by Jennifer Lim

Created on: July 07, 2010

It may not be the highest mountain in UK but it definitely has one of the most beautiful views.  It’s picture perfect at every angle; from glistening lakes to sheep grazing grasslands and silhouette of distant mountains, it’s also a photographer dream of capturing their magic moment. On a clear day, you might even see as far as Ireland, Manchester and the Peak District in England.

Mount Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa in Welsh) which stands at 3,560 ft (1,085m) is the highest mountain in Wales and the second highest in United Kingdom. The mountain is situated within Snowdonia National Park in the county of Gwynedd in North Wales.  

There are many ways to explore Mount Snowdon.  The easiest ways to get to the top is with the Snowdon Mountain Railway. A single carriage hauled either by a diesel or steam locomotive rolled with vigour; puffing steam as it trudge with determination on the narrow gauge rack and pinion railway. Your journey which starts from Llanberis station takes more than an hour to reach the summit but the slowness in speed means that you will be able to take in all the changing and spectacular landscapes. The price of a return rail ticket is quite high probably due to the limited number of people it can carry at one time and the number of runs per day. Many have taken the option of going up the mountain by rail and descend on foot. 

However if you like walking and don’t mind a challenge, trekking would be a delightful alternative to exploring Mount Snowdon. There are several tracks to choose, each with varying degree of difficulty. One of the easiest paths is by the Llanberis Path. It’s quite a long path but the slope is shallow and you will never lose your way as the track runs close to the Mountain rail. You may still huff and puff a little but the admiring look of the passengers in the train as they watch you conquer the mountain on foot is extremely satisfying.  Stop at the cafe half way up the mountain and recharge your energy for the next lap of your climb. The Llanberis Path leads you to the summit building, Hafod Eryri, a newly build visitor centre.

There are other walking paths up Mount Snowdon are:

The Watkin Path

The Watkin Path poses the highest challenge as it has the greatest change in altitude. The path starts from the lowest point of all Snowdon paths and the route up can be quite strenuous. You can start your walk from Nantgwynant car park and your ascend will take you pass the Afon

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