motacyclist
Colin
Super Poster
Lifetime VIP Member
I've noticed nearly all the threads in this section are about cycling; nothing against that and I'm a keen(ish) cyclist myself, but I'm sure everyone who has a Cali goes walking so thought I would do a short post to hopefully get the ball rolling.
Many of our favourite walks are around the Great Orme and Llandudno area; it's not too far from where we live and whatever the weather there is usually somewhere suitable. The views are spectacular and the constantly changing weather and seasons make interesting variations in the scenery.
The Cali is an ideal companion for walking, it's somewhere to get changed (and dried!) and have a coffee while you warm up; so ours gets used for days out far more than we use it for camping in.
The walk around the Orme on the Marine Drive is not to be missed if you're ever in the area; today though the weather was too wild for that so we stayed on the more sheltered eastern side of the mountain.
We parked up near the ski slope in Happy Valley, this is reached by driving along the prom right to the end to the Grand Hotel near the pier and turning left up the narrow road opposite the hotel. Drive all the way to the top and park on the right through the gates just after the cattle grid at the top; there is a good view from here and it is sheltered enough to stop the wind pulling the doors off when you open them! Nearby is the chalet style bar/restaurant for the ski centre if you want refreshments or loos.
The whole of the Orme can be explored from here, there is a path to the left taking you to the summit or over to St Tudno's church and cross to the far side.
Too windy for that today, we headed up towards the hill fort overlooking the town taking the path through the wooded area up the hill behind where the picture above was taken. From here you get a good view of the ski slope and toboggan run.
Climb up to the hill fort and you get some spectacular views of the town, with the houses dotted on the lower parts of the Orme reminiscent (to me) of Switzerland.
We were beginning to feel the power of the wind up there today so didn't stick around at the top for too long. A short circular path brought us back near the cattle grid and car park from where we continued down the hill towards the Grand Hotel and the town. This passes through a park and opens out onto a grassy section with a Queen Victoria monument, stone circle, wood carvings and other interesting objects
The piece de resistance here, though, is the sight of Llandudno Pier stretching out into the bay!
Strange light conditions today with a rather moody sky!
From here it is a short walk down towards the prom and the town, passing the rather faded (and these days not so) Grand Hotel (still worth a visit for a breakfast or coffee overlooking the bay though). The town has a good selection of shops, some of which I ended up hanging around outside while Mrs went looking at handbags so won't go into more detail about them .... by the time I dragged her away it was going dark.
Walking back up, where the row of hotels on the left finish, there is a path just before you reach the Grand Hotel, this takes you up to a network of paths around and about the bottom cable car station and then come down to the little cafe by the grassy area with the Queen Victoria monument. There are some good views to be had from here.
So after a fairly strenuous walk back up the hill it was back to The Cali for a coffee and to decide where it's taking us tomorrow!
Many of our favourite walks are around the Great Orme and Llandudno area; it's not too far from where we live and whatever the weather there is usually somewhere suitable. The views are spectacular and the constantly changing weather and seasons make interesting variations in the scenery.
The Cali is an ideal companion for walking, it's somewhere to get changed (and dried!) and have a coffee while you warm up; so ours gets used for days out far more than we use it for camping in.
The walk around the Orme on the Marine Drive is not to be missed if you're ever in the area; today though the weather was too wild for that so we stayed on the more sheltered eastern side of the mountain.
We parked up near the ski slope in Happy Valley, this is reached by driving along the prom right to the end to the Grand Hotel near the pier and turning left up the narrow road opposite the hotel. Drive all the way to the top and park on the right through the gates just after the cattle grid at the top; there is a good view from here and it is sheltered enough to stop the wind pulling the doors off when you open them! Nearby is the chalet style bar/restaurant for the ski centre if you want refreshments or loos.
The whole of the Orme can be explored from here, there is a path to the left taking you to the summit or over to St Tudno's church and cross to the far side.
Too windy for that today, we headed up towards the hill fort overlooking the town taking the path through the wooded area up the hill behind where the picture above was taken. From here you get a good view of the ski slope and toboggan run.
Climb up to the hill fort and you get some spectacular views of the town, with the houses dotted on the lower parts of the Orme reminiscent (to me) of Switzerland.
We were beginning to feel the power of the wind up there today so didn't stick around at the top for too long. A short circular path brought us back near the cattle grid and car park from where we continued down the hill towards the Grand Hotel and the town. This passes through a park and opens out onto a grassy section with a Queen Victoria monument, stone circle, wood carvings and other interesting objects
The piece de resistance here, though, is the sight of Llandudno Pier stretching out into the bay!
Strange light conditions today with a rather moody sky!
From here it is a short walk down towards the prom and the town, passing the rather faded (and these days not so) Grand Hotel (still worth a visit for a breakfast or coffee overlooking the bay though). The town has a good selection of shops, some of which I ended up hanging around outside while Mrs went looking at handbags so won't go into more detail about them .... by the time I dragged her away it was going dark.
Walking back up, where the row of hotels on the left finish, there is a path just before you reach the Grand Hotel, this takes you up to a network of paths around and about the bottom cable car station and then come down to the little cafe by the grassy area with the Queen Victoria monument. There are some good views to be had from here.
So after a fairly strenuous walk back up the hill it was back to The Cali for a coffee and to decide where it's taking us tomorrow!
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