The Little Orme ( cy, Rhiwledyn, also known as Trwyn y Fuwch, Trwyn y Gogarth and Y Gogarth Fach) is in height, and is a

HuMP The mountains and hills of the British Isles are categorised into various lists based on different combinations of elevation, prominence, and other criteria such as isolation. These lists are used for peak bagging, whereby hillwalkers attempt ...

(having a minimum Hundred Metre Prominence). It is one of two headlands situated at either end of Llandudno Bay, in

Conwy County Borough Conwy County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy) is a county borough in Wales. It borders Gwynedd to the west and south, and Denbighshire to the east. Other settlements in the county borough include Abergele, Betws-y-Coed, Colwyn Bay, Conwy ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The other, larger, headland is the

Great Orme The Great Orme ( cy, Y Gogarth) is a limestone headland on the north coast of Wales, north-west of the town of Llandudno. Referred to as ''Cyngreawdr Fynydd'' by the 12th-century poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr, its English name derives from the Old N ...

. It has two summits, the higher with a

trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

Uses

Unlike the Great Orme, the Little Orme has not been developed for

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

mining or

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

. There has been

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

ing since the mid-19th century on the

Penrhyn Bay Penrhyn Bay ( cy, Bae Penrhyn "headland bay") is a small town on the northern coast of Wales, in Conwy county borough, within the parish or community of Llandudno, and part of the ''ecclesiastical'' parish of Llanrhos. It is a prosperous villag ...

side, where the Little Ormes Head Quarry tramway was situated. It was centred on Porth Dyniewyd and served by its own narrow gauge railway, but quarrying ceased in 1936. There is some farming on the lower slopes. The cliffs are a popular challenge for highly experienced

rock climbers Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically an ...

. The Coast Guard Rescue Unit use the Little Orme for training. Otherwise, it is a popular sightseeing location and walking/hiking site.

Ecology and environment

Parts of the Little Orme (notably the NWWT's Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve) are a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The North Wales Bird Trust is located on its lower slopes, and the Little Orme is a warden-patrolled sanctuary for

sea bird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

s. Bird viewing around the cliffs can be facilitated by trips using small boats. Seals can be seen at what is locally called Angel Bay. The

North Wales Path The North Wales Path ( cy, Llwybr y Gogledd) is a long-distance walk of some that runs close to the coast of northern Wales between Prestatyn in the east and Bangor in the west. Parts of it overlap with the Wales Coast Path. The path runs alo ...

runs across the Little Orme, using the several

public footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

s on its summit.

History

The Little Orme was inhabited during the Mesolithic and

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

eras, notably the ''Pant y Wennol'' cave. A small hoard of

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

Celtic metalwork was found in a cave on the Little Orme. The medieval chapel of Blessed Mary of Penrhyn, abandoned in 1930 and now in ruins, is at the foot of the Little Orme in the grounds of Penrhyn Hall at Penrhyn Bay. On 14 April 1587, printing material for

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

literature was found in a cave on the Little Orme, where it had been used by the recusant Robert Pugh (squire of Penrhyn Hall) and his Chaplain Father William Davies to print ''

Y Drych Cristianogawl ''Y Drych Cristianogawl'' ( cy, Y Drych Cristnogol, The Christian Mirror) is a Welsh publication from the 16th century and the first book to have been printed in Wales. Whilst ''Y Drych Cristianogawl'' was not the first book to be printed in Welsh ...

'' (''The Christian Mirror''), the first book to be printed in Wales. They had taken refuge there during the persecution of Catholics instigated by

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

in May 1586. The

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

coastal gunnery school, 198 battery, was posted to Little Orme during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Target practice was undertaken from the headland to anchored boats, and unspent ammunition and unexploded shells may still be encountered offshore. Gun emplacements and ancillary buildings were in situ until at least the early 1960s, but the site has since been 'landscaped'.

References

*Ivor Wynne Jones. ''Llandudno Queen of Welsh Resorts'' Landmark, Ashbourne Derbyshire 2002 {{ISBN, 1-84306-048-5

External links

North Wales Wildlife Trust: Rhiwledyn
(nature reserve official WWW page)
www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Little Orme and surrounding area
Llandudno Birdwatching sites in Wales Headlands of Conwy County Borough