We’d barely made it off the A55 before the satnav decided we were in a car park in Rhyl instead of Llandudno, so by the time we found the right turn for the cottage we were both a bit hot and cross. The moment the key turned in the door of the 4 Bed Cottage, though, the grumpiness melted away; sunlight was pouring through the big front windows and you could already smell salt on the breeze. We dumped the bags, swapped trainers for sandals and set straight off along the promenade, promising ourselves a proper unpack later.

The plan had been a proper yomp up the Great Orme, but the sky had other ideas. One minute we were strolling past the paddling pool with ice creams, the next a fat grey cloud rolled in off the bay and the first fat drops started plopping on our shoulders. We ducked into the little kiosk by the pier for shelter and ended up sharing a bench with a couple from Manchester who’d had exactly the same bright idea. By the time the shower passed we’d decided a gentler coastal wander would do nicely, so we followed the path that hugs the lower slopes, stopping every few minutes to peer down at rock-pools and the odd seal bobbing about like a curious dog.

Further along, the path opened onto a stretch of grass where families had spread blankets despite the earlier rain. We joined them, kicking off our shoes and letting the unexpectedly warm breeze dry our damp T-shirts. From there it was an easy stroll back into town for fish and chips on a bench overlooking the beach, watching kids race the tide with their buckets. Every so often another brief shower would send everyone scurrying under the pier arches, then the sun would pop out again and we’d all troop back onto the sand like nothing had happened.

By late afternoon my legs were pleasantly tired and I realised I hadn’t once checked my phone for work emails. The cottage felt like the perfect base for this sort of flexible day: close enough to the seafront that you could change plans on a whim, yet tucked just far enough back that the evening felt properly peaceful. As we wandered home, the streetlights beginning to glow along the promenade, I caught myself smiling at how a rained-off hike had turned into one of the nicest, slowest afternoons we’d had in ages.