Great Orme Circuit

Description

(D/A) From the road in front of the guesthouse, turn right and walk to the roundabout. Bear right into Church Walks. Cross Ty-Gwyn Road and Tan-yr-Ogof Road and continue past the tram station. Turn right up Bodlondeb Hill.

(1) At the top, turn left along Cwlach Street (one-way). When the road divides, take the upper, righthand fork (Cwlach Road), with a no-through road sign. At the end of the road, ignore the footpath to the left of the gateposts and instead follow the driveway up into Haulfre Gardens. Pass the Haulfre Tearooms and adjoining cottage, then take the lower (left-hand) of the two paths, then the upper (right-hand) path by the Tweedledum and Tweedledee statues. Follow the path along a terrace past a long line of benches and a pergola. Go through a gate onto the open hillside and continue along a level path (look out on the cliffs above for the famous Orme goats). Stay on the main path, passing a couple of shelters partway along.

(2) At the end of the cliff the path descends, via a zig-zag with a few steps, to the road at the Old Toll House. Just before the Old Toll House, take a path on the right with a sign reading “Warning Dangerous Cliffs” (the path isn’t actually particularly dangerous – all drops are fenced off – but it is a little rocky in places). Follow the path as it climbs behind the building and across the steep slopes above the Marine Drive, with occasional interruptions as it crosses rocky ribs. The path eventually drops down some steps and shortly afterwards runs along a garden wall before reaching the end of a driveway.

(3) Walk down the driveway to join the Marine Drive. Turn right. Follow the road past the no-entry signs, ignoring the turning on the left. The road climbs steadily above the level area known as the Gunsite, then levels off and starts to descend as you round the end of the peninsula. Pass Ffynnon Gaseg (the Mare’s Well), then the Rest and Be Thankful café and the lighthouse.

(4) A mile further on, pass the turning to the Summit, continuing along the Marine Drive below the cliffs. Pass above Pigeon’s Cave (where there is a path down to a viewing point from the famous overhang) and around the headland of Pen-trwyn. The pier comes into view and after a further half-mile you pass the impressive overhang and rock pillars known to climbers as Parisella’s Caves on the right. Shortly afterwards, you pass the toll house and the bottom of the Happy Valley gardens and it is a short walk from here past the Grand Hotel and back to The View.(D/A)