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Mount Snowdon, Gwynedd, North Wales

 

 

Snowdon's creation can be traced to changes in the earth's crust 450 million years ago, when continental drift closed a once huge ocean called the Iapetus. Mountains were formed in the collison of continental plates, and echoes of these events remain as the Appalachians in north eastern America, the mountains of Scandinavia, Scotland and England's Lake District. There was much volcanic activity in these new mountain ranges, and Snowdon was formed in complex stages of volcanic activity both on land and in the sea over millions of years. Today Snowdon is a 3,560 foot peak, mainly composed of volcanic ash, still carrying the fossils of sea creatures deposited during the periods when Snowdon was once at the bottom of a shallow sea. It is also a great place to see vast landforms left over from the most recent ice age.

 

 

Snowdon first came to prominence as a scientific curiosity. The earliest documented ascent was made by an apothecary named Thomas Johnson in 1639, during a search for medicinal plants. The famous botanist John Ray made two visits to Snowdon, in 1658 and 1662, to study rare plants. But then around 1800 a clergyman, named Reverend William Bingley recorded trips up Snowdon in the spirit of recreation. This was a tough form of recreation involving long hours of walking, and the possibility of harsh weather and danger. Nevertheless a trek to the Snowdon summit soon established itself as a tradition, with many climbing at night, so that they could witness dawn at the summit. It was a journey difficult enough to pose a significant challenge, but not so difficult that only an expert could attempt it. Thousands of people made the journey, including the romantic poets Coleridge and Wordsworth. Wordsworth famously recalled a night time ascent of Snowdon in the summer of 1793 in The Prelude, which presents the trip in transcendental terms:


                    I panted up                              
                    With eager pace, and no less eager thoughts. 
                    Thus might we wear a midnight hour away, 
                    Ascending at loose distance each from each, 
                    And I, as chanced, the foremost of the band; 
                    When at my feet the ground appeared to brighten, 
                    And with a step or two seemed brighter still; 
                    Nor was time given to ask or learn the cause, 
                    For instantly a light upon the turf 
                    Fell like a flash, and lo! as I looked up, 
                    The Moon hung naked in a firmament                         
                    Of azure without cloud, and at my feet 
                    Rested a silent sea of hoary mist. 
                    A hundred hills their dusky backs upheaved 
                    All over this still ocean; and beyond, 
                    Far, far beyond, the solid vapours stretched, 
                    In headlands, tongues, and promontory shapes, 
                    Into the main Atlantic.

 

Snowdon Summit

It is interesting that Reverend Bingley, a clergyman, should have been one of the first to make a tourist trip up Snowdon, since there is something of a "pilgrimage" feel to Snowdon journeys. The early travel writer Thomas Pennant made this point when writing of his north Wales tour of 1773: "It is still said that whosoever slept upon Snowdon would wake inspired, as much as if he had taken a nap on the hill of Apollo" (quoted in Yr Wyddfa The Story of Snowdon Summit by Michael Senior). Mountains have long been seen as homes of the gods: The Hindus had their mythic Mount Meru, the Japanese Mount Fuji. The Christians had Mount Sinai where Moses was given the ten commandments. The ancient British built their own religious mountain at Silbury Hill. It seems that around 1800, right at the beginning of the scientific and industrial revolutions, Mount Snowdon was turned into a kind of secular pilgrimage centre. The feeling of escape from the modern world was heightened by the recording - or more probably the invention - by local writer William Jones of tales linking King Arthur to Snowdon. Snowdon was supposedly the place where King Arthur killed a dragon - buried under the pile of stones on Snowdon summit apparently - and the place where King Arthur died. This all added a supernatural other wordly lustre to Snowdon. But if Snowdon is a place of "pilgrimage" then we shouldn't get too precious about it. Chaucer wrote about pilgrimages in his fourteenth century Canterbury Tales. And in that book he presents pilgrimage as a very varied kind of journey. Pilgrims include earnest knights and ploughmen, and frivolous squires who are just going along for the ride, on the only pleasure trip available to people in medieval England. It's the same on Snowdon. In 1864 the writer George Barrow went up Snowdon, and stood on the summit lecturing his daughter about the importance of where they were, sprinkling his lecture with earnest quotations from Welsh poetry. A few English bystanders were much amused, and poked fun (see Michael Senior P60). Wordsworth being the thoughtful writer he is, seems to capture the contradictory feeling of sacred location and daytrip destination in the Snowdon sections of The Prelude. Being on Snowdon makes Wordsworth think of a "majestic intellect". Of this intellect he says: "Its acts and its possession, what it has and craves/ What in itself it is, and would become/ There I beheld an emblem of my mind/ That feeds upon infinity." Wordsworth was a restless traveller, and on top of Snowdon he seems to find a resolution for his restlessness. He sees huge spaces to explore, which make him feel peaceful. He goes on the most important of journeys to the greatest destination, on a journey that is also a pleasure jaunt. Our Snowdon trip was a bit like that. We ambled up on the train, and had a good view of more earnest types who got into trouble and had to be winched off by helicopter.

Trains started going up Snowdon in 1896. For those who don't want six hours of tough walking this is a great way to see the mountain. Some of the locomotives have been running since 1896. Look out for locomotives Enid, Wyddfa, Snowdon and Moel Siabod. The train journey involves a two and a half hour round trip, with half an hour at the summit.

Trains

Trains run daily - weather permitting - from late March to end of October. From late March to early May trains will stop at either Clogwyn or Rocky Valley below the summit, depending on weather conditions. The summit is the usual destination between mid May and the end of October. There is an impressive visitors centre at the summit offering refreshments, an indoor viewing area, and toilet facilities.

Address: Snowdon Mountain Railway, Llanberis, Gwynedd, LL55 4TY.

Directions: Click here for an interactive map centred on Snowdon Mountain Railway

Contact:

web site: http://www.snowdonrailway.co.uk/index.php

telephone: 0844 493 8120

Booking ahead is strongly recommended. The booking line opens at 1pm.

Access: One carriage is modified for a manual or a standard size electric wheelchair. Customers requiring the modified car should contact the railway at least one day in advance.

 

 

 

 

Walking

There are six Snowdon footpaths. Below are brief details. For more information go to http://www.eryri-npa.gov.uk/home. Note safety information.

All paths take about 6 hours to walk there and back.

Llanberis Path (pictured here): Starts at the far end of Victoria Terrace, Llanberis. 9 miles there and back. The longest and most gradual path, following the railway for most of its length. The higher sections can still be very dangerous in winter weather.

Snowdon Ranger Path: Starts near Llyn Cwellyn Lake, Betws Garmon. 8 miles there and back. A quiet path, climbing gradually initially, and then more steeply with loose rock underfoot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snowdon Summit Visitors Centre - Hafod Eyri

Rhyd Ddu Path: Starts at Ehyd Ddu Car Park. 7.5 miles there and back. This is the quietest of the Snowdon paths. The first mile is a gradual climb along an old slate quarry track, before a steeper climb to Crib Llechhog ridge. The final section is very narrow with steep slopes falling away on both sides.

Pyg Track: Starts at Pen y Pass. 7 miles there and back. Often considered the most rugged and challenging Snowdon path. The first three quarters of the route is a steep climb over rocky ground, with the last quarter involving a steep and rough climb up the inner side of the Snowdon Horseshoe.

Miners' Track: Starts at Pen y Pass. 7 miles there and back. The first half climbs gradually to Llyn Llydaw, followed by a steeper section, and then an extremely steep climb over rough scree to join the Pyg Track before the inner side of the Snowdon Horseshoe.

Watkin Path: Starts at Pont Bethania, Nant Gwynant. 8 miles there and back. This path starts evenly, but the second half is initially rocky, before a final section up a very loose and steep scree slope.

 

 

 

Safety -

Courtesy of Snowdonia National Park Authority: Park Office, Penrhyndeudraeth, Gwynedd, LL48 6LF

http://www.eryri-npa.gov.uk/home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

©2011InfoBritain (last updated 02/12)