The Great Orme The Great Orme is composed of limestone rock which formed between 300 and 350 million years ago, when much of North Wales was under shallow sea. It was the Carboniferous Period, when rocks were formed from the skeletons and shells of creatures living at that time.

The name "Orme" is believed to be deriven from the Old Norse word "Horma Hava", meaning dragon or sea monster. The name believed to originate from the look of the Orme, as from a distance it looks like a monster rising from the sea. Even today, the Orme is affectionately known as "The Alligator" or "The Crocodile", due to it's appearance.

Archaeological finds on the Great Orme indicate that the headland was used by man at least as early as the Stone Age and there are more than 100 sites of archaeological and historical interests today. Arguably the most important development in early Llandudno was during the bronze age,

The limestone pavements of the Great Orme contribute to its designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The Great Orme is rich and varied in its terrain and wildlife and run as a nature reserve, with a number of protective designations.

The cable car and the Great Orme Tramway convey visitors to the summit of the Great Orme, past one of only two artificial ski slopes in North Wales, complete with one of the longest toboggans run in the UK.

Around the lower slopes of the Orme are landscaped gardens in the Happy Valley and terraces in the Haulfre Garden. Invalid walks link the Haulfre Gardens with the western end of the Marin Drive. The Marine Drive toll road around the coastal perimeter of the Orme leads also to St. Tudno's Church, the Bronze Age Mine and to the Great Orme Summit with car park.

Among the Summit attractions are a licensed hotel and cafeteria, a visitors' centre, a tourist shop, and a play area for young children. At the top of the Great Orme, the Summit Complexe a nine bedroom hotel which adjoined an 18 hole golf course. The RAF requisitioned the hotel in 1941 and it became a temporary radar station. In 1952, a champion middleweight boxer named Randolph Turpin became the resident licensee until 1961.