The Great Orme If you're anything like me, when you live somewhere, you don't go anywhere there.. it's kinda like an unwritten rule. I lived in and around Birmingham for the best part of 34 years, and it would take visits from London friends for me to go to Cadbury world and the free museums. Since moving up to North Wales, I think I've only ever been up the Orme once, and that was for either New Year or Bonfire night.. I forget which! I'm pretty sure I went on it prior, as my sister lived up this way, and they took us for a mooch in and around there. I mean, i'm being a little unfair, as i've been to the likes of Conwy, Llanrwst and Angel bay a handful of times, but I've barely scratched the surface of North Wales.
Llandudno's fireworks from the Great Orme, I couldn't resist the chance to shoot fireworks from above.
So I figured it was time to jump on a train, which is another thing I haven't done since Birmingham.. well I have, but that was in Birmingham. I don't drive, but the great thing about Wales is that our train companies reached an agreement as we're governed by Labour, so they don't strike, but the bad thing is that we still have the knock on effect from England's strikes as they pretty much all cross boarders up here, so they still run like shit and cost the earth. And that's only going to go up, as I can't see owners digging in their own pockets, but I digress.
I braved the train and train prices one beautifully sunny Easter Friday (aka Easter Friday 2023), and made an effort to go on the cables cars, as I can't remember the last time I'd been on one.. I'm sure I have as a kid. The Great Orme cars lay claim to being the longest cable car journey in the UK, and probably have some of the best views too. You have a bit of everything up the Orme. The Irish Sea, fields, fauna, tramlines, dry ski slopes, a look over the bay, the pier and town, plus the odd paraglider! You do have to consider the cars as part of the adventure and as an attraction in themselves however, as talking of trains not being cheap, they're not either. I was thinking, maybe a fiver. In this day and age, probably seven quid to rock around in a hanging basket for 10 minutes, but no, £12.50, and £13 return - I think I would have preferred £7 each way and then walked down, so that's some savvy pricing, as I paid the extra 50p to get a little more footage.
So would I recommend it? Well I cover that a little in the below video, but it's mostly views n stuff, so here goes anyways.. sure! Again, however, it's only worth it if you view it as an experience rather than a means to simply get to the top. It gets pretty pricey for families, but they do do offers for two adults and two children. During Easter bank holiday (and I imagine in great weather), it was a good 45-minute wait, in part due to the fact you can only have two adults per car, so bare that in mind if you're doing it as a group of friends and were hoping to ride together.. and then you have single riders like me, there just for the experience and views without a stranger in tow, so it takes a while to get through people. It will also shut for high winds, so it can't guarantee your return journey if the wind picks up.
In terms of the Orme itself, there are mines, WWII bunkers and other attractions dotted around. Halfway up there's a snowsports centre.. minus the snow. You can also go up via a tramway, which I kinda fancied as well, and I think it's a bit cheaper too. Both the cars and the tram seemed quite popular, but unlike the cars, there's a station for the tram at a halfway point. Obviously, you can get far more people on a tram, but far less frequently as it's a single track. Maybe another day I'll do that and stick the GoPro out of the window, and possibly even have a go on the toboggan run too!
Apologies for the typos. I probably checked summit was two 'm's 8 times, and also toboggan.. and then just smashed out dry ski slop..
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