Little Orme

This short walk from Penrhyn Bay makes a circuit around Little Orme, including old limestone quarries, part of the Wales Coast Path and an optional summit bid. Seals might be hauled out at Porth Diniewaid, or Angel Bay. In spring and summer the Rhiwledyn nature reserve features colourful wildflowers.

Route detail

Distance: 2.5 miles or 4 kilometres
Start location: Penrhyn Bay Roundabout
Start Grid Ref: SH 81728 81624
Start What 3 Words: wishes.elder.loops

Transport to the start

Parking
Limited parking at Penrhyn Bay.

Bus
Daily bus services to Penrhyn Bay from Llandudno, Colwyn Bay and Rhyl.

Train
None, but the nearby stations of Colwyn Bay and Llandudno are only a short bus-ride away.

Map and GPX link

The circular route is marked in dark pink in the map image below. The purple flags show the start and finish point. View the route online and download GPX link 'Little Orme'

Detailed route description

1. Start at the big roundabout at Penrhyn Bay, where the busy dual carriageway B5115 road runs to nearby Llandudno. Start on the same side of the roundabout as the Co-op supermarket, and follow the pavement past the Conwy Valley Windows and Conservatories displays. Start walking uphill alongside the busy road, but quickly turn right along a dirt road. This is marked as private but is also signposted as a public footpath. There are houses to the right and a wooded slope to the left rising to Mynydd Pengarrig. The road surface changes to tarmac, passing between houses, then it ends abruptly.

2. Go through a kissing gate and follow a narrow path flanked by bushes and brambles, quickly joining a broad tarmac path. Follow this straight ahead through an area where limestone has been quarried but the land is now reverting to nature. The path rises gently, reaching a junction where the Wales Coast Path is joined. It comes up a flight of concrete steps from a housing estate in Penrhyn Bay.

3. Continue straight ahead and the path bends left, with the tarmac giving way to a gravel path. A marker post indicates where the Wales Coast Path turns left at a junction, later reaching an old signpost where another left turn is indicated. However, feel free to continue straight ahead to reach a noticeboard at Porth Diniewaid, or Angel Bay, retracing steps afterwards. The beach far below is a resting place for seals, so please observe them quietly without causing any disturbance.

4. From the old signpost, the Wales Coast Path climbs a steep, grassy path that was once an incline where trucks were hauled up and down on rails. Go through a kissing gate on top to see the remains of the winding gear in an old quarry. Turn left and follow the path through bushes, turning right as marked up a few stone steps. Keep climbing and go up a few more stone steps, then turn left as marked away from the quarry edge. The path rises between bushes, then runs downhill, passing through a path intersection as marked. Walk down between more bushes, reaching a kissing gate where there is an option to visit the summit of Little Orme.

5. To visit the summit, don’t go through the kissing gate, but keep right and follow a lightly trodden grassy path that winds as it climbs to avoid rocky outcrops. This leads to the summit trig point on Little Orme, but keep a careful watch on the line of the path as steps need to be retraced afterwards. Views stretch from Colwyn Bay and the Clwydian Range to the Carneddau, Anglesey, Llandudno and Great Orme. On clear days it might be possible to spot the Isle of Man, Cumbria and Lancashire. Walk back down to the kissing gate and go through it to continue downhill.

6. A noticeboard explains about the Rhiwledyn nature reserve and one of the highlights is a steep slope that bears wildflowers in spring and summer. The path runs through bushes, then makes a steep descent on an open slope until a kissing gate gives access to the busy B5115 road. The Wales Coast Path turns right to follow the road down to Llandudno, but our route turns left instead. Walk along the pavement beside the main road, turning left again along a narrow tarmac road marked as a private drive to Ty Ucha. Squeeze past the house and walk down a path flanked by bushes. Go through a kissing gate at the bottom and land on a tarmac road that was followed earlier in the day. Turn right to follow a dirt road back to the busy B5115 road, turning left to finish back at the big roundabout at Penrhyn Bay.