Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
Great Orme
From sea level it's difficult to gauge the sheer scale of the Great Orme (Y Gogarth), yet it
stretches for around 2 miles and rises to a height of 207m. Named after a Norse word for
worm or sea serpent, this gentle giant looms benevolently over the town. Designated a
Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), the headland is home to a cornucopia of flowers,
butterflies and sea birds; a herd of around 150 wild Kashmir mountain goats; three way-
marked summit trails (of which the Haulfre Gardens Trail is the easiest to negotiate); a
neolithic burial chamber; a Bronze Age mine, the remains of an Iron Age fort; and an an-
cient church dedicated to Llandudno's namesake, St Tudno. At the summit there's a cafe,
bar, gift shop and various amusements, as well as the
Great Orme Country Park Visitor Centre
HEADLAND
10am-5.30pm Easter-Oct)
, which has lots of fascinating displays in-
cluding a 15-minute video.
Great Orme Ancient Mines
(
www.greatormemines.info
;
adult/child £6.75/4.75; 10am-5pm mid-Mar-Oct)
Archaeology and industrial
history buffs should stop halfway up the Great Orme to explore this, the largest prehistoric
mine in the world. A 45-minute self-guided tour explains how the ancients turned rock in-
to copper at the smelting site and heads underground for about 200m into 3500-year-old
tunnels, dug by people using tools of stone and bone. The site continued to be worked by
the Romans, and then from the 17th to 19th centuries, and the entire tunnel network ex-
tends for around 4 miles.
MINE
Llandudno Pier
( 9am-6pm)
A trip to Llandudno isn't complete until you've strolled along the Victorian
pier, eating ice cream and shooing away seagulls. At 670m it's the longest pier in Wales.
When it opened in 1878 its main use was as a disembarkation point for passengers from
the Isle of Man steamers. Those days are long gone, and candyfloss, slot machines and
views of the offshore wind farm are now the order of the day. High art it ain't, but the kids
will love it.
LANDMARK
West Shore
BEACH
