Llandudno and the Great Orme
The main attractions which drew me to visit Llandudno were the Great Orme, the cable car which went to the top of the Great Orme and the Traditional old pier, unfortunately when I got there, it was a beautiful day but with awful high winds so the cable car was closed. I took a trip to where it starts from because there is a lovely park with a bandstand where you can see the beautiful views across the sea and of the pier below.
I carried on up the roadway and came to a carpark for the ski slope with an obvious walk way up the mountain by the side on the slope, I took the walk and met a lovely lady close to the top walking her dog, we chatted about our lives, she told me her name was Rhiannon and she worked for a Christian society as a conciliatory agent travelling to war torn countries to repair communities and get them leading as normal a life as they can under the circumstances. She was off to Rwanda the very next day then on to Kenya and Ukraine for a few weeks to do her job which she believed was gods calling, she was such a lovely lady, it’s amazing the people you meet while climbing a mountain.
Anyway she walked so far with me then pointed me in the direction of the summit, ‘I decided to go all the way it was a beautiful dunny day and the views all around were stunning so I carried on my climb and reached the top within a half hour. She also told me about the drive around the Great Orme and how to reach it from the other direction to escape paying, seeing as I am so tight, I thought that was definitely worth a try.
The views form the top were wonderful, you could see where the cable car ends with a little café where you can have a snack. I watched the tram making its way slowly up the mountain. It was very windy at the top but worth the climb for the views, you could see for miles out to sea where all the windmills were turning creating energy for parts of Liverpool.
I stayed for a while just feeling on top of the world which I always feel when at the top of a mountain, even though it’s always a tough climb wherever you go, the spectacular views are always worth the effort. I would love to live at the top of a mountain and be able to look at these fantastic views every day.
When I came down I tried to find the road the lady had told me about but ended up going the wrong way and annoying a cyclist, ooops, so I gave up, parked my car and went for a walk along the front which is still maintained in the style of when it was built during Victorian times. It is said that Lord Mostyn owns most of the buildings and one of the conditions of rental is to maintain the style of the Victorian era, which I must say they do very well. I could almost see the ladies with their bustles and parasols walking along the promenade, arm in arm with their husbands in top hat and tails.
The great Orme is on a piece of land that protrudes from the mainland also known as the Creuddyn Peninsula, from the top on a clear day you can see as far as the Isle of Man and The Lake District. You can also look out across the bay and see the Little Orme opposite. Parts of The Great Orme are managed as a nature reserve with many rare birds, insects like moths and even bats. There are some rare plants growing there too. Some of the land is used for farming with a large herd of Kashmiri goats roaming the mountain.
The pier is the longest in Wales and dominates the base of the Great Orme with the Grand Hotel taking pride of place at its entrance. I walked to the end of the pier with the intention of having a nice glass of red wine in the bar at the end but I had no cash on me and the bar couldn’t take cards so I was a really disappointed, as I was looking forward to drinking my wine on the pier while watching the sun go down. It was a spectacular sunset and I enjoyed watching the sun go down anyway, even though most of it was behind the mountain, the colours in the sky gave great photo opportunities.
While out on the end of the pier the view back along the parade of hotels is wonderful and is known as the most splendid beach resort in North Wales.
