Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
General => General Chat => Topic started by: LandyLiam on August 04, 2011
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Looks like i'll be doing a road trip to London in 2 weeks time, thinking of extending the trip for a day and playing in the hills of North Wales as i'll be going to the Holyhead ferry. So do i have a go at Snowden or is there anything more interesting in the area? also any recommended campsites or B&Bs?
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...you could go for a scramble up Tryfan ....jump across Adam and Eve and then up Bristly Ridge, or Snowdon via Crib Goch......both routes....very enjoyable...
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....couple of good Campsites in Nant Peris....near the Vaynol Arms....2 at the base of Tryfan one with bunkhouse....or a bit further Dolgam Campsite near Capel Curig.....
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I like the sound of crib goch, I've seen the pics, looks cool. Also tryfan and capel curig sound like places to visit as they were well featured in the book "I bought a mountain" (good book for sheep lovers!) The campsites will have to be of good standard as my road trip buddy will like a bit of comfort (although I will try to talk him into a summit bivvy ;D )
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....the campsites are pretty basic, though you could push down to Betws y Coed, ....or Youth Hostel at Pen y Pass........my Profile Pic is of me sitting on the Canon Stone halfway up the North face of Tryfan.....bounce up the Glyders and sit on the Cantilever stone......have fun....jealous
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If your going to do crib goch. Please dont do it alone.
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Crib Goch is a class scramble/ridge walk, the views from the ridge are terrific in every sense of the word ;)
(http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc484/aakilles/6568_103095046149_586701149_2510669_8099724_n.jpg) That's snowden in the background and the ridge in the fore.
There's a campsite at Llyn Gwynant (a Big Lake) There's a path up to the Pen-y-Pass car park and then from there you can do snowdon Via the Miners track, Pyg Track or Crib Goch. You could make it a round trip and head back down the Watkin's Path and back to the campsite. There's also the Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel for some pints and good food,it's about a 20minute walk away.
If you want to ditch the tents there's a cottage "Hen Gapel" across the road that my uncles wifes family own. It's a crackin wee place but quite expensive. http://hen-gapel.co.uk/index.html (http://hen-gapel.co.uk/index.html) Not sure how much they would be charging per night.
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If your going to do crib goch. Please dont do it alone.
either way, i'll still be dead if i fall ;D
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My os map of snowdonia arrived today so I've have a wee glance at the area and it looks very nice, even on a flat map! Pen-y-pass looks like a good place to base ourselves, I made the mistake of showing my companion a pic of crib goch, so that's not happening :( however if we aim for the pyg track and take a wrong turn ::) we could end up there ;D maybe come back down the miners track for a slight change of scenery. Camping will be weather dependant, although I wouldn't mind a wee night in a mountain hotel myself.
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I have a cut out from last months Trail for you if you want. its on Crib Goch
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Yes please kind sir
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On snowdon summit now, not a breath of wind, rescue helicopter hovering in valley below, raf jet just did a flyby, and there is a bar up here, its as good as it gets ;D
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On snowdon summit now, not a breath of wind, rescue helicopter hovering in valley below, raf jet just did a flyby, and there is a bar up here, its as good as it gets ;D
Did you go via Crib Goch?
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While the weather was perfect for tackling crib goch my bro-in-law was a bit nervous about it so I didn't take him up there, and I thought I'd leave it for another trip, will definitely be back to this place. We went up the pyg track (2hs 15mins) and down the miners track. Next trip I hope to do the full snowdon horse on day 1, the tryfan and the glyders on day 2. Will have some pics online tomorrow, they should be good ;)
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here's the pics then
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1060808Small.jpg)
the trip started off with a night in London, had to drive the next day near the city centre skirting round the congestion zone, down the kings road, passing harrods and many fancy ferraris & bentleys, snowdonia was going to be the complete opposite (i'm not a city slicker)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1060869Small.jpg)
so the second night is spent here at cobdens hotel at capel curig, a quaint wee 2 star hotel, good food and friendly staff www.cobdens.co.uk (http://www.cobdens.co.uk)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1060880Small.jpg)
popped out for a few evening shots before dinner by some lake, its hard to remember the names in welsh
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1060893Small.jpg)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1060900Small.jpg)
sunset from pen-y-pass
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1060947Small.jpg)
an early start the next morning (up at 6am >:( to beat the incoming rain)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1060949Small.jpg)
we went along the pyg track, this is the point where the path splits to go up crib goch, we pondered for a few minutes on tackling this but my bro-in-law barry wasn't overly happy with heights so i decided not to push him into doing this (didn't want him to freeze half way across ;D )
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1060952Small.jpg)
thats the crib goch ridge above us now
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1060954Small.jpg)
some views along the way
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070002Small.jpg)
they say money doesn't grow on trees, but look closely at the tree on the left
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070006Small.jpg)
:o
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1060984Small.jpg)
the upper lake below snowdon
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070010Small.jpg)
at last me make it to the col, not far to go now
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070020Small.jpg)
we meet thomas the tank engine here
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070029Small.jpg)
summit achieved in 2hr15m
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070042Small.jpg)
barry celebrates with a beer he carried the whole way up
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070056Small.jpg)
i just pop into the summit cafe and buy one ;D
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070025Small.jpg)
view from the top (watkins path on the right)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070031Small.jpg)
crib goch on the left, that route brings you along the summits, the path below is the pyg track (our way up) , the path at the bottom is the miners track (our way down)
having a cafe on the summit was excellent, hot food and beer available, gift shop & toilets too, so we hung around the top for over an hour
some views on the way down the miners track
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070088Small.jpg)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070103Small.jpg)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070108Small.jpg)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070112Small.jpg)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070124Small.jpg)
you can see a few tents pitched on the left, beautiful spot but with such calm weather the midges may have been a problem
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070082Small.jpg)
snowdon
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070099Small.jpg)
an old mining house
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070109Small.jpg)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070119Small.jpg)
then off to the famous (well i hadn't heard of it til last week) mountain hotel "pen-y-gwryd" for a swift half www.pyg.co.uk (http://www.pyg.co.uk)
Welcome to the Pen-Y-Gwryd Hotel, a long established and traditional British mountaineer's hotel in Snowdonia, North Wales
Our historic hotel at the foot of Snowdon is where Hillary and Tenzing trained for the first successful ascent of Mount Everest in 1953, and where today's visitors can get a real taste of adventure in the beautiful wilderness of Snowdonia National Park.
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070130Small.jpg)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1060910Small.jpg)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1060913Small.jpg)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070137Small.jpg)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070132Small.jpg)
hmmm, thats nearly as many pics as of the mountain, but then again, the pub was nearly as nice as the mountain ;D
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2011/20110818snowdon/P1070146Small.jpg)
spotted these on the way back to the ferry, couldn't resist a wee browse :)
so 3 days away, 800 miles travelled without a hitch, the day after i get home the alternator belt snaps after 10 miles :o glad that didn't happen on the journey ;D
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....crackin pics...brings back memories....crackin area to walk...