Meet Daisy
We’d like to introduce the wonderful Daisy and her Mum who had sent us her amazing photo’s of their walk around the Orme. We had to ask her to write a dog friendly walks post about it. I’m sure Pedro will be excited to try it, though Bert doesn’t care for hills (or walking) ….
After a fun swimming session with Gwenan noticed that Daisy had a weakness in her hindlimbs. Luckily this isn’t causing Daisy a problem at present but if not corrected could do so in the future. Gwenan suggested we do some hill walking rather than just on the flat so although we love our beach walks this is something I needed to address straight away so where better locally than The Orme.
What an eye opener we’ve had as although we’ve lived here for many years we really haven’t explored the Orme. To do a full review would take way too long as already over the last couple of weeks or so we’ve had so many adventures as the paths and footways really are endless. Most days we start from either Deganwy or West Shore with a run and play on the beach and then begin our Orme walk through the gate by the Old Toll House where you can walk along to Haulfre Gardens, there are plenty of benches along the way to rest and enjoy the stunning views. Keep an eye out for the zig zag path, it is a challenging one and we often see the Kashmiri goats in this area. It really is worth the effort and gives you a great sense of achievement when you reach the top. Then either carry on climbing or enjoy the views and head back down to the main path and through the green gate towards the tearoom. At Haulfre Gardens if you take the zig zag paths with the green handrails and then keep heading up and to the right, you may come across the Great Orme Family Golf. Daisy’s preferred route however is to take the first path to the left where we’ve found so many ways to then head up the Orme, sometimes climbing quite steeply so a decent pair of walking shoes really are needed. From here you can stay to the right and have a short walk and then head back down to the Haulfre Gardens area or simply keep climbing along the various paths to the summit which we love to do. We’ve yet to then head left and explore further towards the great expanse ahead of us but we definitely will be in future.
We are always mindful of the Orme’s very special Kashmiri goats and also of the sheep, and that we are visitors to their home so I always keep Daisy on her lead and we always give them the right of way.
After exploring the summit and enjoying the breathtaking views our favourite route is then to head towards the ski slope and to Happy Valley. There are just so many ways you can do this and it really is going to take us a lot more exploring to even to begin to cover them all. The scenery is just stunning and there are vast expanses of grass that look like freshly laid carpet, I can’t tell you the fun we’re having and I’m sure it’s doing my legs the world of good as well as Daisy’s. From here we often go and have a walk along the pier and then head back towards home through Haulfre Gardens.
There are so many ways to explore the Orme from walking, driving or taking the bus to the summit or a lovely drive along Marine Drive, but please remember you will need to pay a toll fee. There are also the cable car and dog friendly tram when they are running, as with everything on the Orme are seasonal, so please check the opening hours before leaving if you want to use any of them. We’ve also had many lovely walks around the Happy Valley area which can be as easy or as difficult as you wish to make them by staying on the main path or just exploring off-track. Above Happy Valley is the ski slope and toboggan run and if you take the path to the right you’re well on your way to the summit.
There are so many things to see and do on the Orme as well as enjoying a lovely walk, such as visiting the Copper Mines which are dog friendly and definitely on my list to visit with Daisy, as well as the Iron Age Fort and St Tudnos Church. At the summit there’s a childrens playground and also mini golf for all to enjoy as well as the gift shop, visitors centre, ice cream kiosk and of course the cafe and restaurant.
Whichever way you may decide to walk up the Orme it is very steep in places so please bear this in mind but if you drive, take the tram, bus or cable car (not dog friendly!) you can still have an easier stroll at the summit.
There are so many places that you can stop for a picnic, drink, ice cream or a snack. The Haulfre Garden Tea Rooms and Parisella’s Cafeteria don’t let dogs inside but they are very welcome outside. The Summit Cafe, Rest and Be Thankful on Marine Drive, The Kings Head Pub and Fish Tram Chips all welcome dogs inside as do The Alpine Lodge at the Ski Slope. The ski slope staff are so dog friendly and are always happy to look after Daisy so I can use the toilet. She has particularly made friends with Ffion as you can see from the photo above Daisy couldn’t be happier helping her out on reception. Today we grabbed the opportunity of a wonderful February day and had a brilliant 7 hours exploring all along the north expanse of The Orme with my friend Emma and her dog Shaun.
Shaun & Daisy
We’ve already been on some enjoyable Orme walks with Emma and Shaun which have been so much fun and seen places we wouldn’t of ventured to because they really do know the Orme inside out. Today however we weren’t on a time limit so we ventured further than we had with them before and even found a path Emma and Shaun hadn’t walked before. This was much to Shaun’s delight because he’s very much the adventurer which is why he and Daisy get on so well. We stood mesmerised for several minutes watching the seals from high above as they swam in the sea below us which is always such a privilege. At the end of a wonderful day we finished our walk with a stroll around the walls of the summit farm before heading into town for a well earned coffee and of course some treats for the dogs. We headed home happily knowing that Daisy and Shaun would sleep soundly dreaming of their next adventure exploring the Orme.
This really is just a fraction of the options there are to enjoy the Orme and whatever your time availability you can have a wonderful walk with so much variety.
From both myself and Daisy there is no other option than a really big high five paws out of five and we’re looking forward to many more happy times exploring all that the Orme has to offer.
