Coastal walks from Llandudno on the Wales Coast Path

Hero photo © Chris Gorringe, CC BY-SA 2.0

The Wales Coast Path

Coastal Walks
in Llandudno.

The world’s first footpath to follow an entire country’s coastline passes through Llandudno — and The Rosedene sits just minutes from the route.

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870 Miles of Coastline.
5 Minutes from Our Door.

Opened in 2012, the Wales Coast Path (Llwybr Arfordir Cymru) was the world's first long-distance footpath to follow an entire country's coastline — all 870 miles of it, from Chepstow in the south to Queensferry in the north.

From The Rosedene, the coast path is five minutes on foot. From there you can walk in either direction: westward around the Great Orme via Marine Drive, or eastward along the North Shore promenade toward the Little Orme and Colwyn Bay. The path here is almost entirely flat, well-surfaced and accessible.

That flatness is the point. Coastal walking here asks nothing of you in the way the Eryri mountains do — no ascent to speak of, no navigation, no weather window to wait for. It is the walking you do on the first morning while you find your feet, and again on the last day when your legs have had enough of the Great Orme.

870miles of coast path
5min to the seafront
2miles of promenade
200seals at Angel Bay
The Routes

Coastal Walks from Llandudno

Four walks, from a forty-five minute promenade stroll to a full eight-mile day finishing at a World Heritage castle. Every one of them starts within ten minutes of the front door, and none of them needs a car.

The Classic

Llandudno Promenade

2 miles 45 min Easy / Flat Step-free

Llandudno’s Victorian promenade runs for approximately 2 miles along the curving North Shore — from the pier in the west to the paddling pool and beach huts at Craigside in the east. Wide, flat, fully accessible and endlessly satisfying.

Highlights include Llandudno Pier — Wales’ longest at 2,295 feet, Grade II listed, opened 1877, home to the Codman Punch & Judy show that has performed here since 1860 — Venue Cymru, the Cenotaph and the elegant row of pastel-painted Victorian hotels (planning rules require pastels throughout).

Walk it early and you get the bay to yourself, the light low across the water and the Little Orme catching the sun at the far end. Walk it at dusk in summer and the whole sweep is lit. It is the same two miles either way and somehow a completely different walk.

Quieter & Contemplative

West Shore Walk

4 mi return 1.5 hrs Easy

West Shore is Llandudno’s quieter, more contemplative twin — a sandy estuary beach on the Conwy side of the headland, with views across to Conwy Castle, the Carneddau mountains and Anglesey.

This is the heart of Llandudno’s Alice in Wonderland heritage — Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice, summered here with her family at Penmorfa from 1862 to 1871. The White Rabbit statue on the shore, unveiled by David Lloyd George in 1933, marks the connection. The town relaunched its Alice Trail in 2025 — a 2.5-mile walking loop with 30+ sculptures and 55 bronze paw prints.

It is also the sunset side. The estuary empties at low tide into a wide sweep of sand and channels with the mountains behind it, and on a clear evening it is the best free thing in Llandudno.

The Day Walk

Llandudno to Conwy

8 miles 4–5 hrs Moderate

The official Wales Coast Path Llandudno to Conwy section is the outstanding full day walk from The Rosedene — 8 miles of varied coastal walking finishing at one of Europe’s finest medieval fortresses. The WCP describes it as “a walk of two halves”: dramatic cliff-edge Marine Drive first, then completely flat estuary walking along the Conwy shore.

The walk finishes at Conwy Castle and the UNESCO World Heritage town walls — you can return to Llandudno by bus or taxi, making it a comfortable linear day out. Shorter variants start from West Shore (4 miles) or include a Haulfre Gardens loop (5 miles).

Trains run back from Conwy in about fifteen minutes, which makes this the rare long walk you can do without a second car or a lift. Time it to finish mid-afternoon and there is a decent case for a pint inside the town walls first.

Conwy Castle is a 10-minute drive from The Rosedene if you prefer to finish the day by car.

Grey Seals & Cliff Tops

Little Orme (Rhiwledyn)

2.5 miles 1.5–2 hrs Moderate

The Little Orme (Rhiwledyn) rises to 141 metres at the eastern end of Llandudno Bay. The official Little Orme circular is a 2.5-mile loop from the Penrhyn Bay roundabout, with short steep climbs rewarded by dramatic cliff-top views back across the bay.

Angel Bay (Porth Dyniewaid) on the eastern face is a grey seal pupping ground — up to 200 seals gather here from late September, with pups born through October and November. The headland is managed as a North Wales Wildlife Trust nature reserve with SSSI and SAC status.

A remarkable historical footnote: in 1585, the first book ever published in Wales — Y Drych Cristionogawl — was printed in a clifftop cave on the Little Orme during the Elizabethan persecution of Catholics.

This is the one coastal route that is not step-free — expect uneven ground, short steep pulls and stiles.

More walking from the door

The hub

Walking Holidays in Llandudno

Every walk we recommend, at-a-glance distances, and what we do for walking guests.

 20 min walk

The Great Orme

Summit trails, the Marine Drive circuit and the Kashmiri goats — all on the headland above town.

 25–60 min drive

Snowdonia & Eryri

Cwm Idwal, Aber Falls and Yr Wyddfa — drive times, path choices and the Sherpa bus.
Wildlife on the Doorstep

The Grey Seals of Angel Bay

Angel Bay — Porth Dyniewaid — is a shingle cove on the eastern face of the Little Orme, and one of the most reliable places in North Wales to see Atlantic grey seals. It is a fifteen-minute drive or a decent walk from the door, and you need no boat, no permit and no luck.

Numbers build from late September. Pups are born through October and November, white-coated and startlingly loud, and the colony can reach around two hundred animals. Adults haul out year-round to rest and moult, so there is usually something to see whenever you come.

You watch from the clifftop path above the cove, which is the only place you should watch from. Seals are easily disturbed, a disturbed mother may abandon a pup, and going down onto the beach is actively discouraged by the North Wales Wildlife Trust, who manage the headland as a nature reserve. Bring binoculars instead; the view down is better than anything you would get at sea level.

Dogs must be on a lead here, and it is worth keeping well back from the cliff edge — the drop is real and unfenced in places.

Atlantic grey seals hauled out on the shingle at Angel Bay, seen from the clifftop path on the Little Orme near Llandudno
Photo © Brian Deegan, CC BY-SA 2.0
Timing It Right

When to Walk the Coast

Coastal walking here works all year, which is exactly what makes it useful — when the mountains are socked in or the summits are under snow, the promenade is still perfectly walkable. But each season has its own reason to be out.

Mar–May

Spring

Seabirds return to the cliffs and the light is at its clearest — you can pick out Anglesey and the Isle of Man on a good day. The promenade is quiet before the season starts, and West Shore is almost empty.

Jun–Aug

Summer

Long evenings and the warmest sea of the year. Busy in the middle of the day, so walk early or after six and it is a different town. The Llandudno to Conwy day walk is at its best with this much daylight to play with.

Sep–Nov

Autumn

The best of it. Grey seals arrive at Angel Bay from late September and pup through October and November, the crowds have gone, and the low autumn light across the bay is superb. Our pick of the year for this coast.

Dec–Feb

Winter

Bracing and genuinely dramatic — a westerly puts real weather into the bay and the promenade takes the full force of it. Seals are still hauled out. Dress for it, keep off the sea wall in a big swell, and the pier in a storm is a sight.

Accessible walking — what is actually step-free

  • Llandudno Promenade

    Two miles, level and smooth the whole way, with dropped kerbs and benches. Fully wheelchair and pushchair friendly.

  • Marine Drive

    Tarmac and gently graded around the Great Orme. Four miles, so long — but no steps and no stiles.

  • West Shore

    Level promenade walking with firm paths behind the beach. Sand itself is not accessible.

  • Little Orme

    Not step-free. Steep pulls, uneven ground and stiles. The clifftop seal viewpoint involves a climb.

  • Llandudno to Conwy

    Mostly flat, but with kerbs, road crossings and some rougher estuary path. Feasible with care, not certified.

  • Getting to the front

    Five minutes on foot from us, all pavement, one gentle slope down Gloddaeth Street.

If accessibility matters for your stay, do ring us before booking — the house is Victorian and our rooms vary, so it is worth a conversation. See walking holidays at The Rosedene for the rest of what we do for walkers.

Common Questions

Walking the coast, answered

How long is Llandudno promenade?

About two miles, curving the full length of the North Shore from the pier in the west to the paddling pool and beach huts at Craigside in the east. It is wide, flat and fully surfaced, so an easy 45 minutes at a strolling pace. From The Rosedene it is roughly five minutes on foot to join it.

Can you walk from Llandudno to Conwy?

Yes, and it is the best full day walk from the door — eight miles on the official Wales Coast Path, finishing at Conwy Castle and the UNESCO World Heritage town walls. The Coast Path itself calls it "a walk of two halves": dramatic cliff-edge walking around Marine Drive, then completely flat estuary path along the Conwy shore. Come back by bus or train in about fifteen minutes.

Where can you see seals near Llandudno?

Angel Bay (Porth Dyniewaid) on the eastern face of the Little Orme. It is a grey seal haul-out and pupping beach — numbers build from late September, with pups born through October and November, and can reach two hundred animals. You view them from the clifftop above, which is the only place you should: going down onto the beach disturbs them and is actively discouraged.

Is the coast path at Llandudno wheelchair accessible?

The promenade is, for its full two miles — level, smooth and well maintained, with dropped kerbs and benches along the way. Marine Drive around the Great Orme is tarmac and gently graded, so it works for many wheelchair users and is fine with a pushchair, though it is four miles. The Little Orme circular is not accessible: it has steep, uneven sections and stiles.

What is the difference between West Shore and North Shore?

They are the two sides of the isthmus Llandudno sits on. North Shore is the Victorian resort face — the promenade, the pier, the hotels, the bustle. West Shore faces the Conwy estuary and is quieter and sandier, with views to Conwy Castle, the Carneddau and Anglesey, and the better sunsets. Ten minutes on foot between them.

Do you have to pay to walk on Llandudno Pier?

No, walking the pier is free. At 2,295 feet it is the longest in Wales, Grade II listed, and opened in 1877. The Codman family Punch and Judy show has performed at the promenade end since 1860 — one of the oldest continuously running shows of its kind anywhere.

Which way does the Wales Coast Path go from Llandudno?

Both ways, and that is the appeal of basing yourself here. West takes you around the Great Orme on Marine Drive and on toward Conwy and Anglesey; east follows the promenade to the Little Orme, Penrhyn Bay and Colwyn Bay. The path is 870 miles end to end, from Chepstow to Queensferry, and was the first in the world to follow an entire country's coastline.

The coast path passes our door.
Come and walk it.

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