Snowdon

Saturday 9 June 9 miles
Donna, Carol, Hilary, Tracey, Jane

Up early, Donna drove, we did well to be in Llanberis before 9. The bus arrived just after we parked so timing was really good. The cafe at Pen-y-pass provided us with tea and a toilet so we were ready to set off just after 10 am along the Miner's track.

The day was sunny and warm, a bit warm for walking, Hilary had looked at the forecast and said it should cloud over about 11 am. She was right - fortunately the cloud came over as we began the steep bit.

There were lots of people coming down the mountain as we went up. There were a lot of people on the mountain so I suppose it makes sense to get there early! It was busy at the trig point with people wanting to be photographed. The train was only carrying people half way, so it must be much busier when the train goes right to the top.

It is quite something to look back at the route you have taken, the view from the top is quite spectacular.

We came back down the Llanberis pass, the path is well marked and well made in places. We found we needed to stop on the way down as well because it is quite difficult to move on uneven surfaces. The toilet stop on the way down was useful even if we did have to queue. The woman in front of us let the door slam shut, so we had to find 20p, a kind man behind us found a coin really quickly.

There was a tea shop near the bottom so we took advantage of that. The owner was quite chatty and liked to know where you are from.

The Llanberis YHA was OK the bunk beds were pretty solid and comfortable enough to sleep in. Llanberis is only quite a small place but had a nice restaurant where we ate.

A good and challenging experience, thanks to Donna for organising it!