Great Orme Tramway

The Great Orme Tramway has run from Llandudno town to the summit of the Great Orme headland since 1902 using the same cable-hauled system, the same original wooden double-deck Edwardian cars, and substantially the same route. It is the only cable-hauled street tramway still operating in the United Kingdom. At 12 km/h up a 207-metre headland above the Irish Sea, it is slow, loud, and about as far from a theme park ride as it is possible to get while still being a tourist attraction.

The Journey

The climb runs in two sections: Victoria Station in town to Black Gate at the halfway point, then a second car from Black Gate to the summit. The whole journey takes about 20 minutes. On the open upper deck in good weather, you can watch Llandudno Bay extend below and Snowdonia appear to the south.

The tramway runs late March through October, roughly every 20 to 30 minutes. First departures are the quietest; summer weekend middays can have queues.

Return tickets are better value than one-way if you plan to walk down (the footpath descent from the summit takes 40 to 60 minutes on well-maintained paths with views across the bay and toward Anglesey). One-way up is practical if you want to walk the headland circuit.

The Summit

Wild Kashmir goats roam the headland, about 200 of them, descended from a herd given to Queen Victoria in 1837. They are confident around people and will investigate bags. The views north across the Irish Sea and south toward Snowdonia are the point of the climb.

The Great Orme Bronze Age Copper Mines, near the halfway point, are among the largest known prehistoric copper mines in the world, with tunnels and chambers dating to around 4,000 years ago still accessible on guided tours. A separate attraction from the tramway with its own entry fee; worth combining if time allows.

Llandudno

The tramway sits in one of the best-preserved Victorian seaside resorts in Britain. The main promenade and pier (the longest in Wales at 700 metres) run along the North Shore. Several Victorian hotels still operate. Bodysgallen Hall, a 17th-century country house hotel two miles south of town, is considered one of the better North Wales accommodation options.

Direct trains from Chester and Holyhead serve Llandudno station, 10 minutes’ walk from Victoria Station. Connections from Manchester take about 90 minutes.