Sunday 29th May 2005
After the terrible weather I encountered on May Day I didn’t waste any time in returning to Snowdon for the second time in the month and this time the weather was considerably better, but the mountain was also considerably busier. After driving up from Dolgellau, where I'd overnighted, I parked in Nant Gwynant, but not in the car park as that was already full. I had to park in the lay-by at Bethania; by the afternoon cars would be parked all the way up and down the road on the grass banks. It was going to be a very busy day on Snowdon. I had picked an off-path route but I would not be able to avoid the crowds at the top. I simply had to accept that if I was stupid enough to climb Snowdon in such good weather on a Bank Holiday weekend I would get everything I deserved!
Starting off I went along the track at the start of the Watkin Path ascending into Cwm Llan, but before I reached the masses clustered around the Gladstone Rock I veered off left along a path that was heading towards Bwlch Cwm Llan. Veering off at an old tramway, I headed up another old track which took a curving route up the hill-side to reach a scree slope. Above the stones I came across a large hole in the ground, a disused quarry, which is another relic of all the mining that has happened in this area over the years. Skirting the edge of the chasm I headed straight up the hill-side until I reached the top of the ridge above Clogwyn Brith. With the hard work over I strolled along the ridge looking down on the large numbers of people who were ascending the Watkin Path below me as I enjoyed a pleasant stroll up the gradually steepening slope until eventually I reached the summit of Yr Aran, a prominent satellite of Snowdon.
The behemoth itself lay before me to the north and was my next destination, if I felt like braving the crowds. I wasn't really interested in going all the way up to the top of Snowdon and I even contemplated missing it out. Descending from the top of Yr Aran I returned to a wall that I'd crossed earlier and followed the wall above Y Geuallt down to Bwlch Cwm Llan. Quickly traversing the pass I headed up the ridge in front of me over Allt Maenderyn and above Clogwyn Du. Soon the ridge levelled and I was joined by the tourist path from Rhyd-Ddu and dozens of tourists. The deluge I had been avoiding was now upon me and there was no getting away from it. I was surrounded by people from there on all the way up as we passed across the narrow ridge of Bwlch Main, and the press became even worse when we were joined by people from the Watkin Path. The final climb up to the summit café was horrendous as I weaved my way around people who were going up much slower than I am capable of going, even when heavily laden.
Actually when I reached the junction with the Watkin Path I seriously considered going down it; the only reason I went on was so I could use the toilet in the café. I squeezed into the building past all the people who were also trying to get in and used the toilet before quickly leaving again. I have never seen so many people on Snowdon with all the people who had walked up and the people who had taken the train it was busier than a supermarket on a Saturday afternoon. Since supermarkets are not my favourite places I ran back down the path to the start of the Watkin Path without even going up to the summit. I'm sure the view from the top was amazing, it certainly was going up, but I couldn’t see the top; it was just too full of people!
My next target was Y Lliwedd, a hill that I had intended on going over on May Day but I had decided against it then when it started raining heavily. On this walk the weather was completely different and my biggest problem was not the rain but the people around me who were walking slowly down the path. Setting off down the Watkin Path I used my greater confidence on steep slopes to skip past many of them as they gingerly made their way down. I wasn't in a hurry, but I just felt like overtaking all these people who were holding me up, and perhaps showing off that I was much more experienced at walking over mountains than they were. I know, it was very silly and pathetic and if I had been overtaken by someone else racing down the hill like that I would have shaken my head at their carelessness and waited for them to fall. I didn't fall, but instead I had a tremendous time as I sailed down the rocky slope that it is actually the trickiest part of the Watkin Path. When I reached Bwlch y Saethau I left the main path and keeping to the top of the ridge I scrambled over the rocks near the edge of the cliff, simply for the fun of it, and after passing Bwlch Ciliau began to scramble up Y Lliwedd. I thought by now I would have left all the crowds behind me as the Watkin Path continued to descend into Cwm Llan, but quite a few people were following me up the steep rocky hill, and I realised that I must have joined the people who were attempting the Snowdon Horseshoe. They would have earlier traversed Crib Goch and were now going over Y Lliwedd, all credit to them, but there were an awful lot of them. It rather undermines an achievement like that when there are so many other people are doing the same thing, but that's Snowdon for you.
Keeping as close to the edge as possible I completed the scramble up to the top of Y Lliwedd, and then (after a short rest!) I headed over to the East Peak before going down to the lesser peak of Lliwedd Bach. The path now heads steeply down the hill towards Llyn Llydaw, but I left the crowds well and truly behind me as I left the path and headed across the barren landscape east of Y Lliwedd. Skirting the boggy ground and rocky outcrops, I kept to the higher ground while heading towards Gallt y Wenaullt. At the end of the high peninsula I descended steeply down into the valley towards the remains of a mine where I found an old miners' track that would take me all the way back to the Watkin Path. But after following it for a while I left the path behind and kept to the north of a wall and a wood that the track passes through.
Eventually I crossed the wall near some sheep pens and emerged overlooking Cwm Llan and all the crowds in the valley. Steeply descending the hillside I came down to the river which I crossed using large stones that are marked on the map as a ford. I was now back on the Watkin Path at the point where I had left it in the morning and all that was left for me was a simple stroll back down the path to my car. This was a great and interesting walk over a variety of surfaces including some fun scrambles. It was just a pity I was not alone.
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