So I have a thing about sunrises and sunsets, as well as mountains and food and ooh waterfalls… have I mentioned waterfalls yet!
Well this next challenge has been on my list for a number of years now and last year I got to tick a sunrise on Snowdon off my bucket list.
Now this challenge ended up being a bit like the feeling you get when you get a recommendation to watch a really good film or read a really good book, however it’s not quite what you thought it was going to be. I loved it but didn’t enjoy it all at the same time. However because the sense of achievement at the top outweighs the reasons why I didn’t enjoy it, I'm going to tell you all about it anyway. You can do it your own way if you decide to take up the challenge to climb this Welsh beauty.
So like I said, I have a thing about sunrises and in January 2019 me and the hubby decided we would climb Snowdon to watch the sunrise on the day of the summer solstice. Unfortunately, (but as it turned out, luckily for us) the summer solstice was not meant to be as it was a Thursday and we couldn’t get the day off work so had to go on the Friday instead. ‘Lucky?’, I hear you question, well the Thursday morning sunrise was dismal, not a glimpse of morning rays to be had...yay us!
Camping, carb loading and coffee.
We travelled from the Midlands to Llanberis on Friday afternoon and set up camp on a lovely little site called Camping Llanberis which is about a 20 minute walk from the Llanberis path up Snowdon. The campsite is basically land on a farm so you are surrounded by the majestic sounds of mooing, baahing and the chitter chatter of the other like minded campers getting a freedom fix.
The campsite is on a hill and there is plenty of space to spread out over several fields, if you don’t want electric hook up. On this occasion we decided to spoil ourselves and booked an electric hook up pitch which are very limited (I think they only have two). The showers were basic but clean and hot, just what might be needed after a long slog up Snowdon.
The tariff at Camping Llanberis is £8.00 per adult a night in high season and £1.00 for the showers. There are also glamping yurts on site which look very nice if you're feeling a little flush.
Now if we were to do this all over again, I would suggest you save yourself some money and sleep in your car, van or go hard core and pull an all nighter and not sleep at all. The amount of sleep we actually got on the Friday night was a big fat zero. For me, the excitement, the adrenaline and probably several cups of caffeinated coffee would not let me sleep and as we had to meet at 1.00am in the morning, it really was not worth us paying for that first night on the campsite.
Now let's get back to the camp! Once we had set up at the campsite, we ventured down into the village to get some good slow energy releasing carbs, you know, to keep us fuelled for this mammoth adventure ahead of us! Well that was our intention anyway, however the lure of fish and chips from Allports on the main street was just too much and we succumbed leaving an hour or so later stuffed to the brim.
We had a perfect view of Snowdon from our pitch at the campsite. As it got dark little flashes of light snaked down the mountain cast by the torches of sunset searching hikers making their way back. This sight continued pretty much most of the night.
To the summit
So 1.00am, no sleep, a big crowd of people and a mountain rescue helicopter hovering around. Yikes!
We booked to do this adventure through Mountain Walks, a company specialising in leading walks up mountains would you believe. It cost us £35.00 each, however having experienced my hubby’s navigation skills up mountains before, I wasn’t taking any chances and was willing to pay £35.00 not to end up wading through bogs, having to dig out your own shoes or on a more serious note walking over the edge of, well...an edge basically. Our guide took us up the Llanberis Path, a gradual incline and the longest (but easiest) of the tracks on Snowdon along with lots and lots of other sunrise junkies.
The long (and what felt like a very laborious) path would be the path we would take for the next 4 hours. There were lots of rest breaks as the group varied in ages and abilities and these rest breaks were gratefully received. Now I consider myself to be quite fit: I run and exercise a lot and have hiked a fair few hills and fells over the years, however for me I personally found this route quite a challenge. I experienced tiredness, hunger (my bad carbs hadn’t lasted long), my 4 layers of clothing were making me sweat like a pig and to top it all off, I had groin strain pretty much all the way up. However, the buzz of racing to the summit before the sun peeped over the horizon and the mysterious feeling of being out in the middle of the night when everybody is asleep spurred me on.
4 hours later…
Finally, with glimpses of the morning glow up on us, we reached the summit: me, my hubby and about at least another 100 ‘middle of the night’ hikers. Now, this is not what I had imagined when visualising my perfect sunrise atop the second highest mountain in the UK, picturing instead a romantic and intimate moment between myself, my hubby and beautiful Mother Nature. However, despite the crowds, the sunrise was well worth the monotonous trudge up the mountain (see the amazing pics) and yes, I would do it again. Next time, and there will be a next time, I will do it quite differently.
These are my tips for a perfect Snowdon sunrise:
1. If you can, save your money and don’t bother with a campsite the night before. If you are a camper, travel extra light and carry your equipment up and down. There were even wild campers pitched up at the top when we arrived at the summit.
2. If you intend to take the Llanberis Path and you are confident with your navigation skills, then go it alone with your map and compass. The path is a well trodden purpose laid path and I don’t think you can really go wrong. However, if you have any doubt in your navigation skills or safety then go with a group.
3. I would certainly take a different route up Snowdon next time. The terrain was pretty much the same the whole way up and personally I like a bit of a scramble and varying terrain. However, that is just a personal choice.
4. If you visualise a serene, romantic, peaceful sunrise on your own, definitely do not climb Snowdon, especially on the summer solstice weekend. The summit was very very busy and this ruined how special it was for me.
5. If you are in a campervan I wouldn’t bother booking a campsite the second night either. Just drive and wild camp for a catch up sleep.
6. Carb load in the correct way!
So there you have it. Learn from my numerous mistakes on this particular adventure and enjoy a great budget weekend chasing the sun.
‘How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains’
John Muir
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