Wednesday 12th July 2000
( weather: dull & low cloud )
Today's walk:
Snowdon, North Wales
( 8 miles )
We're on vacation in North Wales so today we plan to walk up Snowdon
The walk begins
near the Snowdon Railway Station just outside Llanberis - if
that's how you want to do it then you can
take a ride on the railway, which opened in 1896 and works on a
'rack and pinion principle' and is steam driven,
to almost the top of Snowdon from here
We prefer to walk - it hurts more but it's cheaper!
After climbing a
steep metalled track we go through a gate signposted 'To Snowdon'
and onto a rough , stony track
Here we get a glimpse of the Snowdon train beyond the trees shunting passengers up the hillside
A little higher up we look back to the village of Llanberis and Llyn Padarn
From here the track gets steeper and rougher
The little train passes close by with Moel Cynghorion providing a dramatic backdrop
A couple of miles ahead, draped in low cloud, lie the cliffs of Clogwyn Du'r Arddu
The peak of Snowdon is obliterated by the clouds and we weren't to see it all day
The view of distant
Moel Hebog over Bwlch Cwmbrwynog,
the pass between Clogwyn Du'r Arddu and Moel Cynghorion
At 1700 feet we reach 'Half Way House' in an obvious state of repair
The view back from Half Way House
One of the wonders
of modern technology - Jean receives a phone call halfway up
Snowdon
from our daughter, Leanne, back in North Yorkshire
Another view back from about two-thirds of the way up Snowdon
Here we see the
dark green waters of Llyn Du'r Arddu, where miners from the local
copper mines
used to wash the copper ore
The cliff face of Clogwyn Du'r Arddu above the tarn is one of the most difficult rock-climbing crags in Wales
A perfectly clear, mountain stream gushes down the steep hillside on its way to the waters of Llyn Du'r Arddu
Another view of Llyn Du'r Arddu from a derelict mine building
It was at this
point we reluctantly decided to turn back from our ascent of
Snowdon
- the cloud cover was coming down quickly and the weather was
closing in
The visibility soon improved as we descended back down the track
Half an hour later you wouldn't believe it was the same day
Having reached our starting point at Llanberis we look across Llyn Peris towards the old slate mines
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