Helo Wales! 4: Llandudno - Great Orme

This extremely beautiful scenery was waiting for us at the summit of the Great Orme! The Great Orme is an over-350 million-year-old massive limestone headland on the north-west of the town of Llandudno, rising 207m/679ft straight out of the sea. Its name means "sea monster," giving by Vikings. Breakfast at B&B fully charged us; we were ready to go for the summit!

We went though a lovely garden called Happy Valley, a sheltered hollow on the eastern side of the Great Orme. There was a sign for the summit here and there in the garden. We followed them, taking steps and slopes leading us higher and higher.

So many cute yellow buttercup flowers were blooming! There were also several other kinds of flowers - purple, white, pink brightening our way up. I could forget that my legs have already got so tired by seeing them.

We arrived at a pretty high stop overlooking the beach and the sea although that wasn't the summit. The summit was located at the almost center of the headland. We kept walking for the summit, enjoying every step in the wide open natural field.

Look, sheep over there! It looked like that almost a half of the Great Orme was actually pasture for sheep. It was a simply peaceful view.

Finally we arrived at the summit! We had a cup of tea at a cafe there. It was a lovely tea time after a very good walk.

We took a different way to go down to the town. While we were walking down, we saw sheep again over there..., correction, goats! Apparently a wild herd of Kashmiri goats roams the Great Orme. They had a long hair and some had a pair of impressive long horns. According to wiki, "the headland is also home to about 200 Kashmir goats. The herd, which has roamed the Orme since the middle of the 19th century, is descended from a pair of goats that were presented by the Shah of Persia to Queen Victoria shortly after her coronation in 1837." Interesting! Luckily we didn't miss seeing the Great Orme's famous goats on our way back to the town.

The return way was shorter but there was a series of steep slopes on where the Great Orme tramway runs between the town and the summit. Anyway, we got to the town safely and it was time for lunch.

J chose a cafe/restaurant called Lawton's Grill. I ordered Welsh cheese and onion sausage with onion gravy. I wasn't sure what would be exactly. Actually the dish was pretty good. The vegetarian sausages reminded me of Japanese creamy croquette.

J had half roasted duck with Madeira sauce. It seemed that he enjoyed his bird as well as cheesy cauliflowers that was served separately as a side.

I liked my side veggies, too. The portion was generous! It was a very nice lunch. Another great choice, J!!

We strolled on the Llandudno pier, which was supposed to be the longest pier in Wales and watched part of the traditional Codman's "Punch and Judy" show that was located next to the pier on the Promenade. It is said that the Codman family have been performing on Llandudno promenade since 1864.

It was time for afternoon tea. We just popped into a tea room near by. We shared lemon drizzle cake and coffee and walnut cake. They were alright and nicely satisfied my desire for sweets.

To be continued...