Walk Garnedd Ugain, Snowdon, Moel Cynghorion, Foel Gron and Moel Eilio from Llanberis
Testing hike over Snowdon & her sisters
This 13¼ mile, Grade 9 (Very Hard), easy-to-follow, hand-crafted walk, complete with GPS Waypoints, starts at Snowdon Mountain Railway Llanberis Station in Snowdonia & will take you about 10½ hrs to complete.
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Detailed walk route map PDF | |
Vital Statistics: | ||
| Walk No.: | gw158 | |
| Length: | 13¼ miles (21km) | |
| Ascent: | 5651 ft (1723m) | |
| Time: | 10½ hours | |
| Grade: |  | |
| Walk Type: | High Mountains | |
| Gear Needed: | Full mountain gear including boots, warm layers, waterproofs, food & water, and good weather | |
Route outline for this walk:
Snowdon Mountain Railway Llanberis Station - Cader Ellyll - Llanberis Path - Halfway Station - Llechog (Llanberis Path) - Clogwyn Station - Garnedd Ugain (Crib y Ddysgl) - Bwlch Glas - Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) - Clogwyn Du'r Arddu Path - Snowdon Ranger Path - Moel Cynghorion - Bwlch Maesgwm - Foel Goch (Snowdon) - Foel Gron - Moel Eilio (Llanberis) - Llanberis.
Points of Interest/Notes on this walk:
The Snowdon Ranger Path is named after John Morton, the self-styled 'Snowdon Ranger', who used to escort 'gentlemen who put themselves under his guidance in order to ascend Snowdon and see the country'.
He lived in what is now the Snowdon Ranger Youth Hostel at the beginning of the path.
The Snowdon Mountain Railway is the only rack railway in Great Britain. It was opened in April 1896 and has been ferrying people to the summit of Snowdon ever since. To date, the Snowdon Mountain Railway has suffered only one fatality.On the day it opened one of the engines briefly lost control near the summit, tempting a passenger to leap from the train. He died from injuries.
The building on the summit of Snowdon (Hafod Eryri - The Snowdon Summit Visitor Centre and Cafe) is thought to be the home of the highest house mice in England and Wales!
Peaks, Summits and Tops reached on this walk:
 5 Welsh Mountains |
 0 Wainwrights |
 6 Welsh Nuttalls |
 1 Welsh Dewey |
 0 Wainwright Outlying Fells |
 3 Welsh Marilyns |
 0 Bridgets |
Peak Bagging Statistics for this walk:
The highest point of this walk is Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) at 1085m (3561ft). Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) is classified as a Welsh Mountain (Hewitt) (Highest in Wales, Highest in England & Wales)
Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) is also known as a Welsh Nuttall (Highest in Wales, Highest in England & Wales) and a Welsh Marilyn (Highest in Wales, 43rd highest in the UK).
Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) means 'The Burial Place' in Welsh and is pronounced 'ur-oo-ith-va'.
The summit of Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) is marked by an Ordnance Survey Trig Point. Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) is the highest point in the county of Gwynedd, the highest point in Snowdonia National Park and the highest point in England and Wales.
Completing this walk will also take you to the top of Garnedd Ugain (Crib y Ddysgl) at 1066m (3499ft). Garnedd Ugain (Crib y Ddysgl) is classified as a Welsh Mountain (Hewitt) (2nd highest in Wales, 2nd highest in England & Wales)
Garnedd Ugain (Crib y Ddysgl) is also known as a Welsh Nuttall (2nd highest in Wales, 2nd highest in England & Wales). Garnedd Ugain (Crib y Ddysgl) means 'Dish Ridge' in Welsh and is pronounced 'kreeb ee thysgl'.
The summit of Garnedd Ugain (Crib y Ddysgl) is marked by an Ordnance Survey Trig Point.
You will also reach the summit of Moel Eilio (Llanberis) at 726m (2383ft). Moel Eilio (Llanberis) is classified as a Welsh Mountain (Hewitt) (59th highest in Wales, 142nd highest in England & Wales)
Moel Eilio (Llanberis) is also known as a Welsh Nuttall (73rd highest in Wales, 176th highest in England & Wales) and a Welsh Marilyn (28th highest in Wales, 535th highest in the UK).
Moel Eilio (Llanberis) means 'Supporting Bare Hill' in Welsh and is pronounced 'moil ay-leo'.
The summit of Moel Eilio (Llanberis) is marked by a windshelter.
Along the way you will also bag and tick-off:
- Llechog (Llanberis Path) at 720m (2363ft). Llechog (Llanberis Path) is known as a Welsh Nuttall (76th highest in Wales, 184th highest in England & Wales).
- Moel Cynghorion at 674m (2212ft). Moel Cynghorion is classified as a Welsh Mountain (Hewitt) (83rd Wales, 205th Eng & Wal), a Welsh Nuttall (113th highest in Wales, 274th highest in England & Wales) and a Welsh Marilyn (39th Wales, 643rd highest in the UK). Moel Cynghorion means 'Bare Hill of The Councillors' in Welsh and is pronounced 'moil cun-gh-or ee-on'.
The summit of Moel Cynghorion is marked by a small cairn & a ladder stile over a fence.
- Foel Gron at 629m (2064ft). Foel Gron is classified as a Welsh Mountain (Hewitt) (116th Wales, 277th Eng & Wal) and a Welsh Nuttall (160th highest in Wales, 375th highest in England & Wales). Foel Gron means 'Round Bare Hill' in Welsh and is pronounced 'foil gron'.
The summit of Foel Gron is unmarked, just grass beside a fence.
- Foel Goch (Snowdon) at 605m (1985ft). Foel Goch (Snowdon) is classified as a Welsh Dewey (7th highest in Wales, 12th highest in England & Wales). Foel Goch (Snowdon) means 'Red Bare Hill' in Welsh and is pronounced 'foil gokh'.
The summit of Foel Goch (Snowdon) is marked by a cairn.
Be Adventure Smart
If walking in the Lake District (and anywhere else) please be adventure smart.
Ask yourself 5 questions before you set off:
- Am I confident I have the KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS for the day?
- Do I know what the WEATHER will be like?
- Do I have the right GEAR for the day?
- Do I have enough FOOD & DRINK for the day?
- Do I have all the ESSENTIAL ITEMS for the day?
Note that there is no mobile phone or WiFi coverage in many parts of the Lake District
A dedicated GPS Device can be a good navigational aid, but only if you know how to use it properly. See The Myths and Truths about GPS for Walking and Hiking
You can find this walk and other nearby walks on these unique Interactive Walk Planning Maps:
(worth a look if you're new to go4awalk.com & have never seen one of these before.)
1:25,000 scale OS Explorer Map (orange/yellow covers):
1:50,000 scale OS Landranger Map (pink/magenta covers):
Some Photos and Pictures from Walk Garnedd Ugain, Snowdon, Moel Cynghorion, Foel Gron and Moel Eilio from Llanberis
In no particular order . . .
Llyn Cwellyn and Mynydd Mawr (Llyn Cwellyn) (centre left) and Moel Eilio (Llanberis) (far right) from Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa)
My oldest sons (14 and 15 years old) and some of their mates get hands on at the cairn, on top of Mount Snowdon after doing a charity walk.
The last of the National 3 Peaks 24hr Challenge before descending to finish in 23 hours 45 minutes.
What a tight finish, just time for this photo!
Myself, Willo, Barnsey and Mark at the top of Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) in September!
. . . load all 165 pictures & photos from this walk
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