Snowdon National Park (Snowdonia) was on my wish-list of places to visit in UK for many years.

It was not because of the distance from where I live, or due to the cost of accommodation there, that I have postponed my trip for so long. The truth is the same in my case as for anyone else living in one place for extended period of time: it was always more exciting to go abroad, because I could see what’s local at any time later. I did follow that mantra for many years, until now. What has changed? I think it started with my previous trip to Lake District National Park earlier this year, and based on that experience the British land has sparked a burning flame of curiosity inside me for exploration other locations.

For those of you, who would like to know some interesting facts about this place, I have found some random numbers for you:

  • Snowdonia National Park was established in 1951
  • 25,702 Snowdonia population
  • 12 people per sq km
  • 58.6% speak Welsh
  • 10.25% of Wales is covered by Snowdonia
  • 9 mountain ranges
  • 15 summits over 3000ft
  • 90 summits over 2000ft
  • 1,479 miles of footpaths
  • 4.27m visitors annually
  • Snowdon is the highest summit, 1085 meters high
  • Snowdon is a part of Three Peak Challenge (Ben Nevis 1344m – Scotland, Snowdon 1085m – Wales, Scafell Pike 978m – England)
  • 400,000 walkers go up to Snowdon each year
  • 100,000 visitors reach summit by train
  • 396m from tourism to local economy per annum
  • 4,473mm of rainfall each year

The National Park is quite far away from where I live, so just like during my previous trip to Lake district, I planned to make a visit to my Family, that lives conveniently between both Parks, and then drive 2 hours to my pre-booked hostel and stay there for a weekend. It was a perfect solution, because it gave me a good excuse to go to my Sisters, and at the same time have some rest after 7h+ drive, and after few days, refreshed, I could enjoy my weekend alone in mountains.

Well, maybe “alone” is a bit of a stretch, because I stayed in a shared room with couple of other people. The price was irresistible compared to any other location, and standard of the room and facilities were excellent. My hostel of choice was YHA Snowdon Pen-y-Pass. It was the second time when I used their service (first in Lake district) and I can highly recommend them. In both occasions they were located at the very convenient spot, where many footpaths begin. There is a self-service kitchen and dining room with all equipment available to make your own meals. For those who are not fancy cooking during their holiday, there is an option to buy a breakfast/dinner. There is common lounge and shared toilets and showers. For those who want some “time alone”, private bedrooms are also available.

This is not a payed endorsement. YHA Youth Hostel is a charity. It is is run by volounteers and all profits go to support children in needs. For anyone interested, please visit their website: www.yha.org.uk

Day 1

I left my family house in the afternoon. The drive to a hostel was about 2.5h according to google maps, and booking-in was open from 3pm, so there was no need to rush. The day was cloudy and I already knew that this evening I would not be going anywhere outside. I have received a message from the YHA Staff warning me about the maintenance works being done on the main road to the hostel, so I knew in advance that my trip will have to be a bit longer. Thank you YHA Staff for your thoughtfulness!

The days changed from cloudy afternoon to rainy and miserable evening. When I finally arrived, it was showering so hard that I did not bothered take all my bags from the car, to avoid as much exposure to the weather as I could. In minutes I was soaking wet.

In the reception I was instructed about the facilities and got the keys to my room. Few minutes later, dry, equipped with food I was on my way to the kitchen. It has become my favourite spot since the trip to Lake District. I used to make myself a tea and sit down with my notebook and write whatever came to my mind. I intended to continue with this tradition in here as well.

When I arrived to the kitchen, no one was there. I put my staff onto the fridge and on the shelves and made myself a meal.

After eating I sat down with my notebook, pen and a cup of Tea.

Here is what I wrote:

“(…) I sit alone in the kitchen. Lights are turned off. I sit opposite ajar window. The window is directed at the path into the mountains. The weather outside is terrible. It is raining and a gale blows. I imagine how unpleasant must be now in the mountains, if anyone is still wandering on the trails. There are no lights outside. I can hear a water streams at the base of the building I stay in, and in a distance noise, almost howling of the wind, which blow over and over again, quieter and louder in turns, but it still can be heard from faraway.

In some ways I enjoy this weather, because I feel safe, dry and full. I feel warm and will have comfortable place to sleep. Once again I have proven to myself how little I need to be happy.”

Day 2

My Day started on a slow side. I slept 10 hours that night 🙂 But before you roll your eyes in sign of disappointment, let me assure you that those extra couple of hours of rest allowed me to get home in one piece later in the evening. But first things first – let’s stick with keeping the chronological order of my day.

After a shower I went to the kitchen and sat down with breakfasts consisting of Granola with freshly chunked orange and all mixed with cup of natural yogurt. In my opinion this is the best what anyone can eat before moving into unknown. It tastes good and slowly releases energy needed for many hours of walking. Naturally I had a cup of tea after I finished my plate of oats.

I left the hostel just before the noon. The weather was very promising, so I decided that I will go for a short hike. At the front of the building there was a car park with a map of local mountain trails. I studied it for few minutes, learning about the local area and paying attention to the details of available paths. From where I stood, there was a Yellow trail going along few lakes and then turning into Red about 2/3-rds of the way. It was not the first time when I was following Red hikes, so no problem there. I quickly calculated the distance and time needed to get to the destination and back – about 5 hours. Another irresistible temptation was the summit itself – it was a Snowdon! Obviously I came here unprepared, not even knowing about the area around my location. Well, this was not my main reason for this trip, but added bonus, that I could go out and explore the nature. I was really lucky to stay in a hotel so close to the highest summit of Wales 🙂

I passed the fence and stepped into a path leading to the closest point to heaven in this part of UK. I walked slowly and enjoyed the fresh air and amazing views of the surrounding area. Few people passed me, walked in opposite direction. They must have started right with the first light of the morning and now they were returning home to have a warm meal and enjoy the rest of the day with a blissful feeling of fulfilment after achieving their goal.

As I was slowly moving forward, I noticed a remains of an old man-made structures at the bottom of small valley, next to a pond. The structure was made out of stone, divided into squares and rectangles (I assume that these were some kind of ancient rooms of whoever lived there). It is hard to imagine how the standards of living have improved over those few hundreds of years. The level of comfort, hygiene and safety are not comparable. It must have been so difficult back then, especially in the winter times, to live in the mountains.

After few minutes of being lost in thoughts about the structure, I started to walk again. The path was wide and flat, very comfortable. I knew that it cannot possibly be like that for a long time, and I was right. After couple of turns a small path separated from the main road and was heading between the lakes onto the first high hills. I looked into at my phone, opened Google Maps, and saw that this path leads to the Snowdon. As I was unprepared, I didn’t know which way is the right way. I already forgot the map by the car park, and if I did remember, surely I would not choose the “the road not taken”.

But I did.

I walked between the long grass. The path was narrow and much less visible in comparison to the main road. On my right there was a lake and I was moving along one of his shores. When I reached its end, a small stream emerged from the long grass and few meters away there was a little, wooden bridge. It was partially renovated, but even that did not made me feel safe when I stepped on it. Gaps between the rotten boards of the older part of the bridge and squeaking sound of effort after each step I have taken, made me want to jump over the little stream rather that use this precarious construction.

The real hike began behind the bridge. At the beginning it was fairly easy, at a smaller angle I was moving up on stones shaped into stairs of some sort. There higher I got, the more misty and cold the air became. Stones started to be very slippery and previously beaten track loosened up and did not provide a secure grip for the shoes anymore. Visibility was vastly reduced to a few meters around me, so to carry a camera in my hand did not make sense anymore. I can only imagine how beautiful the views could be on a clear day, but now all I could see was a milky fog and wet stones. I packed my camera into my backpack and decided to use the mobile phone from now. It was much easier to take a quick snap photo and move on.

It did not take too long for my clothes to get wet, and for me to start to shake from cold. I quickly picked up my waterproof jacket and put it on. It gave me a good protection from the wind and small foggy droplets hanging in the air. It is very useful to keep it in the backpack, is lightweight and do not take much space when packed. The downside is that is not breathable and when is a rainy but warm day, I sweat in it, and my clothes become wet. It is also not a solution for a heavy rain.

I continued to move forward. Sometimes the path was visible and easy to follow, sometimes I lost it and walked based to my sense of orientation. It is good time to make a note regarding my navigational skills – they are non existing 🙂 I takes me long time before I start to recognise my location in a newly visited place, and even then when I think I take the right way, let say to make a short cut, I end up lost. It is then easy to imagine how many times I found myself lost during this hike and my only rescue came from use of google maps. I have discovered on the previous hikes, that when I zoom close enough on my location in the mountains, the trails are also marked. My position is not very precise, error in a radius of +/- few meters, but that is usually enough for me. This time, when my only indicators were heaped pebbles on a naked path, when I got between the bigger stones, and crushed stones were all over the floor, I lost the trail many times and found it only when I was far enough from the original path. This has happened many times and I lost a lot of time because of that. I was moving on the steep edges of the summits, climbing wet, large stones, covered with slippery moss, believing that I am on the right path and surprised on many occasions how anyone can safely go this way. Eventually I have reached the Snowdon Sumit. On top there was a large building made from black stone, with some engravings on one side. When I move along the wall, I reached the glass automatic door and inside there was a restaurant and souvenir shop! The other big surprise was that majority of guests were an elderly people. How did they get there, if I struggled so hard? Here is where my lack of knowledge was the most visible – I later found out that there were many ways to the summit (much easier that my), and even a train! I eat a banana and drunk some water. After warm up I went outside to look at the highest statue, and after that I slowly moved back, to my hostel, following the same way I came in.

When I finally reached the last part of the trail, I was really exhausted. I was slowly moving forward, shivering from cold, wet from drizzling rain and my own sweat, sore after pushing my body to the limit of its endurance. Above all, I has happy, because I reached my goal – been on the highest summit of Wales.

Day 3

Today my plan was to recover and not stress my body too much. As usual, I take my time in the morning to bring my body and mind to the right energy level. I prepare my breakfast, I brew my tea and sip it in silence, allowing my thoughts to flow through my mind freely. This way I assess my plans for the rest of the day. One could say that I “waste precious and limited time of my holiday and I should have pre-planed each day”, but my answer to that would be that holiday for me is time when I can be myself and spend time as I feel like it. It is true that when I left hostel it was already noon, and I could have more time to explore than I had – I don’t deny that – but those 4-5 hours I was left with were spent productively. I was rested, relaxed and calm. I enjoyed my walk cause I left all tiredness at home. Would I have started at 8 am, surely I would see more and photograph more, but it would not be so refreshing and inspiring as it was when my body and mind were not rushed.

The trail was easy, made of wide path presumably also used by cars from local preservation organisation. The sky was almost clear from clouds. I remember thinking about the fog which has covered all the views from the mountains’ top day before and I even felt a temptation to expand my area of exploration for few more miles, and hike some nearby summits, but eventually I decided not to do it. I deliberately walked slow, stop every time when something catch my eye to investigate it. This is how I memorise places and views – by taking time to appreciate what is in front of me.

As I was going forward, other people which came here much earlier were now on their way back. It always surprises me when I see couples dressed casually in t-shirts and shorts, with shoes more relevant for walking on the city street rather than stony pathways. I am not negative about it, but full of respect for their attitude towards the walk. For me it is almost always a challenge and I dress for it appropriately. With heavy boots, long trousers, backpack full of gear and food, I sometimes struggle with discomfort. They, on the other hand, enjoy the walk like it is just another day outside, without much stress about it. Maybe that is because it truly is this way. Maybe they live near by and have the opportunity to do it whenever they want. For me it is a treat I can sadly allow myself only few times a year. Or at least I unconsciously limit myself to think this way.

All in all I really enjoyed this day. Beautiful views, calm weather, easy walk and nice memories.

I left the hostel next morning and as I was driving home, I felt satisfaction and fulfilment. I was a time worth living.