Llandudno Pier runs 2,295 feet — about 700 metres — from the foot of the Great Orme out into Llandudno Bay. It is the longest pier in Wales and the fifth longest in England and Wales, it is Grade II* listed, and it was voted Pier of the Year by the National Piers Society in 2005 and again in 2025.
It opened in 1877 and it remains one of the best-preserved Victorian pleasure piers in Britain.
The pier is unusual in shape. It has a kink in it and a landward arm running back to the promenade beside the Grand Hotel, which most piers do not.
The reason is that it was built to serve two functions at once: a landing stage for the steamers that brought day trippers from Liverpool and the Isle of Man, and a promenade for the resort. The seaward end had to reach deep water; the landward end had to connect to the hotels. The result is the double-ended arrangement that survives.
The ironwork is intricate, the kiosks are original in style, and the whole structure has been maintained rather than modernised. That is what the Pier of the Year votes are recognising.
Amusement arcades and games.
Kiosks and stalls the whole length — rock, doughnuts, ice cream, fudge, chips, gifts. Visitors comment on how many there are and how much sugar is available.
Bars and a café at the seaward end.
Fishing from the end.
A great many benches, which people specifically mention and which matter on a 700-metre walk.
Views — back to the town with its unbroken crescent of white Victorian hotels, up to the Great Orme, across to the Little Orme, and on a clear day to the Isle of Man.
Llandudno is the most complete Victorian seaside resort in Britain, and the pier is the piece that makes the case.
The whole town was planned — laid out from 1849 on land belonging to the Mostyn family, on a flat isthmus between two headlands, with the promenade curving between them and a street grid behind. Nothing was allowed to break the line. The result is a seafront of unbroken stucco terraces with no modern intrusions, which is why period films use it.
Free to walk on. The arcades, rides and food charge.
Time: forty minutes to walk out and back at a normal pace; longer with stops.
Open daily in season and most of the year, closing in high winds.
Access: the deck is level and boarded and is manageable with a wheelchair or pushchair.
Parking: on the promenade and in the town car parks; it is busy in summer.
Gulls: as at every British pier, they will take food from your hand. Eat under cover.
The Great Orme Tramway and the cable car both start close by and go to the summit.
Happy Valley gardens climb the Orme immediately behind the pier, with the Ski and Toboggan Centre above.
The promenade runs two kilometres south-east to the Little Orme.
Conwy Castle is fifteen minutes away by road or train.
About 700 metres — the longest pier in Wales and the fifth longest in England and Wales.
Yes, free to walk on. The arcades, rides and stalls charge.
It opened in 1877 and is Grade II* listed.
It was built both as a steamer landing stage reaching deep water and as a promenade linking to the hotels, which produced the double-ended shape.
It was voted Pier of the Year by the National Piers Society in 2005 and again in 2025.