Llandudno and the Great Orme: The Queen of the Welsh Coast

Llandudno’s popularity as a resort town exploded in the mid-19th century, when Liverpudlian architect Owen Williams submitted a proposal to Lord Mostyn, the historic owner of Great Orme and its surrounding coastline, to transform the idyllic seaside spot from a dwindling miners’ community to a vibrant resort town. Mostyn enthusiastically pursued these plans and invested generously in the construction of a new promenade snaking North Shore Beach, a state-of-the-art pier launching itself into the Irish Sea, and the conversion of a disused quarry into vibrant urban gardens. This mosaic of attractions still constitutes the core of Llandudno’s touristic appeal, so let’s explore what makes each of them so special:

Llandudno Pier

Jutting 2,295ft (700m) into crystalline sea, the elegantly-ornamented Llandudno Pier is the longest in Wales and feels a Victorian-Edwardian time capsule, resplendent with thunderous fairground rides, mouthwatering food stalls, treasure-trove souvenir stores, and two fully-decked games arcades. Although teeming with such tiny attractions however, the pier’s crown jewel is undoubtedly the Llandudno Eye, a staggering 69ft (21m)-tall ferris wheel installed in 2021 by Italian luxury manufacturers Lamborghini at a cost of £1 million. Hop onboard for breathtaking views over Llandudno and the Irish Sea infused with a touch of childhood whimsy, all for a cost of just £4!

Other key attractions around the pier are the Punch and Judy puppet show, a Victorian favourite that has been held here continuously during the summer months ever since 1860, and the Grand Hotel, a heritage hotel along the pier that actually predates the pier itself: while construction of the original pier began in 1858 (replaced in 1878 after a particularly violent sea storm), the first bricks of the hotel were lay three years prior, in 1855. 

North Shore Beach

Stretching two miles between Great Orme and Little Orme, North Shore is Llandudno’s primary beach and on summer days is packed with holidaymakers catching a bit of North Welsh sunshine and cooling off in the encompassing Irish Sea. A mixture of sand and pebble, the beach offers deckchairs, live bandstand music, ice-cream stands, and even donkey rides along the coast!

The sweeping Promenade that backdrops the beach, meanwhile, was built in 1884 as part of the town’s Victorian renaissance. It features impressive period architecture overlooked by the looming Great Orme and a mixture of visitor amenities from cosy hotels to charmingly kitschy souvenir stalls to food vendors selling tantalising seaside classics, the most iconic of which being Venue Cymru, one of Wales foremost music and entertainment spaces.

Happy Valley

Happy Valley is a former coastal quarry that was transformed into a public garden by Lord Mostyn in 1887 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, featuring extensive lawns, a putting green, two miniature golf courses, and an open-air theatre. Among its main present-day attractions is a quirky sculpture park inspired by Lewis Carroll’s famous novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, called the Alice Trail. The sculptures were installed as an homage to Alice Liddell, the young girl whom Carroll is believed to have based his tale off and who used to holiday in Llandudno.

To further explore the area, climb to the top of Happy Valley and learn a bit about pre-Victorian (and prehistoric!) Llandudno by visiting Pen-y-Dinas Hillfort, a ruined Iron-Age fortress that overlooks the Valley. Elephant Cave is located just below the hillfort and dates to even earlier, carved into the limestone headlands as another defence spot above the ocean.

Mostyn Gallery

Located in a gorgeous Edwardian terracotta-tiled building, the Mostyn Gallery is Wales’ foremost contemporary arts centre and features four major exhibition spaces, allowing it to rub shoulders with some of the best in the world. It was established by Lady Augusta Mostyn, a keen patron of the arts, in the late-nineteenth century to remedy the lack of public arts spaces in the town and operated as both a creative and a social hub, hosting community events and musical evenings alongside a regular programme of exhibitions and arts classes. After Lady Mostyn’s death in 1912 the building underwent various transformations until it returned to its original function as an art gallery in 1979 at the instigation of influential Welsh artist Kyffin Williams, who was born and raised in nearby Anglesey. The current exhibition spaces, which beautifully harmonise the original architecture with modern, Swiss-inspired design, have won several awards for aesthetic and architectural excellence. Notable recent exhibitions have displayed work by 2018 Hepworth Prize winner and former Derek Jarman collaborator Cerith Wyn Evans, Austrian pop art pioneer Kiki Kogelnik, and Dutch avant-gardist and ex-Situationist International member Jacqueline De Jong.

A defining feature of Llandudno’s coastal scenery, the Great Orme is a verdant limestone headland that stretches 3km (1.9 mi) into the Irish Sea and stands 207m (679ft) tall at its apex. The Great Orme has been a magnet for human interest and activity since the Bronze Age over 4,000 years ago, when the sedimentary rock was mined extensively for copper. In fact, the pre-Roman copper mines on Great Orme are believed to be the largest of their kind yet discovered and serve to this day as an extremely important site of archaeological research. For the curious, the Great Orme Copper Mines are also open as a tourist attraction, allowing guests to wander the over five miles of prehistoric tunnels that have been surveyed since excavation began in 1987 and catch a rare insight into life in ancient Britain.

The Great Orme’s fascinating human history is equally matched by its natural history; the dense wealth of flora and fauna that colonise the outcrop have earned the headland a number of protective designation titles, including Special Area of Conservation, Heritage Coast, Country Park, and Site of Special Scientific Interest. The shallow, lime-rich earth of the Orme has proven perfect for the natural cultivation of alpine sub-Arctic flowers like the bloody cranesbill, thrift, and sea campion, while species such as the pyramid orchid, common rockrose, and wild thyme populated the grassland. This unique floral tapestry also attracts a treasury of rare butterfly and moth species, and the sheer limestone cliffs so iconic of the Orme’s curvature are ideal nesting grounds for countless types of sea bird, including cormorants, kittiwakes, and puffins.

However, the star of the Great Orme bestiary is undoubtedly the controlled population of around two-hundred Kashmir goats that wander the cliffs. Introduced in the nineteenth century when Queen Victoria gifted a pair of the beautiful animals to Lord Mostyn, having herself received a couple as a coronation gift from the Shah of Persia in 1837, the population soon swelled and they are now a central attraction on the Orme, sometimes even confidently descending into Llandudno’s city streets.

If you want to ascend the Great Orme for a chance to see a few of these majestic beasts in the (semi-) wild, you have a few interesting options. The Marine Drive is a gorgeous, historic coastal road that traces the Orme, offering a scenic journey past local landmarks such as St. Tudno’s Church (for which Llandudno, whose name means ‘Church of Saint Tudno’ in Welsh, was named) and the old Great Orme Lighthouse, which is now a small hotel. Alternatively, the Great Orme Tramway, installed in 1902, is the last such type of Edwardian street tram left in the UK and proposes an ascent with a distinguished, heritage touch. Or, the Llandudno Cable Cars, opened in 1969, offers panoramic views of the Irish Sea over to Rhyl on one side and Snowdonia National Park on the other. It is the longest passenger cable car in the country.

• The Great Orme Tramway runs during the summer season, when it is open 7 days a week from 10am to 6pm. A standard adult return ticket costs £9.75 and can only be bought in-person.
• The operation of the Llandudno Cable Cars is weather dependent; they have no website of their own, so it is recommended you call at 01492877205 in advance for opening times and other enquiries. Return tickets cost £11 and must be bought in person, cash only.