Hidden inside the Great Orme headland is one of the most significant prehistoric sites in Europe — a vast network of tunnels dug by Bronze Age miners around 3,600 years ago to extract copper ore from the rock. The mines are the largest known prehistoric copper workings in the world, with over six kilometres of passageways mapped so far, and archaeologists believe much of the system is still unexplored.
Guided tours take visitors through a section of the tunnels — some passages narrow enough to require crouching, the rock walls showing the marks of the stone hammers used to extract the ore. The site also has an outdoor area where visitors can try their hand at ore-processing techniques used four millennia ago. It is a genuinely impressive place: the scale of the operation and the primitiveness of the tools make for a powerful combination, and the tour is well-suited to children and adults alike.