Haha, it took me nearly a year to finally pen down this story. In recent months, the idea of continuing to write on this blog has been nagging at me. But what can I say? I have the intention, but no willingness due to being swamped with work, moving to a new country (more on that later), and endless scrolling, and so on. However, tonight I'm making myself sit down and write because I know I'll treasure these writings when I'm older :')
In the previous episode, "Journey to Snowdon, Episode 1: The Car," you'll recall that we encountered some drama that slightly messed up our Snowdon schedule. The plan was to drive from London to Snowdon in the Northwest and make a midway stop somewhere in Hereford. However, it was already 3:00 PM when we finally got the car and hit the road. So Junda did his best to get us there before dark.
Driving to Snowdon by car can be a bit tricky because you can't just park anywhere you like. There's one car park in Pen-y-Pass, right across from the hostel we booked, which is at the very starting point of our hike. But it costs a fortune to park there, which was around £40 for overnight parking, and you have to reserve it days in advance due to limited space. There are other car parks available, but they're a bit farther from our hostel. Actually that's not a big issue because there's a sherpa bus running around the Snowdon area. However, since Snowdon itself is a remote location, therefore the bus schedule is limited, which is why we were worried about running late since the last bus leaves at 7:00 PM.
After nearly four hours of driving, we left the highway and started on a narrower road, passing through the scenic English countryside. As we went uphill, the landscape transformed, revealing stunning rocky mountains. The road became steep and narrow, so Junda had to drive cautiously as darkness crept in. Finally, after a long journey, we reached the Snowdon area. We bypassed our hostel since our plan was to park our car in the Llanberis parking lot, as per the information I found online.
When we arrived there, the parking lot was nearly empty, with only a few cars and no sign of people. I purchased a ticket from the machine, which had both English and Welsh language options. It cost us around £4, but later we realized that overnight parking wasn't allowed. I had experienced illegal parking fines in the UK before, so we didn't want that to happen again.
It was an uncomfortable situation, to say the least. It was cold, dark, we were tired and hungry, and our phone reception was poor, making it hard to browse the internet. I tried calling the hostel, and they suggested another parking lot in Nant Peris, which was closer to the hostel. They also provided the phone number for Snowdon Taxi. We immediately left the parking lot and decided to find something to eat first since there were no visible stores around the hostel.
We drove around Llanberis, a small town in the Snowdon area, where we found shops and restaurants to stock up on groceries. However, most restaurants were either closed or fully packed, so we stopped by Spar, a convenience store. There wasn't much left on the shelves; it seemed all the tourists and hikers had already cleared them out, as Spar was the only supermarket in the vicinity. We even couldn't find any eggs available there. After long scanning through the rack, we decided to grab milk, tomatoes, mushroom, bbq chicken breast, and vegan sausages for dinner, as well as breakfast and lunch to pack for our hike. We'd just be creative and experimenting with the ingredients we had. Luckily we brought some packs of indomies, instant shirataki rices, and dried tempeh from Indonesia - and not forgetting the coffee as well. We also had some leftover bread that we brought all the way from London, so I'd say we're good.
After our visit to the store, Junda drove to Nant Peris, where there were already many cars, some just arriving like us. We bought a parking ticket, displayed it on our car, packed our essentials into a smaller bag to take to the hostel, and looked for a taxi.
The map so you can picture the journey from the south (Pen-y-Pass) - Llanberis - Nant Peris - and back to Pen-y-Pass again :))
The reception was poor, and it was very dark. We saw a group of people about to leave their car and hop into a taxi that had just arrived. I gathered the courage to ask them,
"Hey, how did you find the taxi?"
"Oh, we're about to leave, but I'll tell the driver to come back and pick you up."
"Thanks! We appreciate it. I have no reception here"
"A bit remote, innit?" - said with a thick Welsh accent.
Junda and I chuckled since we always found Scottish or Welsh accents fascinating.
Not long after they left, another taxi arrived and approached us. The driver said that his friend had sent him to pick us up. Feeling a bit helpless in the dark, we hopped into the taxi without suspecting anything. In the thriller movies and series I usually watch, this could have been the start of a tragedy - the taxi driver could have been a serial killer or a cannibal, you name it. Haha. By the way, we just found out that the Welsh word for taxi is "Tacsi," which we found cute.
The taxi driver drove very fast, without a hint of doubt, even though the road was narrow and winding. I think he sensed that we were frightened as I tightened my grip.
He reassured us, saying, "Don't worry, I know this road like the back of my hand. The perks of driving at night, the roads are mine," again with a thick Welsh accent.
The drive only took 10 minutes, and we finally arrived at the hostel. "That'll be a tenner," the driver said when he asked for the payment.
That night's piece of the Snowdon story was etched into my memory, especially the encounter with the local who had a strong Welsh accent. We checked in safe and sound and cooked Indomie for dinner, rather sad dinner but happy that we were safe in a warm place and successfully passed all the drama that day :')
The series of random foods we had; indomie with random tomatoes for dinner, toast with mushroom and vegan sausages
The next day, after a cold night, we woke up super early due to jet lag but decided to wait a bit before heading to the kitchen. The reception had terrible connectivity, and the only reliable WiFi was available in the common room.
As always, the YHA hostel felt warm and comforting, as I've mentioned in my previous post, I LOVE YHA Hostels. It's conveniently located right across from the starting point of the hike in Pen-y-Pass and is very affordable. They always provide a fully equipped kitchen so we can cook our own meals. But if you don't feel like cooking, they also serve affordable warm food in the restaurant.
Junda prepared breakfast while I packed our lunchbox. Of course, we couldn't forget to brew some coffee for the hike. The kitchen itself had a gorgeous view overlooking Pen-y-Pass, and we saw some early hikers already setting off. We quickly ate our breakfast and got ready for the hike.
We chose the Pen-y-Pass route via the Miner's Path from among the six available routes to Snowdon Peak because we had read that it's the most beautiful route, passing by many lakes along the way, and it's also considered shorter compared to the Llanberis path.
Source : Snowdon Walking Route
We began our walk at 8 AM. The route started relatively flat and then gradually went uphill at some points, but it was still manageable since it was a stone-made path that provided good grip. We passed by many breathtaking lakes along the way. Absolutely stunning.
Weather info
The start of the route was THIS PRETTY, I got too excited I took thousands of pictures lol.
You can see Junda far far away as he didn't want to wait for me who where busy taking pictures :")
The first, among many lakes, we encountered that day
The bridge. Junda looks so tiny!
Snowdon was a coal mine, we also saw the ruin of one of the station along the way
The route started uphill from this point, although the path was relatively easy (compared to the one we faced after this lol)
At this point, we missed the path and continued straight until we reached a dead-end facing the lake. That's when we realized we needed to 'climb' this rocky mountain. We were unsure at first, mainly because we didn't want to climb, and we hadn't seen anyone else taking that path. However, after seeing someone coming down, we had no choice but to climb. It was rocky and slippery, so I didn't take many photos there.
The cloud started coming. Couldn't believe that we made it to the top, although weren't finished yet, haha. Apparently all the strength training I did was paid off.
During a break, a random guy approached us and greeted us with "salam," apparently recognizing us as fellow Muslims. He randomly asked where we were from and inquired whether we had a friend or brother who was currently looking to get married. He even showed us a picture of his daughter, who was seeking a husband. I told him, 'Wow, you know that's a very random thing to ask a stranger you meet on a mountain, right?'
Besides the random guy we met many fluffy friends along the way. Many people brought their dogs to climb, all very happy and cheerful.
In this point we were faced with choice to go up to the snowdon summit or to go back. We chose the later one.
The summit was so visible it felt close, but we were just tired so we gave up. Haha.
As we descended, we had several options to go down, and initially, we chose the Pyg Track, which is shorter and would bring us back to Pen-y-Pass. However, considering the rocky and slippery path that we'd face on the Pyg Track, we began to question our decision. The other track, the Llanberis path, is actually flatter and more suitable for beginners, but it would take an additional three hours to reach Llanberis. We were exhausted from lack of sleep and jet lag, so we ultimately decided to take the easiest route - the train! HAHA. There's actually a train service running to the Snowdon summit for £25 (one way), so if you want to visit Snowdon without trekking, you can definitely opt for this option.
The railway
God's huge painting
The train is actually running until the summit but it was on maintenance when we came, so we need to walk to the next stop.
The train
Arrived at the Llanberis station!
We arrived at Llanberis station and tried to find something to eat in the Llanberis town, but all the restaurants were closed and wouldn't open until dinner time. So, we decided to head back to the hostel and have some food there.
The hostel taken from the hill
Looking back, no matter how much drama we went through, we can honestly say we don't regret a single moment of our Snowdon adventure. The sheer beauty of the landscape, the tranquility of those lakes, and all those quirky encounters we had along the way – they were totally worth it. I mean, seriously, just looking at these pictures and reading through this post makes me want to pack my bags and head back there right now. Snowdon's got this magical pull that keeps drawing us in, and we can't wait to return and make more incredible memories in this stunning place.
The next day was all cloudy and rainy, glad that we had a clear day when we hike
En-route on the bus to the parking lot. What a stunning view.
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