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Snowdon via the Watkin Path

Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), Gwynedd · United Kingdom

Moderate2 daysEurope~£100 est.

Overview

Snowdon — Yr Wyddfa in Welsh — is the highest point in England and Wales at 1,085m, and the Watkin Path is its finest ascent route: beginning in a Nantgwynant oakwood beside a waterfall and climbing through cwms, beside Bronze Age standing stones and abandoned slate quarries, to the summit ridge with 360-degree views across Snowdonia and, on clear days, Ireland. The Watkin Path is the longest and most varied of Snowdon's six main routes. The lower section through Nantgwynant is genuinely woodland walking — ancient sessile oak hung with ferns and mosses in a landscape that has barely changed since the glaciers retreated 12,000 years ago. The ruins of the Plas Cwmllan slate quarry halfway up are a reminder that this mountain was a working landscape until the 1890s. The upper section becomes rocky and exposed, requiring hands on rock at the final steps to the summit. The Bwlch y Saethau (Pass of the Arrows) on the ridge is where, in legend, Arthur fell in his final battle. The summit cairn holds the ruins of a Victorian railway station — the Snowdon Mountain Railway still runs from Llanberis and deposits people 50m from the top, which adds to the surreal summit experience. Stay overnight in Beddgelert — a 45-minute drive from the trailhead — to reach the car park before the 9am rush on weekends.