We had originally planned to climb Snowdon on the Tuesday, but when we got to the Pen y Pass car park it was already full - not one space free on a September weekday at 11am! We were disappointed but throughout the day we glanced up at Snowdon and realised that it was for the best - hill fog was lingering on the mountain for most of the day.
The next day, Wednesday 10th September, we conquered Snowdon again. Here are some of my photos from the trek...
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We woke up to a glorious sunrise and a clear blue sky
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| We parked in Pen Y Pass car park. It is always busy because not only does the Miners' track go from here, but also the Pyg track and the popular Crib Goch trail. It costs £10 to park all day and there are toilets and a cafe |
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| Pen y Pass has all the information you need for a safe journey up the mountain, including this weather forecast that we were very happy to see :) |
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| The Miners' Track starts at the left hand side of the car park. Everything is well sign posted so there are no excuses for getting lost |
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The track starts off nice and smoothly with a little incline and well laid paths
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| It's not long before we see the famous Snowdon Horseshoe - it is made up of Lliwedd, Snowdon, Garnedd Ugain and Crib Gogh |
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| A small lake called Llyn Teyrn appears on the left of the path |
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| When we approached the lake we could see the ruins of the old Miner's barracks |
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| The path forks near Llyn Llydaw so we kept to the right |
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| We then crossed the causeway over Llyn Llydaw and followed the path |
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| The path passes the old Britannia Copper Mine |
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| Now the track starts to steeply climb on this well laid windy path |
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| Exhausting, but we were rewarded with spectacular views and beautiful waterfalls |
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| Almost reaching the top of this section...here's Dan with Snowdon looming in front of him |
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| Eventually we arrived at Llyn Glaslyn. The views of Snowdon from here are stunning with it rising 500m above the glacial lake |
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| At this point the climb starts getting very strenuous! Even though the start of the path is clear you soon start to loose sight of it and end up doing a lot of scrambling over rocks and loose scree |
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| Where did the path go? It's time to use every limb to climb to the next section |
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| Even though this section is quite hard, there is so much to see including some of the local wildlife |
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| Beautiful mountain goats just chilling out on a hot September day |
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| Once you get to the top of this section you will see a large standing stone. This is where the Miners' and Pyg tracks intersect |
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| The last section of the walk is a zig zag track with some (thankfully!) well defined stone steps |
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| On the way up you pass an old tree stump full of coins. We put our own penny in and made a wish that the weather would remain clear by the time we reached the summit :) |
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| From here, you start getting clear views of Snowdon and people on the summit |
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| After a bit more climbing you finally reach a big stone and things get a lot easier from here |
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| We passed the famous Snowdon Mountain Railway track... |
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| ...followed by some very impressive rock formations |
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| The path continues to climb - is this a stairway to heaven? LOL :) |
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| Not far now, the summit is within reach...along with Hafod Eryri - The Snowdon Summit Visitor Centre |
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| We made it!!! A rare opportunity to get a photo on an empty summit! |
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The view is something else...here is a panoramic view from the top of Snowdon - just majestic!
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| A very rare photo of an unoccupied summit... |
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...but it doesn't stay quiet for long, here it was 10 minutes later!
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| After our hike up we had a well deserved sit down and the boots came off! |
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| We must have sat there for over an hour taking in the fabulous view |
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| A number of helicopters passed us at eye level... |
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| ...and even the birds were perched below us! |
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| After a few hours on the summit, including a pit stop in the visitor centre to stock up on water, it was time to make our way back down. We found the large stone that is a marker for the Pyg and Miners' tracks. |
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| The zigzag path looks never ending from this angle! |
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| Instead of going back down the Miners' track we decided to walk along the Pyg track (both tracks lead to the Pen Y Pass carpark) |
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| A little encouragement from our woolly friend |
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| ...still a long way to go |
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| Another one of our woolly friends wishing us well |
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| We pass Llyn Llydaw that looks really impressive from this view point |
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| Finally we reach the Pen Y Pass sign and we take a left |
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| Hooray, see that small white building in the distance? That's where our car is! Yikes! |
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| Sun burnt and tired we still manage a selfie with Snowdon looming in the backgound |
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| The Llanberis Pass can be seen from here. A bit misty in the sunset, but beautiful all the same. |
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| At last my little purple car appears! We did it! |
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| A quick glance back at the majestic Snowdon and a big smile at each other that we had climbed it once again! |
Information on The Cwellyn Arms camp site click here
For all you need to know for climbing The Miners' Track to Snowdon click here
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