and dinner at the St George’s Hotel, the first of the grand hotels built on the Llandudno seafront as part of the transformation of the town into a major Victorian seaside resort.
Saturday morning will begin with guided walks exploring the architectural and social history of Llandudno. In the afternoon, we will travel on the historic 1902 Great Orme Tramway – the only surviving cable-operated street tram in Britain – with opportunities to learn about the area’s industrial and mining history, and its influence on the development of Llandudno in the C19. Following time to enjoy the Copper Mine and the spectacular views across the bay, the day will conclude with a talk from a representative of the Mostyn Estate at the Tabernacle, Llandudno (1875), followed by a drinks reception accompanied – with any luck – by the Llandudno Brass Band. The Mostyn’s laid out Llandudno in the mid C19, and remain the town’s main landowner.
Sunday’s programme will take us further afield. The first stop will be the magnificent Penrhyn Castle, the vast Neo-Norman house designed by Thomas Hopper between the 1820s and 1850s. Attendees may explore the castle and its grounds before lunch on site. In the afternoon, the party will travel to Llanfairfechan, which boasts the greatest concentration of notable work by the largely unheralded but fascinating Arts and Crafts architect Herbert Luck North, who Betjeman described as Wales’s answer to Voysey. The weekend will conclude at the fine church of All Saints, Deganwy (1898) designed by John Douglas – another hugely significant regional architect. All Saints is one of Douglas’s best churches, and among the most distinctive late Victorian churches in north Wales.
Attendees will be dropped at Llandudno Junction station in time for trains after 4.15pm, from where direct trains can be caught to many destinations, including Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, London, Crewe and Chester.
Accommodation
Attendees are required to make their own accommodation arrangements. The suggested hotel is the Imperial Hotel, Llandudno, where the Society staff will be staying, and for which we have arranged a special discount for those also wishing to stay. A discount code will be supplied upon booking an AGM Weekend ticket.
Meals
The cost of the Friday evening dinner at the St George Hotel, Llandudno, is included in the ticket price. For all other meals (including at Penrhyn Castle on Sunday afternoon) attendees will need to make their own arrangements.
Tour notes
Tour notes will be provided as hard copies on arrival.
Accessibility
Some venues during the weekend – including the Great Orme Copper Mine – may have limited or restricted accessibility due to steps, uneven surfaces, or historic building restrictions. Attendees should be mindful of this.
Cost
£295 per person for the AGM Weekend and activities (non-residential). All visits, admissions, dinner on the Friday evening and drinks reception on Saturday evening are included.
Cancellations
Cancellations will be accepted and fees returned up to two months before the start of the event, subject to a deduction of £10 per person. After that date no refunds will be given.
DISCLAIMER You participate in events at your own risk. We reserve the right to cancel, alter or postpone events if necessary.
Image: Llandudno seafront against a Snowdonian backdrop (Photo Bailey-Cooper Photography \ Alamy)