The Mostyn family laid out the streets at their own expense after a design by Liverpool surveyor, Owen Williams. Owen Williams was an Anglesey man who visited the town in 1846 and was impressed by the sweep of the bay. The town is laid out on a grid pattern that curves to match the shape of the bay.

Before the arrival of the railway the first holiday makers to Llandudno arrived by ship from Liverpool and were rowed ashore - to St Edwards Square. The growth of Llandudno accelerated with the arrival of the railway in 1858.

The Pier was built in 1859 and then extended to its present length in 1884. The Promenade is built on a natural shingle bank that had protected the agricultural buildings and farming land prior to the town's development. The shingle also prevented water draining out to sea which had encouraged marshy conditions inland.

There had been hopes that Llandudno would become the major Welsh port to Ireland, but after a great storm in 1859 which destroyed the pier and damaged the waterfront, plans didn't go ahead and the town continued to develop as a resort.

Pick up a leaflet from the Llandudno Tourist Information Centre on Chapel Street for more information on the Llandudno Town Trail.

Take the tram to the summit of the Great Orme, changing at the Halfway Station. The tram runs between April and October, 10 am - 6 pm. Alternatives include walking or driving following the marked signposts.

The Great Orme is composed of limestone rock formed which formed between 300 and 350 million years ago when much of North Wales was under a shallow sea. This was the Carboniferous Period, when rocks were formed from the skeletons and shells of the creatures living at this time. Gradually the fragments have been compressed to form solid limestone rock.

The Orme has many of the classic features associated with limestone landscapes including impressive crags and sea cliffs, limestone pavements, sink holes and blow holes.

The name 'Orme' is thought to derive from the Old Norse or Viking words 'Horma Hava' meaning dragon or sea monster, and when the Ormes are viewed from a distance in the mist, the name appears quite well suited.

The Tram

The Great Orme Tramway carried its first passengers in 1902, on the lower section of the line to what is now the Halfway Station. In the following year, the upper section to the summit was completed, taking passengers to the Summit Station. The tramway is unusual as it is the only cable hauled tramway that crosses public roads and still uses the original Victorian carriages.

Attached to the Summit Tramway station is the Country Park Visitor Centre, featuring an exhibition about the natural history of the Great Orme.

The summit of the Great Orme has been used for a variety of different purposes throughout recent history, including a telegraph station, hotel, golf course, RAF radar station, back to hotel, and presently as a privately owned complex with a café and gift shops. In 1969, a cable car opened between the summit and Llandudno Pier.

Walk to the back of the summit buildings and follow the wooden way markers to the left of the cable car lift building. Follow the markers towards the left, over the track and down to the road.

The path towards the road takes you down across limestone grassland. Close to the buildings, the grassland is not as rich as in other places on the Great Orme, although you can still expect to see common rockrose, salad burnet, dropwort, tormentil, common milkwort, and the more nationally scarce hoary rockrose and spiked speedwell.

Archaeological finds on the Great Orme indicate that the headland has been used by man at least since the Stone Age and there are more than 100 sites of archaeological and historical interests. The local discovery of flint scrapers, stone axes and decorated animal bones have revealed that Stone Age people lived in caves around the Orme.

At this time, it is likely that Conwy Bay - visible to the west - was dry land, and during warmer periods it would have been covered by dense forest.

The nearby Kendricks Cave (now on private land) has been extensively excavated and the findings indicate that the Great Orme has been home to civilisation since Palaeolithic Stone Age and later Neolithic Times.

Looking down over the slope you may be able to pick out the ridge and furrow lines. These are the remainders a much later civilisation - early medieval farming communities who ploughed the land here (700 -1000 AD).

At the road, turn left and continue past the cemetery to St Tudno's Church. To enter the churchyard and explore the church, take the second archway through the stone wall.

Back on the road, continue on past the church, and follow the way marker to the right, sign posted 'Ski Llandudno'. Continue along the path to a sign 'Ffynnon Powell'.

The churchyard is near the sea cliffs of the Great Orme which provide a great habitat for sea bird colonies of guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes cormorants, fulmars, herring gulls and choughs and it is possible to spot spiked speedwell, dark red helleborine, wild sea cabbage and wild cotoneaster.

St Tudno

Legend suggests that Tudno, a Welsh Christian Missionary arrived on the Orme in the 6th century to build a church. There are no remains of the original building, however the oldest part of St Tudno's Church dates back to the 12th century. Tudno was canonised for his good works promoting the Christian faith. Look out for the outdoor pulpit.

The route passes though an area of bracken as it leaves the road just past St Tudno's Church. Bracken is a great habitat for birds expect to see meadow pippets, stone chats and white throats - although these may be a little more difficult to spot.

The bracken creates the effect of a canopy - somewhat like a miniature woodland - underneath the bracken there are often violets. In late May and June it is possible to spot the dark green fritillary butterflies whose caterpillars feed on the violets.

Looking down towards the sea to the left of the bracken is an old reservoir. It was built in the 1860's to supply the increased demands of the growing town of Llanduno. The area around the reservoir is predominantly scrubland and provides a good habitat for kestrels, buzzards, peregrines and sparrow hawks.

Powell's Well is one of the many springs rising on the Orme, and never seems to dry up. A local story tells how one day the spring rose from nowhere. After a family dispute, the Powell family were in great need of water, and went to pray at St Tudno's church. On their return they found the spring!

Following the signs to the Ski Llandudno, continue along the path through Pink Farm through a number of gates. The path emerges into open land, and leads down some steps to the top of the ski slope.

After the farm, look to the right and notice a small area of limestone pavement. The limestone pavements of the Great Orme contribute to its designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Just before turning down towards the ski slope there is an area of limestone heathland. The limestone heathland of the Great Orme is of international importance and occupies approximately one quarter of the site.

Characteristic species of heathland are heather, bell heather and western gorse. Even though this is an area of species-poor heathland there may still be a chance to spot the local variant of the silver studded blue butterfly.

Management of the heathland by mowing or burning is thought to encourage the species-rich heath, although fire can be a danger to the local environment when fires started by members of the public are not controlled.

Look out for the herd of feral Kashmir mountain goats, which have grazed the headland since their introduction in the early 1900's.

Once at the top of the ski slope bear right, down along the path which runs behind the summit of the ski complex. You can make a short detour to Pen Dinas just past the ski slope car park on the left.

The path meets a road which continues until you reach the traffic lights at Blackgate. At the junction turn right and follow the tram tracks up the hill, then turn left into Tyn-y-Coed road. At the post box, cross the small green and follow the track to the left of the cottages; continue up the steps.

The area known as Blackgate, near to the traffic lights, is was where the road to the Great Orme was gated to prevent animals from straying into town.

Human history

The Great Orme is rich with human history throughout the ages. Alongside evidence of Neolithic and Iron Age activities, there is the opportunity to see the impact that modern man has made on the landscape.

'Llety'r Filiast', loosely translated as 'lair of the female greyhound', is the earliest known archeologically site on the Great Orme. It is a burial chamber used for collective burial during the Neolithic period between 3,500 and 2,500 BC. It is thought that the most important or prominent member of the community would have been buried here.

You can take a detour at this point to visit the Cromlech - at the top of the track turn right and then left into Cromlech Road, continue to the end of this dead end, climb over the stile and follow signs to the Cromlech. Retrace your footsteps, and turn left into Pyllau Road rejoining the main trail.

Pen-y-Dinas

Dating from 550 - 43 BC, Pen-y-Dinas is the site of an Iron Age hill fort, where there are the remains of at about 50 - 60 hut circles. The Iron Age people arrived in Britain from the Hallstatt region of the Alps in about 550 BC. The fort overlooks Llandudno and its position would have afforded the people natural defences in unsettled times.

At the top of the track turn right, then left into Pyllau Road, following Summit Trail signs. Go through the gate and continue to the Great Orme Mines complex. Return to Llandudno from the Summit tram station.

The copper mines on the Great Orme were first worked over 3,500 years ago. The complex is recognised as being the most extensive Bronze Age mine workings found so far in Western Europe.

In the Bronze Age, copper was the first metal to be used, although as a tool it didn't have any significant advantages over stone. Later on, the technique of combining copper and tin to produce the alloy bronze was developed. Due to its strength, bronze was used for making axes, swords and also more personal items such as jewellery and ornaments.

The nearest source for tin would have been Devon and Cornwall, and with much of Britain covered with trees, the tin would probably have been transported to the Great Orme by sea.

Bronze Age people led a more stationary life than those during the Stone Age, they farmed, hunted, fished and lived in circular huts. Evidence of a number of these huts can still be found on the Orme today.

Mining on the Great Orme seems to have declined after the Bronze Age and did not begin on any scale again until the 17th century. On resumption, mining operations concentrated on surface deposits, but as these were exhausted deeper mines were excavated.

By Victorian times techniques for mining had developed and vertical shafts and horizontal adits were created using gun powder enabling access to deeper veins of Malachite. Malachite is the ore from which copper is extracted. The mines fells into disuse again around the 1860s.

Today the mines can be visited by the public where it is possible to explore the underground passageways and old mine workings.

Bishops Quarry

On returning to the summit look out for Bishops Quarry on the left. The rock from here was used to build the old Bishop's Palace, which stood on the west of the headland, overlooking Conwy Bay and was built towards the end of the 13th century.

The Visitors Centre attached to the Summit tram station has an interactive exhibition about the history and wildlife of the Great Orme.

Thanks to Sally Pidcock, Great Orme Country Park Warden, and to Tom Parry, local historian - click here to read more about the history of Llandudno.

For more Historical and Nature Walks look out for the series of booklets published by Conwy Countryside Service.