Snowdonia Walking Short Break

Arrive in the small town of Llanberis, ideally located for hiking in Snowdonia National Park. Check in is possible from 2pm. There is a car park for hotel guests. If arriving by train, Bangor Station is 25 minutes away by taxi. The hotel will be able to provide picnic lunches or you can buy supplies from the shops in town. Please note that during Covid there will not be a mini-bar fridge in your room.

The Tour Leader plans to meet you in reception at 6pm for the introductory briefing, followed by the option to enjoy a group meal (not included) to get acquainted with your fellow guests.

After breakfast, we drive around west side of Snowdon, to the trailhead beside the hamlet of Rhyd-Dhu. We start our first walk of the holiday following this well-maintained path through beautiful sheep-grazing meadows and rocky outcrops that essentially follows a wide ridge. This route up Snowdon is especially attractive thanks to the combination of beauty and relatively low number of walkers. The scenery opens up as we ascend with views of lakes, the surrounding mountains and the Irish Sea. Closer to the summit the scenery becomes more barren and rocky with increasingly panoramic views. The hike up should take us around 3-4 hours and the 360-degree views from the summit are stunning. On a very clear day it is possible to see England, Scotland and Ireland. The top of Snowdon can be justifiably busy as it includes those who have arrived by train as well as popular routes such as the Pyg Track. For our descent we follow the Llanberis Path, the longest and most gradual of the six main paths to the summit. The path mainly follows the Snowdon Mountain Railway track, opened in 1896, and leads directly to Llanberis and our hotel. This is a classic mountain walk with a great sense of achievement.

Today's challenging-graded walk will take approximately 6-7 hours and will cover a distance of 14 kilometres with a total ascent of 895m and 980m descent.

We take a short bus ride this morning and begin our walk on the Miners' Track that winds its way through some lovely surroundings with views to the east. Eventually the ascent leads to a wide plateau covered in grasses and heather and you can see the mountains and valleys to the north beautifully carved by glaciers in the last Ice Age. We arrive at Glyder Fach with the jagged rocky outcrops of Castell y Gwynt - Castle of the Wind - and the famous Cantilever stone. We continue to Glyder Fawr with spectacular views all-around of the Carneddau, Snowdon and the Irish Sea. We descend to our hotel for a well-earned rest.

Today's challenging-graded walk will take approximately 6-7 hours and will cover a distance of 12 kilometres with a total ascent of 825m and 1050m descent.

Starting the day with a 20-minute bus ride to Llwynyrhwch on the south side of Snowdonia we commence our final walk in the Moelwyn hills, a quiet contrast to Snowdon. The scenery is less rocky with sheep-grazing meadows, ancient settlements and broken-down dry-stone walls. We hike past hidden lakes, over small mountain passes and up to the summit of Cnicht. Our route back to the village is along a different path and we return to the hotel after another great day in the Welsh hills.

Today's moderate-graded walk will take approximately 5-6 hours and will cover a distance of 12 kilometres with a total ascent and descent of 530m.

The trip ends after breakfast at our hotel in Llanberis.