Two Ormes in One Day (with help from a bus)

Walk Llandudno - Penrhyn Bay incorporating West Shore, Great Orme and Little Orme

Distance 12 miles the way I did it (10 miles if you stay on the bus to West Shore and miss the first bit out)

Parking: On the road at Penrhyn Beach East, Penrhyn Bay (free)

Bus: Arriva Wales No 14 (heading to Conwy) 14 Llysfaen to Conwy Bus Route & Timetables | Arriva Bus UK

If you, like Rosie (my walking companion (a Spaniel)) and I, are occasionally accused of looking Ormeless (I think that is what she says), this is the walk for you. With the help of the Arriva Wales Route 14 bus from Penrhyn Bay (Rhos-on-Sea) into Llandudno, bagging both Ormes is eminently doable and is a great day out. What's more, when you are next caught in the vacuum between two thoughts, you can confidently reply "I may look Ormeless to you, but I most certainly am not. I once did two in one day" and watch your accuser wither under the broadside of that Wit-Bazuka.

Arguably the best thing about the Llandudno Ormes (Little Orme and Great Orme) is the view to the other one. Many people have seen the view from the very-accessible Great Orme, significantly fewer from the no-less-great Little Orme. The walk incorporating both has a bit of everything - hills, beaches, feral goats, sea mammals, splendid panoramas and an iconically picturesque seaside town.

You could do this walk either way round. There is ample free roadside parking under the Great Orme in West Shore Llandudno or at the other end of the Little Orme in Penrhyn Bay. We chose Penrhyn Bay.

We parked up on the roadside on Penrhyn Beach East Street not far from where the Wales Coast Path descends from the Little Orme escarpment. The No 14 bus stop is back the way we drove in, on Glan Y Mor Road (near to the Beach Cafe Bar). If you park on Penrhyn Beach East like we did, just to be safe, it is best to leave 15 minutes to walk back along the residential roads to get back to the Beach Cafe Bar bus stop. We aimed for the 9:44 bus that would get us into Llandudno town centre before 10:00am. In hindsight we could have stayed on the bus through the town centre and got off just after the roundabout at West Shore but that would have meant missing out on the panoramic walk through Haulfre Gardens which is always pleasant. Note: if the No 14 bus times don't suit, you can use the more-regular No 12 double-decker that stops by the shops at the top of Glan Y Mor Road - not that much further to walk to be honest.

We intended to get off the bus at what I now know as the Palladium bus stop. This is at the top end of town - closest to where the Great Orme Tramway starts, which itself is an easily findable landmark close to the start of the paved path called Lover's Walk (also known to some as Invalid's Walk) that brings you through Haulfre Gardens and around to Llandudno West Shore. As many inexperienced bus riders will testify, there is a certain anxiety on an unfamiliar route about watching the stop you intended to get off at sailing past before you get to ring the 'magic bell'. On this particular day, this anxiety lead to me 'prematurely e-bus-ulate' by at least three stops. No great hardship as walking through Llandudno is quite pleasant and the stops aren't that far apart.

There are several ways to get onto Lover's Walk from the Tramway base station but the easiest to explain is to climb for about 100m up the road on which the Tramway runs, passing the Chip Shop on the right and taking the narrow lane left, signposted Haulfre Gardens. There are loos (free) and a café at the Gardens which are reached in less than half a mile. It always seems pleasant here - sheltered from the breeze, with views over the town.

Llandudno is awash with Alice in Wonderland references as Lewis Carol must have written some of the material here. I must admit to being unengaged with the whole Alice thing - its all a bit too 'trippy' for me.

At Haulfre Gardens the notable Alice in Wonderland reference is a statue/carving of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. No idea what role they played in the story but lifestyle coaches probably weren't it.

Lover's Walk eventually tips you out near the West Shore Beach where Rosie was able to have a swim and I was able to get a view of the next phase of the walk to bag the first Orme.

There are plenty of ways up the Great Orme, including a zig-zag track from Haulfre Gardens, but approaching it from the west Shore side is my favourite. It is entirely possible to walk up the small road (toll road for cars) that circumnavigates the Great Orme to pick up the eventual path that strikes off steeply to the right after half a mile or so. However, as someone has gone to some effort to forge a footpath on the hillside parallel to the road, it seems rude not to use it.

The footpath starts just on the left as you retrace your steps back through the kissing gate at the bottom of Lover's Walk. It is pleasantly rough underfoot and has a reassuring fence on the first bit to stop you being crushed by any of the evidentially brittle 300 million year old sedimentary rock that parts company with the crags under which you are walking. There is confidence boosting evidence of the fence working too (see the boulder to the right in the photo). There are great views west, up the north Wales coast and over to Anglesey. Follow this path until it turns into a track with the back of some houses to the left. The track leads down back to the toll road and about 50m short of the footpath (on the right) that will lead you to the Great Orme summit.

Take the path leading steeply up from the lane at a tangent. When it starts to flatten (in the distance on this photo), you turn back on yourself, maintaining your height, and follow the wall that is now on your left. You can see the top of the summit buildings you are heading for up on the far side of the walled pasture. After enjoying the views over to Deganwy, Conwy and north Snowdonia, at the corner of the wall, turn left striking directly for the summit cafe and tide of other tourists enjoying the day out. This section of the walk is often the best part to see some of the infamous white Kashmiri goats that sometimes turn up in the town. After taking in the peak (your first Orme), head steeply down the grassy slope toward the tram middle station and away from the flocks of tourists. Cross the small lane and, when passing the station and the tram line (on your right hand side), cut diagonally under the cable car on a path that heads off up a grassy slope at a bearing of about 10 O'Clock. You are looking to descend eventually into Happy Valley - to the left hand side of the artificial ski slope - and onto Llandudno bay promenade at the pier.

This path to Happy Valley is a good place to stop to have a sandwich and soak in the view to the next Orme. It is quiet with an eye full of sky. The photo shows the valley in the near distance with a dark green tree at its top. The eventual path down is the other side of the tree. Note the Little Orme at the end of the bay. Our car is parked just the other side of that. Digression Alert: Just the other side of the main road from the Tramway Middle Station are the Great Orme Copper Mines. These were rediscovered relatively recently (1980s or 90s) when a survey was being done for some car-park or other. The Minister for Holidays and I were amongst some of the first visitors shortly after it opened for tours. Immensely impressive seeing as they were dug out by hand about 3,500 years ago. One of the conundrums presented on the tour, was the riddle of what happened to the incredible wealth undoubtedly created by the extraction of this precious commodity all those years ago. There was apparently evidence that it was traded all over the bronze-age world but no stunning buildings, hordes of gold, silver, weaponry or indeed anything else was ever found on or near the Orme to evidence that wealth. One of the theories at the time (possibly still) was that it was traded for expensive consumables - most probably exotic drugs and alcohol (there being only so many mushrooms you can eat). This conjures up a disturbing picture of an elite group of chieftain's wives discussing the pros and cons of imported wode (Chanel probably) in the summit wine hut.

Anyway, on with the walk. Descend into Happy Valley and continue through the park below it, heading toward the pier visible below. Once at the pier, the mission now is to walk the length of Llandudno Bay to reach the Little Orme. There is a pleasant buzz about Llandudno. It doesn't feel quite as down-on-its-luck as many other British seaside towns. The wide promenade makes the walking easy but that doesn't stop Rosie and I heading down onto the shingle beach as soon as the dog restriction ends - about half way along.

It is tempting to walk all the way to the end but if you do that you'll find you can't get onto the Little Orme as there are private gardens blocking the way. Instead, if you have gone on the beach, make your way back up to the main road at or shortly after the lifeboat station and follow this road as it heads toward the bwlch (pass), landside of the Little Orme, which the bus used to climb over to Llandudno. Keep on the pavement on the left hand side of the road and, after what feels too far, just after passing the hotel which is on the right hand side of the road, pick up the footpath (Wales Coast Path Sign) that goes left through the wall, The same wall that, along with the limestone cliff above it, was previously stopping you going directly up onto the Orme. The main coast path circumnavigates the Little Orme summit which I think is a real shame as the views back toward Llandudno and the Great Orme from the top are part of the joy of this bit of coast.

To get to the summit the quickest way, look out for a small unsigned path up a little rock step just a couple of hundred meters up the main path and just before the main path goes through some overhanging vegetation. After the step, this small path climbs up more gradually, eventually reaching a gate at the junction between a metal and wood and wire fence (see photo). Go through the gate and turn immediately right uphill alongside the fence. There doesn't seem to be a distinct path here but, as in all summit bagging, just keep going up until you find the trig point - the point at which, unless you grow wings, you can go up no more.

The Little Orme is much quieter than the Great Orme and the view looking back to its bigger brother and the rather vulnerable looking town of Llandudno is splendid.

Rather than being Welsh, Orme is a Scandinavian word meaning Worm. Worm, from the point of view of the superstitious Vikings who named these features, was more of a sea serpent or monster. (Worms Head on the Gower Peninsular in South Wales is the same sort of feature but, in this case, has had its name fully anglicized). This view (see photo) back to the Great Orme validates the Viking place-naming by appearing like the head and possibly torso of a long sea creature raising its head to ruin the day of some passing seafarer.

I've never seen goats on the Little Orme but there is a mammalian surprise waiting for us on the route back to the car in the form of the Atlantic grey seal colony at Porth Dyniewaid (Angel Bay). To get there descend from the summit opposite to the way you came up. At the small valley between the summit and a smaller hillock closer to the sea (with a huge cairn on top), turn right onto a distinct path that brings you back down to the Wales Coast Path you detoured off to make the summit. Follow the coast path signs seawards, being careful to make a right turn before a large vertical drop into a quarry (I have a horrible vision of someone cycling down here and not turning right). The coast path winds around to eventually bring you out into a flat area that I guess was the quarry floor, below the cliff you have avoided falling down. A kissing gate here, with the Wales coast path sign, leads you onto a steep ramp downwards. The bay to the left, several hundred meters from the bottom of the ramp is where the seal colony is. Well worth wandering over to have a look and listen at those in residence and those in transit in the clear water of the north facing bay.

On the day we were there (July 2023), some illiterate or 'entitled' people had gone down onto the rocky beach where the seals normally hang out. There are plenty of signs asking you not to but apparently a Hollywood film crew were down there earlier this year so I guess that sets a different precedent. So just one or two seals looking anxiously back from the waters of the bay. At least its not breeding season. The photo is from the last time I was here in April 2022. I had my zoom lens with me that day and it found a very busy and noisy colony - and nobody on the beach.

To get back to the car, retrace your steps to the bottom of the ramp but carry straight on heading east on the popular path. A short set of steps brings you down back onto the residential cul-de-sac at the end of Penrhyn Bay East and to the parked car. A very satisfying day out.