Ever since I moved to Wales 2 years ago I had a quiet wish to climb the highest peak in this country – Snowdon. Last weekend was showing to be a perfect opportunity to fulfil that wish. I was working only till 12 pm and the forecast was for sunshine and high temperatures stretching way into the following week. Getting some good literature, so you know what your are doing, is very advisable.

View from Garnedd Ugain: to the right is Snowdon and to the left is Y Lliwedd with its three peaks ) from left Lliwedd Bach, East peak and West peak. Any similarities with Triglav are strictly coincidental

If you are based in southwest Wales it is a good idea to head up there on the day before you are climbing as the road trip takes you over three hours. There are no motorways or even dual carriageways between the south and north parts of Wales! Instead of going for a more expensive option of a hotel or B&B (the decision to go to Snowdon was make pretty late and the hotel accommodations were either not available or very pricey) I opted for a campsite. The last camping I did was for a skydiving tournament that was held in my “home” DZ in Prečna near Novo mesto a few years back and I was a bit worried I might forget to bring along something essential. Hold that thought.

See the full photo gallery here.

There was a slight snag with camping in this part of Wales. I looked at the weather forecast and the low day temperatures were very, very close to freezing – and I mean 0° or 1°C. This was the forecast for Llanberris. So instead I went for campsites a bit closer to the sea and, of course, the warmth. I found one close to the town of Penrhyndeudraeth called Barcdy. Would recomend it, but it is a bit more pricey then others: it cost £10/person/night for a tent – other campsites were around £6 or £7. The additional problem you might have to contend with is kids – there was a family that came to the camp after me and they put up their tent right next to mine and, you guessed it, had a bunch of very noisy kids with them. Don’t seem to be a big fan of them, but would maybe feel different, if they were mine – and I stress – MAYBE .

Coming back to the issue of forgetting things – by some strange reason I forgot to take my sleeping bag with me – when I returned home on Sunday it was there, sitting on the floor in my bedroom, waiting to be taken along. I put all my camping stuff on one big pile to pack in the car and somehow I missed it. Thank god for sat-navs and Tesco Extra. I found one in Bangor that was open 24/7 and had a good selection of camping gear. The other unpleasant thing that happened was my car. At about 2 or 3 am it decided it is being attacked or stolen and the alarm went off. Now usually I wouldn’t be that upset about it but it was parked just outside the tent about 2 m away from my head with not much soundproofing in-between (if you can consider a tent wall soundproofing, that is).

[umap id="34149" size="t" alignment="left"]The following morning I set of quite early and arrived at the Pen-y-pass car park at about 7am as the parking spaces were just running out. Some trekkers were already returning from the summit! Come to think of it, it might have to do with the parking as there were no parking attendants at that time in the morning. Just a word of warning – bring enough change. The parking is a pay-and-display and it is quite expensive, especially if you are staying longer than 3 or 4 hours as the parking is about £6 and the machine does not take notes. At that time in the morning there is nowhere to get change so you have to bring enough along. I, of course, did not have enough but an angel appeared in a form of another climber who saw my predicament and just gave me the missing three pounds in coins – just like that. I couldn’t believe what happened, I was in shock. I quickly realized I did have a £5 note and I ran after him and caught him on the parking lot just before he set off to the summit, gave him the £5 note and thanked him for about the fifth or sixth time. Really, why should he be out of pocket, I did had the money but just not in coins. See, there are still some nice people going around who will help you when you need it. I don’t know his name but I am sure his good deeds will be rewarded sooner or later.

The trek itself started off on a reasonable steep incline, with the morning sun warming my shoulders. I started on the Pyg track and then turned right on top of the pass to continue on the Crib Goch path. Now I would not recommend this route for beginners or young children – it can be very tricky. The majority of the track runs along the Crib Goch ridge and in some places is only about a metre wide with sheer cliffs on either side. Then you also have to contend with the wind trying to blast you off the cliff. If you have fear of hights then give this route a miss. You also might freeze on that ridge from fear and getting you down could prove to be very tricky. The route is also not recommended as a descend from Snowdon. I was surprised how much climbing was actually involved, much more than I was used to in mountains in Slovenia. This took a toll on my legs and I had to stop a few times, even on the descent, to relive the cramps in my upper legs.

There were not many climbers on the Crib Goch path but once you reach the 3m marker stone you joined the rest of climbers from the Pyg and Miners track and there were loads of them on that beautiful day. On this weekend it was like downtown Haverfordwest – full of people. The remainder is a short walk up to the summit walking by the Snowdon railtrack.

The Snowdon Mountain Railway goes right to the top of the Snowdon summit edit Delete caption

The descent on the Miners Track was a bit tedious and still quite stressful on the legs – it is almost completely covered by rock slabs and that does not make a very comfortable walking surface. In other places you have smaller stones and there you have to watch you dont sprain an ancle. There are some nice views of the lakes (see photo gallery) and the end part of the track is very easy – like a walk in a park

At the time of my trek on May 30th the top railway station was closed for renovations and there were no refreshments or toilets available. I was surprised not to see a local entrepreneur selling us drinks and snacks – I remember seeing someone at the top of Triglav and there definitely weren’t as many people on that summit as there were on Snowdon.

Glaslyn lake

This was the longest of the walks in the book and a walk not to be reckoned with. It is long and by the end you just really want to see that lighthouse in the distance.

The authors say in the beginning of the walk »Although the longest of the walks in this book, there is nothing difficult about its undertaking« – Yeah right, either they (both authors) came home from this walk and their egos were to big to admit the agonizing pain in their muscles or they had themselves a post-hike LSD trip.

However there is apossibility I brought the toughness of this trip on myself as I completely forgot to bring along something to drink ending-up being rather dehydrated by the end of the hike. There are no refreshments to be bought on the way, not even in the part that runs through Goodwick

St. Gwyndaf's church in Llanwnda

A word of warning, in the first part of the walk as you leave the coastal path to start-up Garn Fawr it is a bit confusing as to where to turn. Do NOT continue on the paved lane. This will only end in tears – tears due to the realization you have to go back as you have gone the wrong way. There path signs is missing, well, I say missing. I found it hidden in the grass on the ground.

I was also quite surprised to find an inscribed stone commemorating the last invasion of Britain – by the French none-the-less in 1897 at Carregwastad Point. What were they doing here, we all know where France is, I presume they shot their navigator.

See the excellent gallery here.

Memorial stone on Carregwastad Point commemorating the landing of the French on 22 February 1797

The photo of Bristol Cathedral chosen for the fifth edition of the Schmap Bristol Guide

I received a mail today from an on-line publisher of digital travel guides called Schmap that my photo of Bristol Cathedral was chosen to be included in the fifth edition of the Schmap Bristol Guide.

I received an e-mail a while ago saying that the photo was short-listed for it and I didn’t think my photos were good enough for somebody to publish them in a guide. Well I am still not a great photographer, maybe not even a mediocre one as my equipment is testament to, but I am still proud to be chosen none the less

The page with my photo can be seen here.

I have heard from the Amroth Castle website that they want to publish a couple of my photos that I took at the Robin Hood filming location in Freshwater West.

http://www.AmrothCastle.com

http://www.amrothcastle.com/PembrokeshireNationalPark.aspx