Llandudno - Maesdu Park

Llandudno FC

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Maesdu Park

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Llandudno

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Ground Number: 1459
Friday 22nd August 2025
Llandudno 2-0 Rhyl
Cymru North

LLANDUDNO FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Football in Llandudno dates back to 1878, when the club was originally known as Gloddaeth Rovers for around a decade. Gloddaeth Rovers were then replaced by Llandudno Swifts as the town's main club. Following the demise of Swifts in 1901, a new club, Llandudno Amateurs, were formed. Llandudno were founder members of the Welsh National League (North) in 1921 and were champions in 1923 and League Cup winners in 1930. The club won the North Wales Combination FA Cup in 1926 and the North Wales Amateur Cup in 1929. Controversy struck the club in 1931 when the FAW instructed them to play in East Wales, which Llandudno refused and were suspended. Llandudno were founder members of the Welsh League North in 1935 and remained in the league until 1974, aside from the war years. Llandudno were league champions in 1936 and repeated the feat the following season. In addition, the club won the North Wales Amateur Cup in 1948 and 1962, the Alves Cup in 1951 and the Cookson Cup in 1965. In 1966, Llandudno Amateurs were formed, splitting off from Llandudno Town. In 1970, Amateurs were the Vale of Conwy Football League champions. As a result, they were promoted to the Welsh League North. Llandudno Town folded in 1976, leaving Amateurs as the main club in the town. The name was briefly revived when Llandudno Swifts were renamed in 1979, but they folded in December of that year, withdrawing from the Welsh League North.

In 1987, the club was renamed Llandudno, although the official date on their badge says 1988. The club moved to its current home at Maesdu Park in 1991 after the previous council pitch was used for the construction of an ASDA store in the late 1970s, now the new Parc Llandudno. It was officially opened in 1991 and floodlights were added in 1994. The following season saw the erection of a clubhouse and two small stands, which provided covered seating for 130 spectators. More has been added over time to comply with Cymru Premier license requirements. They were long-time members of the Cymru Alliance, finishing as runners-up to CPD Porthmadog in 2003. They won the title in 2015 and were promoted to the Cymru Premier. For one season, they were known as MBI Llandudno due to a sponsorship deal, as they finished 3rd in the Welsh top tier. The next season, they played Swedish giants IFK Gothenburg in the Europa League, losing heavily away but gaining a respectable 2-1 loss in a game played at Bangor City. Llandudno were relegated to the Cymru North in 2019. They remain there to this day, finishing as runners-up to Airbus UK in 2022.

Llandudno is a major seaside resort in Wales, and as early as 1861 was being called 'the Queen of the Welsh Watering Places' (a phrase later also used in connection with Tenby and Aberystwyth; the word 'resort' came a little later). Historically a part of Caernarfonshire, Llandudno was formerly in the district of Aberconwy within Gwynedd until 1996. It has a residential population of around 20,000. Famous people from the town include footballers Neville Southall, Joey Jones and Neil Eardley. The town is served by Llandudno railway station, which is the northern terminus of a 3-mile-long branch line from Llandudno Junction. There are generally half-hourly services between the two stations; some trains continue to Blaenau Ffestiniog or Manchester Airport. The Great Orme Tramway runs from the centre of the town to the summit of the Great Orme and is Great Britain's only remaining cable-operated street tramway.

For most of the length of Llandudno's North Shore, there is a wide curving Victorian promenade. The road, collectively known as The Parade, has a different name for each block, and it is on these parades and crescents that many of Llandudno's hotels are built. The Llandudno Pier is on the North Shore. Built in 1877, it is a Grade II listed building. The pier was extended in 1884 in a landward direction along the side of what was the Baths Hotel (where the Grand Hotel now stands). As for other football teams in the town,  Llandudno Albion currently play in the third tier of Welsh football, and Llandudno Amateurs play in the fourth tier.

MY VISIT

As soon as the West Lancs Hop was announced earlier in the year, I booked time off. It needed to be done early as there is high demand for holiday from work at that time of year, and I've had dates refused with more than a year's notice before. For once, the teams involved were announced well in advance, rather than leaving people in suspense. Both Colin & I had been to the Friday night game at Blackpool Wren Rovers, so we had to wait a bit longer for our game. As ever, Wales would provide a rich seam of games, but as ever, hotels were pricey. For that reason, we ended up at the furthest west game in Llandudno as there were limited options elsewhere. It did look like a great seaside resort, though, and it was the game I was looking forward to the most. I'd be able to dump the car and enjoy the evening, as I would be on driving duties for the rest of the weekend.

When the Football Traveller came out on Wednesday, it presented me with a few compelling alternatives. Runcorn Linnets was a ground I had fancied visiting for ages, and Carlisle City was a great choice geographically for Saturday. However, having put a lot of work into my Llandudno blog and with us both really looking forward to it, I decided to stick with my original plan. I felt like dirt on Wednesday afternoon after a fractured night's sleep and a few pints before football, and so had a nap. There was still a ton of work to do on my blogs, though, and I really should have started earlier.

From Cheshunt, it was a simple drive home. I had more than enough time to get my blog up and finish getting ready before bed. I had a decent night's sleep, waking just before 8 and getting ready. I had half an hour to kill before meeting Colin at my local bus stop at 9.30. He was all present and correct, but it was a torturous journey in places. Delays around Walsall (where we stopped for petrol), Whitchurch & Chester, as well as near Llandudno, meant that the journey took 5.5 hours as opposed to 4. We got to the Seafront Hotel just after 3, and contrary to reviews, it was clean and comfortable. Llandudno was a great place, and we popped around the corner to the Cask and Apple Micropub, where I had a local Scrumpt Cider. It was a fantastic place, but having had a strong Perry in the room, I wasn't in the mood for a session.

 

We got chatting to some brilliant Atherton Collieries fans who actually understood Groundhoppers' Modus Operandi. From there, we got the bus to Colwyn Bay, gratis due to the ticket machine not working and catching up on a Spoons I'd missed when I went there with Oxford City. The whole of the coast looked brilliant with Rhos being eyed up as Colin slept. The problem is, there are not enough hours in the day to do everything that I want. The Picture House was a very nice building, and I had a Buffalo Burger with a pint of Black Dragon. It was all superb. From there, it was a £4.20 bus back to Llandudno, not added to my football costs. The Palladium was another glorious venue and another pint of Black Dragon. By now, I was fairly pissed though our drinks took a while to come. I also discovered that Wetherspoons in Holywell didn't open until 9, a problem for our breakfast tomorrow that I'd have to work out when more sober. 

Llandudno were 4th in the table and were unbeaten. They had drawn 0-0 at Brickfield Rangers on Saturday but had previously beaten Flint Mountain 4-0 and Holyhead Hotspur 1-0. Rhyl were also unbeaten. They'd beaten Caersws 3-0 and won 3-2 at Guilsfield as well as drawing 0-0 against Brickfield Rangers. It was a dreadful game, but Llandudno deserved their win. I did not note the first, but the second was a left-side corner poked home by Mark Cadwallder on 80 minutes. Rhyl were a disgrace and an embarrassment to the game of football and were only interested in defending, just like Wycombe. I was pleased for the hosts, who looked a lot sharper near the end. There was a second goal, a minute into injury time by Harvey Bennett.

THE GROUND

MAESDU PARK is a decent venue with cover on all four sides. There is a tea bar and an unremarkable bar. The club shop is decent. The town, with a good Wetherspoons, is a 20-minute walk away, and it was that good that I can't remember much else.