Great Orme Mines
| Great Orme | |
|---|---|
Great Orme panorama from Llandudno promenade
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 207 m (679 ft) |
| Prominence | 203 m (666 ft) |
| Parent peak | Mwdwl-eithin |
| Listing | Marilyn |
| Geography | |
| Location | Conwy county borough, Wales |
| OS grid | SH767833 |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 115 |
Coordinates: 53°20′0″N 3°51′20″W / 53.33333°N 3.85556°W
The Great Orme or Great Orme's Head (Welsh: Y Gogarth or Pen y Gogarth) is a prominent limestone headland on the north coast of Wales, next to the town of Llandudno. It is referred to as Cyngreawdr Fynydd in a poem by the 12th-century poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr. Its English name derives from the Viking (Old Norse) word for sea serpent, which it is said to resemble. It is echoed by the Little Orme, a smaller but very similar limestone headland on the eastern side of Llandudno Bay in the parish of Llanrhos.
Both the Great and Little Ormes have been etymologically linked to the Old Norse words urm or orm that mean sea serpent (the English word worm is transliterated from the same term). The Great Orme being the head, with its body being the land between the Great and Little Ormes. Although the Vikings left no written texts of their time in North Wales, they certainly raided the area though they appear to have not founded any permanent settlements, unlike on the Wirral Peninsula. Still some Norse names remain in use within the former Kingdom of Gwynedd (such as Point of Ayr near Talacre).
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Wikipedia