Llandudno Great Orme Circular

Walk: A relatively short but enjoyable circular walk from the parking at West Shore. It takes in the peak of the Great Orme via a pleasant route that uses 'Lovers Walk' (aka Invalids Walk) and 'Happy Valley' a scenic route up to the summit and completes with quite an unexpectedly-epic steep decent back to West Shore. Fine views all round.

Distance: About 5 miles.

Parking: Free parking roadside at West Shore.

Bus Route: Not applicable on this circular walk.

This is a walk that Rosie and I have done many times. It's not so long and doesn't involve a bus ride but it is very scenic and, apart from the potential for crowds at the summit building, is sufficiently quiet to get under the bar set for these blogs of 'footpaths less trodden'.

Parking on West Parade' Llandudno

It starts at Llandudno West Shore, best accessed from the A55 by taking the last exit before the Conwy Tunnel (if coming from the east) and approaching via Llandudno Junction and Deganwy rather than the busier route through Llandudno Town Centre. There is plenty of roadside free parking along West Parade just meters away from the sandy beach and the shallow boating lake. At busy times (i.e. weekends in summer) you just end up parking a bit further away.

There are toilets by the boating lake but they aren't free and aren't always open. For this reason we generally do the circular walk anticlockwise using the Invalid's Walk (otherwise known as Lover's Walk) path. This route has a well maintained free toilet just alongside the path-side café overlooking the town-centre just 15 minutes easy walk away.

Lovers Walk path starts by the lodge at the end of Marine Drive

Lover's Walk (it just sounds better!) is reached from West Shore by heading past the boating lake to the small Lodge Building on the righthand side of the road. The path zig-zags up from here until it levels out heading east toward the town and away from the West Shore coastline.

Follow the path that contours around the Orme with many benches for visitors soaking in the views toward Deganwy and Conwy. Keep your eyes and nose open for the famous (or infamous) wild goats that occasionally visit town to nibble at the resident's hedges. As I've been reminded recently, 'never pass a free toilet' is the first of the three important rules for over 60's. The said toilet on this route is not much further. It can be found alongside the café, just after Haulfre Gardens, as the Lover's Walk path turns into Cwalch Road.

Turn downhill toward the tram station then left onto Plas Road

From the café and toilets, continue on the contour heading north now as the narrow Cwalch Road turns into the equally-narrow Llwynon Gardens, until you tip out onto the steep road up which the Great Orme Tram is pulled. Rather than head for the summit here, turn right, downhill, toward the Tram Station. If you aren't going to go down into town, keep some height by turning left onto Plas Road (just before the Fish and Chip shop, opposite the Tram Station). This joins Ty Gwyn Road which eventually becomes Hillside Terrace. You should now be directly above the North Shore Promenade and Pier.

Head into Happy Valley

Continue on Hillside Terrace with the pier to your right and hotels/guest houses on your left. There is an observation tower on a little hill to your right. The road dead-ends into two paths heading underneath the cable car. Keep straight on, on the lower of the two paths, until you reach the café which is part of the pretty park known as Happy Valley. There are lovely views north out over the sea and the buildings at the end of the pier.

Rosie enjoying the view from Happy Valley

Cross the road that goes up through the park and follow the footpath signs for 'I'r Copa' (The Summit). These signs take you up through a series of terraces that end at a wooden sprung gate on the top right hand side of the park. Exit onto the well worn path which leads you onto the limestone landscape of the Orme itself. Follow the summit path around, away from the sea and up the steps alongside the artificial ski-slope and toboggan run (to your left).

North east side summit path on Great Orme

At the top of the steps, as you exit out of the valley, you have a number of choices of route to the top. On this occasion, rather than go toward the visible cable car and the Tram Middle Station, we kept right on the north east side of the Orme. It doesn't make much difference, both ways are pleasant but as this particular walk took place in late February, this side was in the lea of the light but thing southerly breeze.

This path will also take to the church and well of St Tudno on this side of the Orme.

The summit path looking back east the way we had come

For us though, rather than head down to the church through the fenced pastures, we kept to the open mountainside heading left toward the cable car. At some point not far from the middle tram station, cross the lane that heads down to the church and marine drive below and head up the grassy slopes toward the summit buildings, keeping the cable car to your left.

Once at the buildings, a swing gate allows you access to the summit car park area and the excellent views west along the North Wales coastline.

Great Orme Summit looking west toward the Quarry and the Carneddau

If like me you feel compelled to take in the summit proper, navigate around to the opposite side of the summit buildings from which you first approached. A few other gates above a playground give access to the summit trig point that marks the geographical high point of the walk.

One of the brucy-bonuses of limestone escarpments like the Great Orme is that, even after wet winter, it isn't muddy. Nevertheless, the swamphound still managed to find the only muddy puddle in miles to lie down in (as witnessed by the summit photo).

The wall that marks the start of the route down the south west slope

Once you've soaked in the views, its now time to find the somewhat adventurous descent using the footpath down the steep south west slopes. To do this, navigate your way back toward the car park to find a stone wall and an 11kV overhead power line leading down away from the car park. The footpath follows the wall down. Turn right at the bottom, continuing to follow the wall as it now contours back along the steep southwest facing side of the Orme.

The Monk's Path cut back sharply diagonally down to Marine Drive

What you are looking for now is the 'Monk's Path' that cuts back on a sharp diagonal down to the Marine Drive and houses below. The monks in this case were those which travelled between the Gogarth Abbey (no longer there but which would have been on Marine Drive at the bottom of this path) and the aforementioned St Tudno's church in the 13th century. It feels steeper than the photos suggest and I really wouldn't have liked to be lugging holy water or whatever on a stormy winters day in sandles. Maybe they had mountain sandles and stout sticks? It isn't very well signposted but can be seen by careful examination on this photo rising diagonally from the rocks to the brow of the hill in the distance (see the arrows). If you don't really care about the way the monks ent, you can access it earlier down the gully shown on this side of the brow of the hill. Although care is required, it is a fantastic way down. The views are stunners.

The steep Monk's Path down to Marine Drive

Once at the bottom, you have a number of choices. If you've had enough of ups-and-downs, simply follow the Marine Drive back to the West Shore. If you haven't, there is another footpath that will bring you out by the lodge where tou started off. Needless to say, we chose the latter. Although close to 'civilisation, this last descent and the rocky path that winds through the limestone above the Marine Drive feels a lot more remote. Rosie and I like it - a lot.

Path veers off right behind a whitewashed house

To find the final section of footpath, from where the Monk's Path joins the Marine Drive, walk toward the West Shore for about 50m. There is a dead-end driveway/track heading diagonally up to the left with the names of the houses it gives vehicular access to on the left and a footpath marker post on the right. Take this track. Before the end of the track, the opath heads off right back onto open hillside, behind a whitewashed house.

The last leg above Marine Drive back to West Shore

Follow the path with a fence to your right. You quickly work out that the fence isn't to stop you falling, rather it is to shop chunks of the friable and weatherworn limestone on this side of the Orme falling onto the Marine Drive below you.

In a few ups and downs over the next half a mile you find yourself at the lodge that marked the start of the walk.

A short but definitely varied and even adventurous day out with stunning views and horizons. Easily accessed and with the bonus of with more icecream, beer and fish and chips than you can shake a stick at near the end - well maybe not in February but for most of the year.