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Wales Walks

All walks › Conwy Valley and the North Coast

Conwy Valley and the North Coast

The Great Orme

Limestone headland above Llandudno with Bronze Age copper mines inside it, wild goats on top and a road round the outside that has been a tourist attraction since the Victorians.

Distance
5.0 mi / 8 km
Time
2 hr 40
Ascent
220 m
Difficulty
Moderate
Shape
Circular

Where it is

The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.

The route

Marine Drive circles the headland at sea level on the level, or paths climb over the summit for the view. Combining a climb over the top with a return along the Drive makes the best round.

Worth knowing

  • The Kashmiri goats have been here since the 1900s and roam into town in bad weather. Give them space.
  • The Bronze Age copper mine is open to visitors and is the largest prehistoric mine yet found anywhere.
  • Limestone grassland here holds rare plants including the Great Orme berry, which grows nowhere else in the world.

What you’ll see

Sea cliffs, wild goats, the tramway and cable car, and views to Anglesey and Eryri.

Background

Copper was mined here from around 1800 BC. The Victorian resort below was laid out as a planned town in the 1850s.