West Shore Issues

[SteveH]

Welfare probe launched into Llandudno pony that sleeps in van with owner at West shore.

An animal welfare investigation was launched after reports of concern for a Shetland pony that has been sleeping in a van - along with its owner - on Llandudno ’s West Shore.
Carl Crofts from the British Horse Society (BHS) said he needed to check with colleagues whether space for the pony was adequate.

Owner Gareth Blyth, of Welsh Horse Yeomanry, insisted Taffy the pony had received a clean bill of health from the RSPCA.
The pair have been posing for photographs together for tourists in the town.

Former serviceman Mr Blyth, who dresses in a self-designed Welsh Horse Yeomanry uniform posing for pictures with the 19 year-old pony, confirmed he ran the enterprise as a business not a charity.
He was visited by Mr Crofts from the BHS after members of the public complained about the animal’s condition.
“The condition of the pony doesn’t alarm me in any way.
“The RSPCA who we work with are equally unconcerned.

“However the condition in which he is travelling does concern me.
“The fact he travels in a van, it’s the space in which he sleeps. It’s small.

The pony’s owner, who hails from near Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, said Taffy was only on the road for 10% of his life.
“Ninety percent of his time is spent at home,” said Mr Blyth, who says he spent 36 years as a regular and reserve soldier in the Welsh Guards and other units.
“He’s well looked after and well cared for.
“He gets plenty of hay and horse food and water.
I would say very robustly the concerns are very unfounded.”

Mr Blyth said his company mainly performed military “re-enactments” in summer and he only took Taffy out in the van in winter.
“People can have their photos taken with us and it costs nothing,” he continued.
“But by and large they put a donation in my bucket. It’s my living.”
VIDEO    http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/welfare-probe-launched-llandudno-pony-11107956

[Nemesis]

Somewhat wet at West Shore this morning !

[Hugo]

It must have been a very high tide to go over the top of those sandbanks.     

[norman08]

That was like that the other day the grid will be blocked again ,oh and the sand they cleaned up a few weeks ago well it's coming back over ,,,,when will they ever learn and listen .

[Hugo]

I don't know much about where the surface water outputs are in Llandudno but hope that they are not all on the West Shore.   Those street drains there are blocked with the sand and are bound to cause some problems in the future.

[Blongb]

Somewhat wet at West Shore this morning !

I was up on Invalids Walk this morning Nem and what I think your photo shows is fresh water that has over topped the boating lake after the heavy rain

[Nemesis]

Yes the lake was lapping over the edges of the lake, but that photo was quite a distance in the other direction, so it must have travelled !

[DaveR]

Yes the lake was lapping over the edges of the lake, but that photo was quite a distance in the other direction, so it must have travelled !

As Norman says, it's a simple matter of the drains along that section (which is nearer the West Shore Cafe than the Yacht Pond) being completely blocked with sand.

[Gwynant]

Yes the lake was lapping over the edges of the lake, but that photo was quite a distance in the other direction, so it must have travelled !

As Norman says, it's a simple matter of the drains along that section (which is nearer the West Shore Cafe than the Yacht Pond) being completely blocked with sand.

          I agree Dave, (and Norman), I often ride down the West Shore on my bike and after a prolonged period of heavy rain there is always a "pond" there and the size varies according the intensity of the recent rain. There are some big cast-iron grids submerged in it which are blocked so there is no chance of the water getting away, but it has come from the sky not the sea!

[Hugo]

Even when the water in the boating lake was like this I don't think that the water was able to get on to that stretch of the promenade

[mull]

If I remember rightly in the area shown with standing water there used to be a drain allowing water to run off down the beach.
This was in the 1970/80's and a light would come on to warn you, then the gate would open with a loud bang and the water would be released. Whether this happened in daylight I am not sure but it certainly did late at night when I used to walk the dog along there.
I also recall alot of work took place on the grassed area between the Sandringham and the Car park sometime in the 1990's, whether this was to overcome drainage problems I am not sure. It went on for a long time so must have been expensive.
 Since my father died in 1992 my visits to Llandudno are now only every 18 months or so.

[pebbles]

As I approached my car I noticed a large white CCBC parked in the road and saw a reference on the side of the van about dog owners
getting fined, which seemed ironic when the van was parked entirely on a bus stop.   There was so many other parking spaces on the road, why would they choose a bus stop to park?

That bus stop always gets parked in - there isn't actually a bus sign etc and hasn't been for a few years now, when we go in the summer we always park just behind or in front of it just in case (scaredypants about being fined for being in a "bus stop" just in case!!) but then someone always pulls up and takes the bus stop space.
The road markings haven't been painted for a few years, and no sign (ie post with bus numbers on).

[Hugo]

I didn't want to take any chances either and parked my car outside of those old bus markings.    The Traffic Wardens in Conwy County have been known to park their vehicle on double yellow lines just so that they could book other motorists parking illegally! 
I'll still give that area a wide berth though just in case things change

[Hugo]

It was such a beautiful day that I had a walk along the West Shore to where the Black Rocks were.  As I was crossing the car park I overheard four elderly people talking  and they said that some time ago they had tried to walk to Deganwy but had to turn back because of the sand.
I knew that they had very recently cleared the sand on the cycle track so I wanted to see what it was like now. and I did see one or two cyclists cycling on the track but not very far as the sand has come back on to the track.
It's a great spot for families and there were quite a few there making the most  of the lovely weather but it's not the place for a cycle track.

[DaveR]

We did the walk from West Shore to Conwy along that path on Sunday morning, was fantastic in the sunshine.