UKH

Heading to Snowdon this weekend - probably the Saturday or the Sunday. I haven't been up Snowdon for many many years and am in the process of recovering from a long term injury which means i don't have as many miles in me as i once did.

I'd like to take a bimble up the Pyg track but don't fancy the madness of the parking at Pen Y Pass. I don't love the idea of getting on a shuttle bus either... but keen to hear people's opinions on here.

We are staying with my aunt down at Garndolbenmaen so will need to drive somewhere.

In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

You can park down the bottom in one of the marked laybys near the Pen-y-Gwyrd if you don't mind walking up to PYP which isn't a terribly long way and there's an obvious off road path.  They are I think all pay and display now but not swingeingly expensive.  The buses are probably a bit infrequent in winter not to be annoying.  Don't park on the road or in the bus turnaround, you WILL get a ticket.

In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

I was up a couple of weeks ago and the Pen Y Pass car park had just filled up as I walked past it at 0930ish so if you get there in decent time you should find a spot. Current charge is a tenner for the day. 

I parked in the layby by Pen-y-Gwyrd which was £4 for the day which added about 1.5 km each way.

In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

Thank you both.

In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

Buses from Nant Peris are only once every 2 hours at the moment.

In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

Why not one of the quieter routes up the backside? You'll avoid the madness of penypass and Rhyd Ddu is a lovely route up. Has a carpark there, though I'm not sure if it has gone as mental at the pyp one in recent years? 

In reply to PaulJepson: sadly i'm not physically upto it after a serious injury a couple of years ago. My days of being a real mountain muncher are sadly done.  Good suggestion though.

In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

All the info (and links) you need here: https://snowdonia.gov.wales/visit/snowdon/parking-for-snowdon/ For winter Pen y Pass is back to first-come-first-served Pay & Display. I'd be wanting to get there before 8am. If it is wet or no snow, then later may be possible. Have a back-up plan of any other mountain in the area* in case it is full.

If you are coming from Garndolbenmaen you could park at the bottom of the Watkin path; get the S4 Sherpa bus from Nant Gwynant YHA up and down to Pen y Pass but there is only 1 bus up and 1 bus down as opposed to 6 up and 6 down if you were to use the S1 Sherpa bus from Nant Peris.

Taxis are expensive from Llanberis - £20 each way.

Not fancying madness of parking at Pen y Pass, or using a shuttle bus, plus recovering from an serious injury and the fact that the weather may not be desirable this weekend would send me elsewhere. like *Moel Siabod from Capel Curig.

Pob Lwc

In reply to JimmAwelon:

Moel Siabod is a lovely mountain, generally not that busy, a nice fun little scramble-ette-if-you'd-call-it-that if you go up the ridge (but everything can be bypassed easily) and a great cafe at the bottom for afterwards (or the Tyn-y-Coed if you want something more substantial or a pint).  A fairly unsung but nice day out.

One thing that's always surprised me about it is that it doesn't have the paths marked on it on an OS map (despite them clearly existing on the ground so justifying of a black dotted line on the 1:25K), wonder if that puts people off it?

In reply to JimmAwelon:

Or Cnicht as it’s a closer drive and if your down that way it makes sense 

In reply to JimmAwelon:

Thanks for your advice.

I'm confused as I want to do the same but the website sez you need to pay in advance to a parking service and on that parking website there is no option to pay. I don't want to drive 3 hours only to find out I had to pay in advance. I was also looking at the bus service witch looks OK but the first bus to get to pan y pass is at 08:25 witch I was hoping to start the walk around 6am to give me plenty of time to do the walk as it would be my first time up there. If its changed and its first come first served at pen y pass car park then that would be cool and I'll drive there around 5am 

In reply to Stephenmuntuk:

You should know by now, Bus Services are never arranged to suit the Customers, they are arranged to suit the Accountant's and the budget instead.

In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

The Welsh Government are introducing a new scheme to encourage visitors and tourists to pay ahead of time and then not actually turn up.

This will save the locals in anyway being inconvenienced by incomers, and small shops and businesses will receive an grants to stay afloat direct from the Welsh Government.

Shops participating in the scheme will display the slogan:

"This a local shop for local people"

In reply to Pete Evans:

Are you sure the Welsh Government wouldn't use the money to employ someone in Cardiff to supervise the system from their office rather than let any of it actually go anywhere else ?

In reply to Pete Evans:

Pre-booking makes sense for limited resources that will ruin your day if you don't get in.  See also airport car parks.  I don't get the objection to it; there are other options that you don't have to book.  I've thought they should do it for a very long time.

The one thing I would say it needs is short-term (say 30 minutes max) drive-up spaces for using the loos and cafe.