TV show on Llandudno’s Victorian heritage

Sep 23 2010 by Eva Ketley, North Wales Weekly News

TV PRESENTERS took a dip in the sea wearing Victorian bathing costumes during the making of a programme on the history of Llandudno.

Llandudno’s Victorian heritage is to be explored in the S4C history series Byw yn ôl y Llyfr in which presenters Bethan Gwanas and Tudur Owen take on the roles of a respectable Victorian couple and follow guidelines set out in a book published in 1870.

From the clothes they wear to the food they eat and their leisure activities, they follow the strict rules set out by non-conformist preacher Thomas Thomas, the author of Llyfr Pawb ar Bob Peth (A Book for Everyone About Everything).

In next Wednesday’s episode, Bethan and Tudur investigate the Victorians’ leisure activities, which includes a dip in the sea on Llandudno beach, complete with the traditional bathing carriage.

Bethan said: “I looked ridiculous in my Victorian swimming outfit, and as I swam the trousers would keep falling about my ankles.

“But Tudur looked spectacular in his striped costume!

“It was a strange experience being pushed down to the sea in the bathing carriage, and I was praying the wheels wouldn’t sink into the sand.”

The pair discovered that one of the strangest pieces of advice in the book is Thomas Thomas’ guide to learning how to swim using an egg!

The book instructs the tentative Victorian swimmer to walk bravely into the water until it reaches chest height, to throw the egg into the water, then try to retrieve it from the seabed.

Tudur puts the method to the test, with little success.

They also find out how Llandudno became a popular Victorian holiday resort with the expansion of the railway network, and learn what the visitors would get up to during their stay.

This included walks along the promenade, cockles and chips and a show on the then brand new Llandudno Pier.

Bywyn ôl y Llyfr is on S4C on Wednesday, September 29 at 8.25pm and Saturday, October 2 at 8.10pm with on-screen English subtitles.