“I do not know of a more healthy place; a more satisfactory climate is not to be found to my knowledge in this country.”
These were the parting words of Prime Minister William Gladstone in 1896 on what was to be his final visit to Penmaenmawr – one of his favourite holiday destinations. The railway’s ability to transport visitors quickly to Penmaenmawr was a key factor in Gladstone’s decision to visit so frequently. The train journey took just over two hours from his home in Flintshire, or five hours from London.
Like many other stations along the North Wales coast, Penmaenmawr was opened to encourage tourism to the region. Like its neighbours Llandudno and Colwyn Bay, it gained a reputation as a genteel resort offering scenic walks and restorative bathing. The impressive station building, with its hipped-roof canopy survives to this day.
As well as tourists and locals, locally quarried stone makes up a large part of the station’s traffic. Today, the station is unstaffed but it retains the original Grade-II listed buildings on the westbound platform – now a private residence.
