Pen-y-Pass | |
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Elevation | 359 metres (1,180 ft) |
Location | Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north-west Wales |
Coordinates | 53°04′50″N4°01′17″W / 53.08043°N 4.02135°W |
Pen-y-Pass is a mountain pass in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is a popular location from which to walk up Snowdon, as three of the popular routes (the Miners Track, the Pyg Track and the ascent via Crib Goch) can be started here. Glyder Fawr, to the north, is also accessible from here.
Situated at the high point of the Llanberis Pass at an elevation of 359 metres (1,178 ft) – about a third of the height of Snowdon – the road was built in the 1830s to allow ore from the mines on Snowdon to be transported to Llanberis. It would be taken down the Miners Track to a store-house at Pen-y-Pass first. Previously, the miners had had to move the ore over the Snowdon summit and down to Beddgelert, which is located at around a third the height of Snowdon.
The Llanberis pass road extends beyond Pen-y-Pass to join the Beddgelert-to-Capel Curig road at the Pen-y-Gwryd hotel. That notable climbing hotel was used as a base by Sir John Hunt, Baron Hunt and his team whilst training for the successful 1953 expedition to Mount Everest and equipment and autographs from that and other expeditions may be seen in the Everest Room.
The former Gorphwysfa Hotel at Pen-y-Pass is now a youth hostel, bar and café operated by YHA, and opposite is an information centre and café and a Snowdonia National Park-run car park. There is also a car park half way down Llanberis Pass in Nant Peris village as well as others in Llanberis village. There is a park and ride bus service to Pen-y-pass car park, which is the hub of the year-round Sherpa bus network provided by Express Motors and GHA Coaches. This service links Pen-y-Pass to Llanberis, Capel Curig, Betws-y-Coed, Beddgelert, Porthmadog, Rhyd Ddu and Waunfawr.
Snowdonia or Eryri, is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of 823 square miles (2,130 km2) in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951.
Snowdon or Yr Wyddfa, is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd.
Llanberis is a village, community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake Llyn Padarn and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activities in Snowdonia, including walking, mountaineering, climbing, mountain biking and pony trekking, as well as water sports such as scuba diving. The community includes Nant Peris.
Capel Curig is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. Historically in Caernarfonshire, it lies in the heart of Snowdonia, on the River Llugwy, and has a population of 226, reducing slightly to 206 at the 2011 census. It lies at the junction of the A5 road from Bangor and Bethesda to Betws-y-Coed with the A4086 road from Caernarfon, Llanberis, Pen-y-Pass and Pen-y-Gwryd. It is surrounded by hills and mountains, including Moel Siabod and Pen Llithrig y Wrach.
Plas y Brenin, located in Conwy County Borough, Wales, is a National Outdoor Centre owned by Sport England. The centre is situated in Dyffryn Mymbyr, the Mymbyr Valley, in Snowdonia and is less than a quarter of a mile south-west of the centre of Capel Curig on the A4086 road.
The North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways (NWNGR) was a railway company that planned to build a number of inter-connected 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in narrow-gauge railways across North Wales. The first two of these lines - jointly known as the "Moel Tryfan Undertaking" - were authorised by Act of Parliament 1872 and were built and opened in the 1870s. The original main line ran from Dinas Junction to Bryngwyn and opened in 1877. The second line was a branch from Tryfan Junction to South Snowdon, though shortly after opening, the company designated the Tryfan Junction to Bryngwyn section as the branch, and the Dinas Junction to South Snowdon section as the main line.
Pen-y-Gwryd is a pass at the head of Nantygwryd and Nant Cynnyd rivers close to the foot of Snowdon in Gwynedd, Wales. The area is located at the junction of the A4086 from Capel Curig to Llanberis and Caernarfon and the A498 from Beddgelert and Nant Gwynant about a mile from the head of the Llanberis Pass. It is close to the boundary with Conwy county borough in northern Snowdonia. The famous mountaineering hostelry, Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel, is located in the pass. It is also a mountain rescue post with links to the other rescue posts at Ogwen Cottage and Plas y Brenin.
The Snowdon Massif or Yr Wyddfa massif is one of the three mountain groups in Snowdonia, north Wales, to include mountains over 3,000 feet (914 m) high. It occupies the area between Beddgelert, Pen-y-Pass and Llanberis. It is surrounded by the Glyderau to the north-east, Moel Siabod to the east, the Moelwynion to the south, Moel Hebog, the Nantlle Ridge and Mynydd Mawr to the west, and by flatter land leading down to Caernarfon and the Menai Strait to the north-west.
The Llanberis Pass in Snowdonia carries the main road (A4086) from the south-east to Llanberis, over Pen-y-Pass, between the mountain ranges of the Glyderau and the Snowdon massif. At the bottom of the pass is the small village of Nant Peris.
Betws-y-Coed railway station is a railway station on the Conwy Valley Line from Llandudno Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog, Wales. It is situated 15+1⁄2 miles (24.9 km) south of Llandudno Junction.
Rhyd Ddu is a station on the narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway, which was built in 1881 as the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways Moel Tryfan Undertaking to carry dressed slate to Dinas Junction on the LNWR. It has also previously been named both "Snowdon" and "South Snowdon".
Llyn Crafnant is a lake that lies in a valley in Wales where the northern edge of the Gwydir Forest meets the lower slopes of the Carneddau mountains and, more specifically, the ridge of Cefn Cyfarwydd. The head of the valley offers a profile of crags which are silhouetted at sunset. The Forest Park guide (2002) states that "the is one of the most breathtaking views in all Snowdonia". The summits include Crimpiau 475 metres, and Craig Wen 548 metres which provide views to Moel Siabod and the Ogwen Valley, and Snowdon. Further up is Creigiau Gleision. At 63 acres (250,000 m2) it is the best part of a mile long, although it was clearly once much longer - its southern end shows the evidence of centuries of silting. Jehu's survey (see references) recorded a maximum depth of 71 ft (22 m).
Nant Gwynant is a valley in northern Wales. The A498 road descends 600 feet (180 m) into the valley in about two miles (3 km) from Pen-y-Gwryd; it follows the Nant Cynnyd, the Afon Glaslyn and alongside Llyn Gwynant, then beside the Nant Gwynant river to Llyn Dinas and passing below Dinas Emrys to Beddgelert. The road continues through the Aberglaslyn Pass to Porthmadog.
The A498 is a 16-mile road between Pen-y-Gwryd and Porthmadog in North Wales.
Cwm Idwal is a cirque in the Glyderau range of mountains in northern Snowdonia, the national park in the mountainous region of North Wales. Its main interest is to hill walkers and rock climbers, but it is also of interest to geologists and naturalists, given its combination of altitude, aspect (north-facing) and terrain. In a 2005 poll conducted by Radio Times, Cwm Idwal was ranked the 7th greatest natural wonder in Britain.
Dyffryn Mymbyr is a valley in Snowdonia, in north-west Wales, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) in length, and leading up from Capel Curig to the Pen-y-Gwryd hotel.
The A4086 is an A road in Gwynedd. The road goes between Caernarfon and the A5 near Capel Curig.
Cobden's Hotel is a 19th-century hotel in Capel Curig, Conwy, Wales. It became famous after it was bought by the celebrated cricketer Frank Cobden and is reputedly haunted.
Snowdonia Slate Trail is a long distance footpath, running 83 miles (134 km) as a circular route around Northern Snowdonia through the UK`s latest World Heritage Site, starting from Bangor. It passes through the main areas and heritage sites associated with the slate industry, and also through some of its major landscapes.
The geology of Snowdonia National Park in North Wales is dominated by sedimentary and volcanic rocks from the Cambrian and Ordovician periods with intrusions of Ordovician and Silurian age. There are Silurian and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks on the park's margins. The succession was intensely faulted and folded during the Caledonian Orogeny. The region was uplifted as the North Atlantic Ocean opened during the Cenozoic. The current mountainous landscape arises from repeated glaciations during the Quaternary period.