About Snowdon  

Snowdon, the highest mountain in England and Wales at 1085 m or 3560 ft, also offers a unique bio-diversity of rare flowers and insects, wonderful volcanic rock formations, fossils and disused mine works. The Welsh name for Snowdon is Yr Wyddfa which means burial place.

Snowdon is one of the most beautiful mountains in the world. Its grandeur impresses the visitor no matter which direction one looks at it. Its shape is like a starfish with six magnificent ridges radiating out, each with their own unique character and make up. The deep cwmoedd (glaciated valleys) dropping down from the ridges range from the easily accessible to those only reached by very experienced walkers and climbers.

As you climb up Snowdon you will not only gain altitude but also in time. The rock at the bottom of the mountain is older than the rock formation at the top. As you gain height you move from slate formed more than 400 million years ago to volcanic rock and at the summit slate beds with shells of marine animals. It’s hard to believe that the top of Snowdon was once under the sea but if you look carefully at the rock staircases of the summit platform you may be able to spot marine fossils.  

As long ago as the bronze age, Snowdon has been exploited for it’s minerals and in the 19th century lead, zinc, slate and copper was mined or quarried commercially and you can find evidence of old mine workings and buildings in many places on the mountain. 

The Snowdon Mountain Railway was built more than a 100 years ago to take tourists up to the summit – it actually replaced the ponies that used to take visitors to the top! It is Britain’s only  rack railway with tooted racks in the centre of the track that engage with cogs under the carriages. Today the railway uses both steam and diesel engines.

For more information about the mountain and places to stay nearby visit www.snowdon.com