Snowdonia Day Two, Part 1, Saturday 10th May 2025, The BIG Mountain.

 Ever since I had booked our holiday, I had said to myself I was going to climb Snowdon, weather permitting and today was going to be the day.

I got up bright and early and drove the short 15 minutes up the road to Rhyd Ddu and parked at the Welsh Highland Railway station ready for my ascent up the mountain.

The weather was perfect and totally still, as I got my kit together and water for the big climb.

I set off as it was just beginning to get light, to the sound of a male Cuckoo calling and a male Grasshopper Warbler singing away, what a lovely start.

As I walked, a few other nice birds included singing male Whinchat and Stonechats, but my mind was on getting up here as quick as possible before the hoards reach the summit.

It became tougher as i gained height, but i just kept going, resting every so often and sipping water and obviously taking in the amazing views of the surrounding mountains and Llyn Cwellyn.

A couple more nice bird sightings saw me seeing a couple of Ring Ouzels, just as i reached Llechog, the views here were just stunning looking down onto Llyn Glas, Llyn Coch and Lyn Nadroedd in the surrounding area of Cwm Clogwyn.

The final couple of hundred metres were tough as my knees were burning but i finally made it up to the summit, what an experience!.

I spent twenty or so minutes here just enjoying the amazing views and chilling, having a drink and taking more photos of this cracking area.

Then it was head back down.

The walk down was brilliant, as the sun was fully up now and all the pinnacles and rock formations i had passed earlier were in much better light and the views across to Anglesey and the surrounding peaks just spectacular.

Two more Ring Ouzels including a pretty close female and a lovely male Wheatear, kept the bird sightings ticking over nicely.

After a very enjoyable descent, i was back at the car in an amazing time of 4hrs and 45 minutes, which i thought  was very good for my first mountain. 

I can't put in words how much of an experience this was for me today, truly, truly, memorable.

After this superb morning, I drove back to the cottage and had a well earned shower, before Tracey and myself headed out again.

Llyn Cwellyn

Llechog

Amazing Views Down To Cwm Clogwyn

Snowdon Summit, 1085 metres.

The Infamous Crib Goch

Llyn Llydaw Shimmering In The Sun

A Really Enjoyable Scrambly Section Of The Path