Nature thrives on the Great Orme

Llandudno's Great Orme is home to some species not found anywhere else

The Great Orme is many things to many people. Somewhere to live, farm, ski and stroll. But it's also a country park, formed to protect some rare species which only thrive on this limestone headland.

Llandudno's most famous landmark rose out of the sea 350 million years ago, formed from the crushed bodies of countless prehistoric sea creatures.

"When they died, their bodies fell to the bottom of the ocean and the hard parts - the skeletons and shells - got squashed together and formed the limestone rock," said Orme warden Sally Davies.

"The limestone rock built up layer upon layer, then parts of it faulted as tectonic plates moved and so that's why it's the shape it is now.

"When the windy weather up here exposes bare rock, the fossils come to the surface and you can see imprints of those creatures."

The fossils can mostly be found in Bishop's Quarry, just below the summit complex. If you come across Polo mint-shapes in the rock, it's a crinoid; a prehistoric plant. A shell-shaped imprint on the rock signifies a family of ancient sea animals known as brachiopods.

"As everything on the Orme is protected, you can't take anything away," Sally reminds us. "But they are amazing to look at and think of things which lived so long ago."

One of Sally's favourite walks is through the heathland on the western side of the Orme.

"It looks lovely, especially in late summer or early autumn when the gorse and heather are in flower. The purple and gold effect across the headland is beautiful."

The rare cotoneaster cambricus, whose locations on the Orme are a closely-guarded secret

Surrounded by sea or marshland, the Great Orme has become home to some rare plants because the headland acts like an island.

"This is the only place in the UK you can find the native cotoneaster," said Sally.

"There are about 35 native cotoneaster on the Orme; some are original and some have been planted out from seed.

"Their biggest threat is the non-native variety which people grow in their gardens. They grow quickly and are very hardy and good at competing against the more fragile, delicate native plant."

The location of the native plants is kept top-secret, but you can view them in the summit wildflower garden.

The silver-studded blue butterfly is also a species made rare by the Orme's relative isolation.

The Great Orme is dotted with caves with some very interesting names.

"Elephant's cave, by Happy Valley, is being monitored for bats," said Sally. "It's not really cave-like, but does look like it's the gap between an elephant's legs."

There's also Pigeon's Cave at Pen Trwyn, the part of the Orme which protrudes into the sea.

"We don't encourage people to climb down there because it's dangerous," said Sally. "But if you go safely with people who know what they're doing, it is interesting to see the Orme from a different perspective.

"There are places where the goats go to hide, and beaches which are often home to seals who lay out in the summer for a rest or to give birth. You might also see porpoises or dolphins further out to sea."

If you've visited the Great Orme, you may have also noticed the words and symbols spelt out in stone beneath the path of the cable cars.

You can learn more about the Great Orme's history and environment in the park's interactive visitor centre.

"We've got a camera which you can use to look at the sea birds on the cliffs," said Sally. "That's best in the spring. We've also got an aquarium which shows what you might find in the rock pools around the Orme. We often take children down to explore the pools underneath the pier.

"We're trying to get across the importance of nature, wildlife and history in a place where people have lived and worked for thousands of years.

During the Bronze Age, they mined on the Orme and during the Iron Age there was farming up here and the people would use reeds from the marshland below to build their roofs.

"Even before that, they built Stone Age burial chambers called a cromlech."

In helping to manage the country park, Sally sees her job as one of preserving and protecting its diverse environment so everyone can continue to enjoy it.