The Llanberis Pass ( cy, Bwlch Llanberis; alternative English name, Pass of Llanberis) in
Snowdonia
Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951.
Name and extent
It was a commonly held belief that the nam ...
carries the main road (
A4086) from the south-east to
Llanberis
(; ) is a village, community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activities in Snowdonia, including walking, mo ...
, over
Pen-y-Pass, between the mountain ranges of the
Glyderau
The Glyderau (a Welsh plural form, also known in English as the Glyders) are a mountain group in Snowdonia, North Wales. The name derives from the highest peaks in the range, Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach. According to Sir Ifor Williams, the word ...
and the
Snowdon
Snowdon () or (), is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (') in Gwynedd (historic ...
massif. At the bottom of the pass is the small village of Nant Peris.
Geography
The Llanberis Pass lies between the mountain massifs of
Snowdon
Snowdon () or (), is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (') in Gwynedd (historic ...
and the
Glyderau
The Glyderau (a Welsh plural form, also known in English as the Glyders) are a mountain group in Snowdonia, North Wales. The name derives from the highest peaks in the range, Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach. According to Sir Ifor Williams, the word ...
in the county of
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
, in northwestern Wales. The summit of the pass is above sea level, and is the site of the
Pen-y-Pass Hotel, now a
Youth Hostel
A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ba ...
. The
A4086 road
The A4086 is an A road in Gwynedd. The road goes between Caernarfon and the A5 near Capel Curig.
In Caernarfon, the road leads towards the east to cross Afon Seiont near Pont-rug, then turns towards the south-east, past the shore of Llyn Pad ...
traverses the pass. The Nant Peris valley lies to the northwest descending to the town of
Llanberis
(; ) is a village, community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activities in Snowdonia, including walking, mo ...
, the
Llyn Peris
Llyn Peris is a lake in Snowdonia, Wales, approximately 1.8 km long and situated close to the villages of Llanberis and Nant Peris, and the smaller twin of Llyn Padarn. The lake was formed glacially and is an example of a moraine-dammed la ...
and
Llyn Padarn
Llyn Padarn is a glacially formed lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north Wales, and is an example of a moraine dammed lake. The lake is approximately long (about 240 acres) and at its deepest point is deep, and is one of the largest natural lakes i ...
lakes and continues on as the
Afon Rhythallt
The River Rhythallt ( Welsh: Afon Rhythallt) is a river in Gwynedd, North Wales whose source is Llyn Padarn. It flows in a northwesterly direction past the village of Brynrefail, Gwynedd and changes its name to Afon Seiont downstream of Pont R ...
to
Caernarfon
Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...
and the
Menai Strait
The Menai Strait ( cy, Afon Menai, the "river Menai") is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales. It varies in width from from Fort Belan to Abermenai Point to from ...
. The valley is narrow, straight and steep-sided, with rocky crags and boulders on either side of the road.
[
About one mile to the east of Pen-y-Pass is the Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel. To the east of this are the headwaters of the Dyffryn Mymbyr, a tributary of the ]River Llugwy
River Llugwy (Welsh: ''Afon Llugwy'') is a tributary of the River Conwy, and has its source at Ffynnon Llugwy, a lake in the Carneddau range of mountains in Snowdonia in north-west Wales.
Location and catchment area
The average annual rai ...
which it joins at Capel Curig
Capel Curig (; meaning " Curig's Chapel") 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 ...
. To the south of Pen-y-gwryd are the headwaters of the Afon Glaslyn
The Afon Glaslyn (English, ''River Glaslyn'') is a river in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. While not of great significance in terms of its length (about ), it is one of Gwynedd's primary rivers, and has greatly influenced the landscape in which it ...
which flows southwestwards towards Beddgelert
Beddgelert () is a village and community in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd, Wales. The population of the community taken at the 2011 census was 455, and includes Nantmor and Nant Gwynant. It is reputed to be named after the legendary hound ...
.
Rock climbing
Many fine crags are easily accessible from the road, and the area is very popular with rock climber
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
s. On the north side, the principal crags are: Dinas y Gromlech (bearing the famous line of ''Cenotaph Corner''), Carreg Wastad (flat rock), Clogwyn y Grochan (these are together called the Three Cliffs); and further down the valley, Craig Ddu (black rock). On the south side, the principal 'roadside' cliff is Dinas Mot.
The Cromlech Boulders are used for bouldering
Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. While bouldering can be done without any equipment, most climbers use climbing shoes to help sec ...
. These roadside boulders were saved from destruction in a 1973 road widening scheme by a six-year protest by local people, climbers, historians, conservationists and geologists.
Climbers particularly associated with the area include John Menlove Edwards
John Menlove Edwards was born at Ainsdale, near Liverpool, England, on 18 June 1910, the son of a politically radical vicar, George Zachery Edwards, and his wife Helen. His father's cousin was Hewlett Johnson, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral. John Me ...
(in the 1930s and 1940s), Joe Brown (in the 1950s and 1960s), Ron Fawcett
Ron Fawcett (born 6 May 1955) is a British rock climber and rock climbing author who is credited with pushing the technical standards of British rock climbing in traditional, sport, bouldering and free soloing disciplines, in the decade from the ...
and Peter Livesey
Pete Livesey (12 December 1943 to 26 February 1998), was an English rock climber who raised the standard of technical difficulty in traditional climbing in Britain during the early to mid-1970s. Livesey was renowned for the intensity and competi ...
(in the 1970s), and Johnny Dawes
Johnny Dawes (born 9 May 1964) is a British rock climber and author, known for a dynamic climbing style and for establishing bold traditional climbing routes. This included the first ascent of ''The Indian Face'', the first-ever route at the E9 ...
, Jerry Moffatt
Jerry Moffatt (born 18 March 1963), is a British rock climber and climbing author who is widely considered as being the best British rock climber from the early-1980s to the early-1990s, and was arguably the best rock climber in the world in the ...
and John Redhead (in the 1980s). The British 1953 Mount Everest expedition also trained in the area, and were based at the Pen-y-Gwryd
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 Beddgele ...
Hotel at the eastern end of the pass.
Access
At Pen-y-Pass there is a car park and a cafe, and three different footpaths set off up Snowdon, as well as two others to the east leading to the summits of Glyder Fawr
is a mountain in Snowdonia, Wales, the highest peak in the Glyderau range at just over 1,000 metres, having had its height recalculated in 2010 using GPS. It is the fifth-highest mountain in Wales and has several walking and scrambling routes ...
and Glyder Fach
Glyder Fach is a mountain in Snowdonia, north-west Wales, and is the second highest of the Glyderau and the sixth highest in Wales.
Routes to the summit lead from Tryfan and Bristly Ridge to the north, via Glyder Fawr from Pen-y-Pass to the ...
. the car park is usually full and a shuttle bus service from Llanberis, with a park and ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...
runs from near the Vaynol Arms. The Snowdonia Sherpa bus service network run by Express Motors
Express Motors was a bus and coach hire company based in Penygroes, Gwynedd. The company operated public bus services in the Caernarfon, Porthmadog, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Bangor and Llandudno areas, as well as long-distance TrawsCambria servi ...
and GHA Coaches
GHA Coaches was a bus and coach operator serving North East Wales, Cheshire, and Shropshire. It also operated bus services extending into Telford & Wrekin, Staffordshire, Gwynedd, and Merseyside.
GHA Coaches ceased trading after entering ...
operates frequent services between Betws-y-Coed
Betws-y-coed (; '' en, prayer house in the wood'') is a village and community in the Conwy valley in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located in the historic county of Caernarfonshire, right on the boundary with Denbighshire, in the Gwydir Forest. ...
, Capel Curig
Capel Curig (; meaning " Curig's Chapel") 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 ...
, Pen-y-Gwryd and Pen-y-Pass and also between Pen-y-Pass, Nant Peris (where there are park and ride facilities) and Llanberis.[
]
See also
*Clogwyn Du'r Arddu
Clogwyn Du'r Arddu (, translates as the "black cliff of the black height"), or "Cloggy", is a north-facing rhyolite set of cliffs located on the northern flank of Snowdon mountain. Cloggy is considered to be one of the best traditional climbing a ...
, a mountain crag in Snowdonia
* Dinorwic quarry, a slate climbing area near Llanberis
References
External links
A Walk down the Llanberis Pass
{{coord, 53.0903, -4.0517, type:pass_region:GB, display=title
Beddgelert
Llanberis
Mountain passes of Gwynedd
Roads in Gwynedd
Tourism in Gwynedd
Mountain passes of Snowdonia
Roads in Snowdonia
Tourism in Snowdonia