Miss Mostyn reaches the Great Orme Summit for views, weather, facilities and a little necessary judgement.

The Great Orme Summit is the obvious high point above Llandudno, and obvious things are sometimes still worth doing. One reaches it by tramway, cable car, car, bus or foot, depending on stamina and self-image.

At 207 metres (679 feet), the summit gives views across the Irish Sea, Anglesey, the Conwy estuary, the mountains of Eryri to the south and the whole crescent of Llandudno Bay below. On exceptionally clear days, the Isle of Man is visible from this point, which is either remarkable or unremarkable depending on your attitude to the Irish Sea.

In clear weather, the views are splendidly corrective: Llandudno below, the bay curved neatly, Anglesey beyond, Conwy nearby and the mountains arranged inland like a more serious conversation.

The summit area itself is practical rather than poetic. There are facilities (a cafe, a visitor centre, a car park) and the feel of a long-established attraction that has seen generations arrive overdressed, underprepared or both.

The transmitter masts on the summit are a functional reminder that the headland’s height has been exploited for communications purposes as well as tourism. They do not improve the skyline but they do confirm that the location is useful to more than one industry.

Do not judge the summit only by the building or car park. That would be like judging a family by the uncle who speaks first.

Walk a little away from the busiest spot and look in several directions. To the west is the full extent of the headland dropping to the sea, with Marine Drive visible below. To the north, open Irish Sea. To the east, the town and the bay, with the pier pointing out from the promenade and the Little Orme closing the crescent.

The summit is best used as a starting point, not merely a trophy. Arrive, look properly, then wander. Llandudno has always rewarded those who know when to leave the crowd.

In poor weather, the summit can be in cloud while the town below is clear. This combination (a sunny promenade and an invisible summit) is one of the more frequently photographed meteorological conditions in Llandudno and explains several disappointed cable car conversations.

The summit has been a destination for visitors since the tramway opened in 1902 and before it by road. Generations of visitors have stood here and looked back at the town below. One cannot improve on the instinct, only on the decision about where to stand.