Llandudno lies on a peninsula between two notable carboniferous headlands, the Great Orme and the Little Orme (both within the Conwy County Borough), with the Irish Sea on one side and the estuary of the River Conwy on the other. It is these headlands and the two waterfronts, the North Shore and the West Shore, together with the fine bay that give the tourist resort of Llandudno its special appeal The 2,295 foot long Llandudno Victorian Pier, greatly admired by Sir John Betjeman, was built in 1878. It is the longest pier in Wales and one of the finest recreational piers in Britain. A British Tourist Authority report in 1975 said of it…. ‘It zooms out of the sea …. in a spectacular Indian Gothic style rather like a Maharajah's palace floating on a lake. Cast iron, brackets of iron lace work, an outstandingly pretty balustrade like an enlarged fish net, ogee roofs curling away to the sky, all add up to a totally pleasurable experience’ and in addition, it should be noted, a fine level wooden deck for easy walking. The pier head landing stage, which was rebuilt in concrete in 1969, is still used by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company for occasional excursions to Douglas and by the Waverley and Balmoral Steamer Preservation organizations.