|
The town's award winning pier is on the North Shore. It was built in 1878, and is 1,234 feet (376 m) in length and a Grade II listed building.
Looking back towards the town from the end of the pier, on a clear day one can see the mountains of Snowdonia rising over the town. A curious major extension of the pier in 1884 was in a landwards direction along the side of what was the Baths Hotel (now where the Grand Hotel stands) to provide a new entrance with a pier pavilion theatre at the North Parade end of the promenade, thus increasing the pier's length to 2,295 feet (700 m).
The great limestone headland of the Great Orme has many attractions for the tourist including the Great Orme Tramway that takes tourists effortlessly to the summit.
The Happy Valley, a former quarry, was the gift of Lord Mostyn to the town in celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. The area was landscaped and developed as gardens, two miniature golf courses, a putting green, a popular open air theatre and extensive lawns. The ceremonies connected with the Welsh National Eisteddfod were held there in 1896 and again in 1963.
The first route round the perimeter of the Great Orme was a footpath constructed in 1858 by Reginald Cust a Trustee of the Mostyn Estate. In 1872 the Great Ormes Head Marine Drive Co. Ltd. was formed to turn the path into a carriage road.
The four mile (6 km) drive (it is one way only) starts at the foot of the Happy Valley and is a pleasant drive or an excellent walk. After about one and a half miles, a side road leads to St. Tudno's Church, the Great Orme Bronze Age Copper Mine, and the Summit of the Great Orme. But, continuing on the Marine Drive one passes the Great Orme Lighthouse (no longer operational) and at the half way point the 'Rest and be thankful' Café is very popular with both walkers and motorists.
|
