Snowdonia Travel Video Guide

Snowdonia Travel Itinerary

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What the coal valleys are to the south of the country, the mountains of Snowdonia (Yr Eryri) are to the north - the defining feature, not just in their physical form, but in the way they have shaped the communities within them. To Henry VIII's antiquarian John Leland, the region seemed "horrible with the sight of bare stones"; now it is widely acclaimed as the most dramatic and alluring of all Welsh scenery, a compact, barren land of tortured ridges dividing glacial valleys, whose sheer faces belie the fact that the tallest peaks only just top three thousand feet. It was to this mountain fastness that Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the last true Prince of Wales, retreated in 1277 after his first war with Edward I; it was also here that Owain Glyndwr held on most tenaciously to his dream of regaining for the Welsh the title of Prince of Wales. Centuries later, the English came to remove the mountains: slate barons built huge fortunes from Welsh toil and reshaped the patterns of Snowdonian life forever, as men looking for steady work in the quarries left the hills and became town dwellers. By the mid-nineteenth century, those with the means began flocking here to marvel at the plunging waterfalls and walk the ever-widening paths to the mountaintops. Numbers have increased rapidly since then and thousands of hikers arrive every weekend for some of the country's best walks over steep, exacting and constantly varying terrain.

Not surprisingly, the Snowdon massif (Eryri) is the focus of the Snowdonia National Park. Several of the ascent routes are superb, and you can always take the cog railway up to the summit cafe from Llanberis . But the other mountains are as good or better, often far less busy and giving unsurpassed views of Snowdon. The Glyders and Tryfan - best tackled from the Ogwen Valley - are particular favourites.

If you are serious about doing some walking - and some of the walks described here are serious, especially in bad weather (Snowdon gets 200 inches of rain a year) - you need a good map such as the 1:50,000 OS Landranger #115 or the 1:25,000 OS Outdoor Leisure #17; bear in mind that conditions, especially on higher ground, are notoriously changeable. Weather reports and walking conditions are often posted on the doors or noticeboards of outdoor shops and tourist offices.

But Snowdonia isn't all about walking. Small settlements are dotted in the valleys, usually coinciding

with some enormous mine or quarry. Foremost among these are Blaenau Ffestiniog , the "Slate Capital of North Wales", where a mine opens its caverns for underground tours, and Beddgelert whose former copper mines are also open to the public. The only place of any size not associated with slate mining is Betws-y-Coed , a largely Victorian resort away from the higher peaks, and a springboard for the walkers' hamlets of Capel Curig and Pen-y-Pass .

Your Tips For Snowdonia

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