Snowdon - Yr Wyddfa

About Snowdon - Yr Wyddfa

As the highest point in Snowdonia, this mountain is famous for its rocky ridges and dramatic, hollowed-out valleys carved by glaciers. There are several well-known trails leading to the top, and once you get there, you’re rewarded with a massive view of Wales—stretching all the way from the coast at the Menai Strait over to the neighboring peaks of the Glyderau range.

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Did You Know?

• •The Welsh name, Yr Wyddfa, translates as 'The Tumulus' or 'The Burial Mound.' Local folklore identifies the summit as the final resting place of the giant Rhitta Gawr, who was purportedly slain by King Arthur after the giant attempted to add Arthur's beard to a cloak made of fallen kings.
• •The English name 'Snowdon' derives from the Old English words 'snāw' and 'dūn,' simply meaning 'Snow Hill.' While 'Yr Wyddfa' refers specifically to the peak, 'Snowdon' historically described the entire mountainous upland, and both names reflect the mountain's status as a dominant landmark for over a millennium.
• •The Snowdon Mountain Railway has been transporting visitors from Llanberis to the summit since 1896. It remains the only rack-and-pinion railway in the UK, using a 'toothed' rail system to safely navigate gradients as steep as 1-in-7 on the final push to the top.
• •The mountain is the only place in the UK where the rare Snowdon Lily (Gagea serotina) can be found. This delicate arctic-alpine plant is a relict of the last Ice Age, surviving today only on the most inaccessible, north-facing volcanic ledges that are safe from grazing sheep.
• •Specific views from the summit are among the most expansive in the British Isles. On a clear day, one can look past the jagged ridge of Crib Goch to the Menai Strait, while visibility can extend as far as the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland to the west and the Isle of Man to the north.
• •Despite being a remote, high-altitude Hewitt and Marilyn, the summit features a fully functional visitor centre called Hafod Eryri. It is one of the few places in the world where you can complete a grueling thousand-metre ascent only to find yourself standing in an orderly queue for a coffee and a commemorative postcard.