Snowdon: Ranger path
With hundreds of miles of footpaths through lush green forests winding close to rivers and leading to plunging drop-offs where waterfalls cascade into the tranquil blue-green pools waiting below, Snowdonia national park is home to more than just mountains. An area close to my heart and much visited due to a Grandad who lived in Bangor and loved the national park, I’ve come to know this national park better than any other in the UK. A landscape inspiring myths and legends, the word Snowdonia is said to derive from the Welsh word Eryr or Eagle due to the population of golden eagles in the area. It also means highlands or uplands. Both of these meanings certainly ring true when you stand on the top of Snowdon; 14 other peaks over 3000ft surround you. The national park is home to a wide range of flora and fauna such as the rare Snowdon lily and revered Peregrine falcon.
Shown on the map below, there are 7 recognised routes to the top of Mount Snowdon, which stands at 3560ft. They range in length and difficulty. The easiest and most popular route is the Llanberis path, with the most difficult considered to be Crib Goch. As well as traversing the vast landscape to take in Aber Falls, the Panorama walk and Graigddu woods, I’ve climbed Snowdon a few times, trying out different paths such as the Llanberis path, the Miners track, and my favourite so far; the Ranger path.
Start/end point: Llyn Cwellyn car park off the A4085 - close to the youth hostel
Average duration: 6 hours return (it took us 3.5 hours there and back)
Distance: 13km return
When to go: Year round - be careful of snow/heavy rain in winter
Difficulty: Moderate (categorised as hard/strenuous by the national park)
Maps/Info: The walking route is very well signposted, with the first couple of kilometres a gravel path which is easy to follow
Information provided by the national park:
https://snowdonia.gov.wales/walk/snowdon-ranger/
All Trails provides a great downloable map which will sync onto Google maps/Maps me/other formats as required:
https://www.alltrails.com/en-gb/trail/wales/gwynedd/snowdon-via-snowdon-ranger-path
The hike:
We started our walk very early (4.30am) on a weekend morning in January; probably the least popular month to hike up Snowdon due to weather conditions. There were no other cars in the car park when we parked; this route is one of the least popular routes up Snowdon but the car park is quite small so if you attempted this walk on a July weekend mid-morning you may find you struggle to park.
The path was well signposted, crossing the road away from the lake and past the railway station, you keep to the flat gravel path for a couple of kilometres before it starts to climb. The path also begins to zig-zag at this point, the steepness requiring a few switchbacks to facilitate the upwards gradient at which you are now walking. The gravel path remains through a few more kilometres of climbing which makes the route easy to follow and is handy if you are climbing in the dark like we were.
Onwards and upwards we slogged until the gravel path ran out and we had to use our more primal navigational skills. We had headtorches and used these to follow what we thought was the path. Unfortunately, we went off route a few times into giant rocks which we had to scramble over to get back to the path. This added to the fun and adventure of our trip but if you want to follow the path more efficiently, google maps or All trails are great options for easy to follow guides.
The route keeps on upwards at a steep angle with some loose rocks and slippery surfaces underfoot to watch out for. As it was very early morning we were contending with wet ground due to dew, recent rainfall and cloud cover surface mist. There was also a good amount of snow on the ground which we had to walk over for a couple of kilometres near to the summit.
On we continued until we reached another section of zig-zag rocky path, with heavy cloud cover giving us a limited view of the striking lake; Llyn Ffynnon-y-gwas. Not much further past this view, the path joins with the last section of the Llanberis path and Snowdonia railway. You turn right onto the joint paths and continue another kilometre towards the summit; mostly flat path with several steps up and down to the top. These steps were once again covered in quite heavy snow - mushy and melting in places, and hard-packed ice in others. The most dangerous sections were where it looked free of snow but was actually covered in ice. The temptation to quickly walk onwards to the top was difficult to get under control, but we had to reign ourselves in in order to reach the summit without any nasty falls. If you climb Snowdon in winter, make sure you are extremely snow-savvy.
Due to the extremely low cloud, you can see that the view was not that great! The feeling of summiting Snowdon once again was, however, incredible and who needs a view when they’ve got their lovely husband to look at hey?!
We stayed at the summit for 20 minutes or so, walking around the edge, waiting to see if the cloud would clear at all. When it was obvious that the cloud wasn’t budging any time soon, we took one last moment to soak up our accomplishment and then reversed the walk down the Ranger path and back to the car.
Unfortunately for us, once we were about half way back to the car, the heavens opened with a biblical downpouring of rain which seemed to come from the very heart of the mountain itself; we battled on stoically, icy cold rain getting through our waterproofs, pouring down the backs of our necks, filling up our shoes and socks, thinking “It will stop any time now” but no, it didn’t stop until we got back to the car, wet through to our pants!
We went off to Llandudno for the night, warming up in a family run restaurant called Home Cookin’, gobbling up delicious food made from locally sourced produce and gulping down local Snowdon craft beers. A job well done!
