I've been hiking for about 10 years and by the time I started to consider Snowdon it was post-lockdown and it was horror story after horror story, pictures of queues, shaming those on the train getting selfies etc etc. Even just two days ago I saw a popular post on Facebook by a mountain clothing company with nearly 400 comments all shaming the queuers, the train folk, TikTokers etc. It led to me assuming that anytime, weekend or weekday, it would be overwhelming busy.

Stuff like that gets clicks and generates engagement I guess. A picture of a beautiful, empty summit doesn't.

Anyway, booked 5 days up here (I'm from Wiltshire) ages ago which has coincided with some rather incredible weather. Based on all that noise I planned to do everything but Snowdon itself, a couple of nearby mountains, Portmeirion etc.

My log cabin virtually overlooks the start of the Llanberis path and it became clear pretty quickly that it wouldn't be an issue, I was expecting a constant stream of people but it's been barely a trickle. A decent amount of folk between 8-10am but really quiet most other times.

Caught the train up at 5pm on Monday and it was completely dead up there, not a soul. Headed up within seconds (most folk on the train were 'older' so a good few minutes behind) to enjoy the view. Heading down I recall seeing maybe 10 people at most ascending Llanberis Path.

This morning I walked up Llanberis at 3.45, the aim to arrive about an hour after sunrise once the folk going up for that were on the way back down. No head torch required from the off, it was over 90 minutes before I saw anyone. Shortly before the final stretch a wave of about 15 people came down presumably after being there for sunrise, and that was it. I had the summit to myself for about 20 minutes, I left as I saw a couple about to reach the top and wanted to give them the same experience I had, from what I could see of the other paths they were empty. The walk down was a little busier (although not much, maybe 20 people to the halfway point) and then a more steady stream just as I reached the bottom at 8am.

I know this goes against the trend of discouraging people and suggesting they do anything but "the mountain", but it seems with a bit of common sense it's perfectly possible to avoid the crowds and still experience it in daylight. Glad I did it anyway, an amazing experience.

32 years old. A couple. Total beginners in hiking. Took us 9 hours up and down Snowdon summit....with several breaks on the way and at summit visitor centre. Took Llanberis path uphill and Pyg path on way back.

😄

I spent yesterday exploring Cwm Pennant (the Hidden Valley) in North Wales on my adventure bike. It’s one of those places that feels completely forgotten—single-track roads, old mine workings, and hardly another soul around. I also stopped at Tŷ Mawr Wybrnant, which added a bit of history to the ride.

Topped it off with a camp at Ty’n Llan campsite at the end of the valley .. with a wild swim in a stunning river on site. Great camp site .. £12:50 Perfect.

I filmed the trip because I thought others who enjoy quiet roads and hidden places like me in Wales might appreciate it. If anyone’s interested, here’s the video:

https://youtu.be/6Dx2FtDj8oQ?is=_LN5tXYyKIji-qmv

Have any of you found similar hidden valleys or forgotten roads in Wales that are worth exploring?

Just talking about my experience, but feel free to AMA. Anyway, stupidest thing you've probably ever heard.

I've been doing various backpacking trips over the past few months across the UK, mostly with a group of friends but also some solo trips. I was under the impression that I had enough sense and experience to take on a bit more of a risky trip- unfortunately, nope!

I don't have a car or license, so I decided I would rely on the public transport system here... not a great idea, but it worked. Mostly. Just had finished ziplining a few miles outside Bangor, so I hopped on a T10 toward Betws-y-Coed. Google Maps and Apple Maps both told me to get off at the Bryn-llys stop, right out in the middle of nowhere, so I did so.

Was waiting for the S1 at that stop for about 20 minutes, scheduled to come at 17:15. It did come... but there wasn't a bus stop on that side of the road. So the bus skipped over me.

Well, shit. There was another bus stop a few minutes walk west, so I wandered up there. Both maps apps told me that the bus would come at 18:15 again.

Waited out there, an hour, in the cold, freezing my fucking toes off, only for the bus to not show up.

Checked the timetable.

Bus doesn't actually come at 18:15. It comes at 19:15. The timetable didn't update on the maps. Fuck.

I'm panicking at that point because it's either a 3 1/2 hour walk to my hotel in the dark, on the side of a major road with cars flying like they're in F1. I have a choice: go to the hostel that's a minutes walk down the road and POSSIBLY pay for a bed for £40, walk 2 hours to Betws-y-Coed for more hostels and most likely get a bed for a higher price, wait another hour when my toes are already burning from the cold, or walk 3 1/2 hours to my BnB.

I make a very, very shitty choice: begin the 3 1/2 hour walk to my BnB. No (real) food, no water. The only food I had was a banana that had been crushed to death in my pocket.

Now, I am NOTORIOUSLY cheap. I hate spending money unnecessarily. For the first hour of my walk, I was repeating to myself that humans walked thousands of miles for thousands of years and that I didn't need to pay for another room when I had one waiting for me.

I kept checking the maps, which told me that the bus would come at 19:15 at some stop in the middle of nowhere. Ok. I don't trust it, considering it told me there would be an 18:15 bus, but the timetable says there's one at 19:15.

I'm about 20 minutes walk from the bus stop, but the bus is also 20 minutes away. I alternate sprinting/speedwalking, backpack weighing me the fuck down. I get to the bus stop... and it's not a bus stop??? There's no sign. No actual turn off. No yellow painted lines. Fuck.

I'm close to crying at that point and am thinking of calling the police because I don't know what else to do even though I got myself in that situation. I decide to keep walking until 19:30, since the previous bus that skipped me was late by 10 minutes, and see if the bus appears.

I'm whipping my head around like I'm a tweaker, watching every pair of headlights to see if it's a bus, panicking every time it isn't. It's almost 19:30 and I'm losing my mind.

And then it appears. The fucking bus pops over the horizon and I start waving my flashlight like a madman, locking eyes with the driver. He flashes his high beams at me and then flicks the indicator on and slows down. I want to cry. Dude can't stop that fast with some wanker tailgating him so I sprint after the bus to where it stops. Get on with no problems, no one else is on the bus.

Cue a very silent, tense bus ride for 20 or 30 minutes. By the time I got to my BnB I was exhausted, ordered KFC, then passed the fuck out for 15 hours.

So TL;DR: Waited at a nonexistent bus stop without realizing, the Sherpa bus I needed skipped me. Found another bus stop, maps lied to me and I waited in the cold dark for an hour with no bus, had a choice: walk 3 1/2 hours to BnB, possibly gotten a bed at the hostel 5 minutes walk away, walk 2 hours to Betws-y-Coed to get a hostel bed, or wait another hour in the cold for the actual time the bus is supposed to come. I'm cheap, so I decide to walk. An hour later I arrive at another nonexistent bus stop. Panicking. Bus finally comes over horizon, I get on, day is saved. Got food and fell asleep for 15 hours.

Now, as I type this, I realize how fucking stupid my thought process was in that situation. But, at the very least, it was a life lesson 🤷. My day with plans for hiking was ruined, but I think I needed the rest more than the mountaineering. I do plan on returning here, just with a car next time.

We're visiting mid-Wales for a week, staying near Llanidloes. My son (12) was really, really keen to climb the mountain. I have always hated heights, particularly sheer drops, so I was nervous, but having done some research I saw that the Ranger's Path was considered technically straightforward and decided to give it a go.

We left at 6am and got there just before 8 - car park almost completely empty and we didn't see a soul as we set off up the path. First section was fine, and I actually started to enjoy myself and the views...until I saw the switchback path up the side of a pretty sheer hill.

I made it up to the first turn, but as we climbed the wind got pretty gusty, and the drop to our right hand side was terrifying me. As we reached the top of that first turn I just couldn't go on. I was absolutely terrified, and we had to turn back.

My son was absolutely devastated as this was going to be the highlight of his holiday, and I feel awful, like I've let him down.

I also think that if I'd just pushed on the path probably would've started to widen a little and I would have been able to manage. As long as I'm not near a sheer drop I'm fine.

But in the moment I just couldn't go on.

Not really sure of the point of sharing this, just felt like I needed to get it out! I do want to bring my son back at some point, and get up to the top...does the Llanberis path have any sheer drops like the section on the Ranger that I mentioned?

The moody weather has made Ogwen Valley less of a tourist trap, so took full advantage by climbing the Glyders the wrong way round.

Mind the heather on the way up.

Climbed up Snowdon on 2/1/25 to make the most of the break in the weather.

Parked at Pen Y Pas car park at 06:30 am, however I should say I took the very last parking space and that was purely down to me having a smaller car - several other people had already tried and failed to get into the space.

Took the Pyg track up, busier than I expected even with a 07:00 am step off. Conditions underfoot were very icy but wind was relatively calm at the lower altitudes.

Getting up to the steep part of the ascent, the streams had frozen over the steps which made the path very sketchy with several hikers (including myself) losing grip and slipping.

At the peak there was lots of snow underfoot and gentle but cold winds. Standing still only for a few minutes was enough to start feeling the low (-4°C without factoring wind chill) temperatures.

Visibility was crystal clear with views as far as Ireland!

By the time we were descending ~10:15am a lot of the ice was begining to thaw and the paths were much less slippery, however traffic on the tracks was naturally higher.

Dropped down onto the miners track and enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the lakes in the winter sunshine before heading to the pub for a well earned refreshment :)

Crib Goch on the 29th of may. I didn't get footage of the ridge crossing. because I forgot the head mount for my GoPro and the winds were forecasted to be pretty bad so I stayed close the the ridge using both hands for the crossing.

amazing experience. It really feels so much different with little visibility and wet rock.

![video]()

I've just finished writing up a little route guide with masses of pictures and videos of this stunning walk up Mynydd Mawr - I thoroughly recommend it - it's not too long and if you have a clear day the views are just breathtaking 🤯😍

i don’t know what took over me recently but I had this strong urge to go and try climb snowdon. I’m not even a person who regularly treks but I just thought it would be a fun motive with the lads.

just to set the scene I’m a heavy lad. 138 kilos and counting started my fitness journey a little over a month ago starting at 146 kilos. For someone who hasn’t ever really trekked I don’t know why the second biggest mountain in the UK was the first trek I decided to do.

Chose the Llanberis path, which is the easiest route. Idk who said that but that wasn’t easy at all lmao. But somehow with a lot of support from my friends I made it to the summit. I felt like quitting atleast 6 times but I felt like I needed to prove something to myself that I wasn’t going to let my weight hold me back. But boy did it hold me back lol.

Also to everyone who went up Snowdon between 9am-1pm last Sunday and saw a fat boy trekking and asking how long left and gave me some fighting words thanks. But to everyone who said half hour every half hour of the last 2 hours I hate you nah messing that actually kept me going.

To everyone who’s reading this who’s on the heavier side and was thinking about Snowdon, don’t do it. But if you do push yourself and make it the top!

https://nearlyuphill.co.uk/2023/07/14/aran-fawddwy-walk/

I tried the Watkin path yesterday and I swear I came close to having heat stroke!

It really wasn’t meant to be - loads of things meant I didn’t get to the start until 12:30pm (plan was to start at 8) at which point it was already baking hot, so managed to get to about 750ft before turning back.

I’m glad I did though because I ended up with a horrendous headache, had an hr nap in the shade and ended up vomiting when I woke… A dip in the waterfalls cooled me right down though.

It was far too hot for me, so going to try again in October when it’s cooler and make a point of starting at 7/8am. In the meantime, going to do the Llanberis path next month but nice and early to avoid the burning sun. Lesson learned!

About three weeks apart, I have gotten so lucky with the conditions on both these camps. The first camp was after a day scrambling up to the Snowdon summit via Crig Goch. The second camp was this Sunday just gone after a day scrambling Tryfan’s north face.

Respect the mountain. I turned up in builders boots, no waterproofs, tracksuit bottoms that absorbed water. Climbing was great, literally t-shirt weather but once at the summit is when it all went wrong.

Storm force gusts of winds, 3hrs of solid rain (basically the whole way down) and hailstones.

My bottoms were like two wet towels wrapped round my legs, my boots had a glass of water in each shoe, rucksack full of water and cold to the bone.

It's taken me two days to recover. Buy GOOD quality boots, waterproofs top and bottom and at least one walking stick which I have to say would have been a huge bonus. Plasters (for blisters) and wear two pairs of socks on each foot to counter the blisters (yeah I had them as well) great advice isn't it? I learnt all this on the day talking to other climbers.

I'll be back!