The September coach trip will be to the large limestone headland that is the Great Orme,
overlooking the little seaside town of Llandudno in North Wales. The natural history around the Orme is very special – it has an impressive number of protective designations including Special Area of Conservation, Heritage Coast, Country Park and Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is famous for
its Kashmiri goats – direct descendants of a pair presented to Queen Victoria by the Shah of Persia.
The Orme is rich in flora and fauna – too many to mention, suffice to say that on the recce in mid-August we saw choughs, stone chats, plus many species of butterflies and wild flowers that had us scratching our heads. Whilst not all of these will still be around in the middle of September, we did see many early parasol mushrooms just nudging up out of the soil – so expect fungi as well.
On the day there will be a few walk options. Weather permitting, the main walk will be to the old abandoned Gun Battery overlooking the sea and surrounded by gorse, heather, bracken and all manner of flora. This walk starts off with a short upward climb and involves a few steps but is relatively level. It will be about 4 miles long, with an option to add another mile at the end should you wish to take a return detour to the lovely Haulfre Tea Rooms that overlook the town. The second option, which will be self-lead, would be to ascend the Orme by the tram and then wander around the reserve on the summit. The tram costs £11 return and runs every 20 minutes. The tram terminal is a short walk from the coach drop off. You can also take one of the paths and walk up to the top of the Gt Orme yourself. And lastly if you just want a very easy walk, you can stroll the opposite way to the Great Orme, along the water edge of Conway Bay to a headland. Although we didn’t reccy this walk, we did see lots of interesting plants at the edge of the beach and a café halfway along. More information on these walk options will be provided on the day.
The trip is open to members as well as friends and family. The coach will leave Manchester Road
cul-de-sac, Rochdale OL11 4HY at 9-00 a.m. prompt and will set off on its return journey at 5 p.m.
The cost is still £20. Contact rfnspublicity@gmail.com with any queries. Please pay your £20
beforehand by bank transfer: Sort code 05-07-67 Account number 60931963 and use your name
as reference. Then email rfnspublicity@gmail.com to book your place on the coach by 8
th Sept.
Please note that your place is not reserved until you receive a reply to that email. Cheques
should be made payable to “Rochdale Field Naturalists’ Society”.