GREAT ORME TRAMWAY
Llandudno Resort Historic Cable Car
Llandudno is Wales' largest beach resort town, known as the “Queen
of Welsh Resorts” since coming of age the days of Queen Victoria as
early as 1864, situated between town rising juts of ground called the Great
and Little Ormes, with two long stretches of beach, the North Shore and the
quiet, sand duned West Shore. During the Victorian era, roads on the Great
Orme were still rugged and the steep slopes prevented all but the most sure
of foot from reaching the summit. As Llandudno quickly grew in popularity
as a tourist resort, local businesses hatched the idea of a public cable
tramway.
The Great Orme Tramway first began carrying passengers up the steep slope
from the Victorian seaside resort of Llandudno to the top of the Orme Peninsula
since 1902. An engineering marvel of its time, the Orme Tram is still the
only cable hauled tram operating on public roads in England, the others to
be found in purpose built transport museums like Crich in the Peak District
(see Crich
Tramway Museum) and East Anglia.
The sparkling blue and gold restored cars of the Great Orme Tramway, each
named after a saint, carry passengers up the longest funicular track in the
United Kingdom to the summit of the Great Orme where footpaths through the
park allow spectacular views when the weather is clear from the Snowdonia
Mountains to Angelsey. At the Halfway Tram Station where changing trams is
necessary to reach the summit, a small exhibition explores the history of
the engineering and construction of the tramway. The ride continues to the
Summit Complex with a restaurant and shop. Trails lead through the parklands
from the summit station to the Iron Age Fort and remnants of the Stone Age
through fields of flowers and butterflies in the spring. The tramway takes
visitors to the famous Bronze Age Copper Mines of Great Orme with its underground
tour through rock passages down into a mine where early man 4,000 years old.
It was only in 1987 archaeologists discovered the network of tunnels deep
into the earth where early man dug copper from the stone schist with bare
hands from a deep natural cave. You can take an underground tour and watch
current archaeological excavations and see how prehistoric craftsmen smelted
rock into metal. The halfway station of the tram is closest to the Cooper
Mines entrance, otherwise a longish stroll down to the mines from the summit.
Part way up a twisting path leading from the Marine Drive to St Tudno’s
Church, The Old Rectory Tea Gardens once known as the Dolfechan Farm is an
attractive cafe for a teas stop among the lush gardens and colorful flower
beds.A round trip ticket to ride the Great Orme Tramway is £5:40 for adults (£4 one way) and £3.70 for kids 3-16 Family tickets are available. The tram cable cars run every 20 minutes every day from late March to the end of October, from 10am to 6pm April to September, 5pm is the last tram in March and October. The last return trip is an hour before the closing time, otherwise you’ll have to walk down or catch the aerial cable to the pier. © Bargain Travel Europe
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Great Orme Tramway
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SEE ALSO:
HOME FRONT WWII MUSEUM - LLANDUDNO
ST DEINIOL’S LIBRARY - GLADSTONE'S LEGACY
HARLECH
CASTLE ON WALES COAST
BEAUMARIS
CASTLE & OLD TOWN
STEAM HERITAGE RAILWAYS - PORTHMADOG
