, type = Station on heritage railway , image = Snowdon Mountain Railway summit station sign.jpg , borough =

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 ...

, Gwynedd , country = Wales , coordinates = , grid_name =

Grid reference A projected coordinate system, also known as a projected coordinate reference system, a planar coordinate system, or grid reference system, is a type of spatial reference system that represents locations on the Earth using cartesian coordin ...

, grid_position = , platforms = 2 , original =

Snowdon Mountain Railway The Snowdon Mountain Railway (SMR; cy, Rheilffordd yr Wyddfa) is a Narrow-gauge railway, narrow gauge Rack railway, rack and pinion mountain railway in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is a tourist railway that travels for from Llanberis to the ...

, years1 = 6 April 1896 , events1 = Opened and closed following an accident , years2 = 9 April 1897 , events2 = Opened , years3 = 2006 , events3 = Closed for rebuilding , years4 = 12 June 2009 , events4 = Reopened The Summit railway station is the southern, upper terminus of the

, located within yards of the summit of Snowdon. In 2009 a new station building was opened, which was named Hafod Eryri. The line starts in the valley bottom at Llanberis at an altitude of . Summit station stands at , below the summit of the mountain, to which it is connected by a short stepped path.

History

The first buildings on the summit predate the railway, and were erected at the Snowdon summit in 1838 to sell refreshments, and a licence to sell intoxicating liquor was granted in 1845. Very basic accommodation was also provided for visitors. The station opened with the railway on 6 April 1896, but both closed the same day following an accident. They reopened a year later, on 9 April 1897. After the station opened, the company strove to get an alcohol licence for its own proposed new hotel, but being unable to, took over both summit huts by 1898. During the 1930s, many complaints were received about the state of the facilities at the summit and in 1934/5 a new station building was erected in two phases; the upstairs accommodation was completed in 1937. It was designed by Sir

Clough Williams-Ellis Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis, CBE, MC (28 May 1883 – 9 April 1978) was a Welsh architect known chiefly as the creator of the Italianate village of Portmeirion in North Wales. He became a major figure in the development of Welsh architec ...

and included rooms for visitors and a

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

. The other operators were bought out and the ramshackle collection of buildings on the summit was cleared. The flat roof was intended to be used as a viewing platform and some photographs show it being used in this way. However, other photographs taken of the cafe show that the roof leaked, which probably explains why the practice was stopped. The Summit was taken over by government agencies during the war and the accommodation was restricted to staff use afterwards. Having become increasingly dilapidated in post-war decades, this building was described by Prince Charles as "the highest slum in Wales". Its state led to a campaign to replace the building. In April 2006, Snowdonia National Park Authority with the support of the Snowdonia Society agreed a deal to start work on a new cafe and visitor centre complex. By mid-October 2006 the old building had been largely demolished. The 1930s station operated until 2006 except during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In September 2006 the station and associated buildings were demolished for complete rebuilding, passenger services terminating at Clogwyn until the new visitor centre of ''Hafod Eryri'' and station were opened by Welsh First Minister

Rhodri Morgan Hywel Rhodri Morgan (29 September 1939 – 17 May 2017) was a Welsh Labour politician who was the First Minister of Wales and the Leader of Welsh Labour from 2000 to 2009. He was also the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011 and ...

on 12 June 2009.

The new station

The new

RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

Award-winning £8.4 million visitor centre, ', designed by

Ray Hole Architects Ray Hole Architects is an English architectural practice, based in Croydon, specialising in cultural and leisure-based projects. Their work includes: * the VW and Bentley Pavilions at Autostadt * Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum (2008) at the L ...

in conjunction with Arup and built by Carillion, was officially opened on 12 June 2009 by

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...

. The Welsh National Poet, Gwyn Thomas, composed a new couplet for the new building, displayed at its entrance and on the windows, which reads "'' / The summit of Snowdon: You are, here, nearer to Heaven''". The name ''Hafod Eryri'' was chosen from several hundred put forward after a competition was held by the BBC. ' is

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

for an upland summer residence, while ' is the Welsh name for

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 na ...

Operation

The station has two platforms.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

The line and its stations
''Snowdon Mountain Railway''
Edwardian 6" map showing the station, overlain with modern satellite images and maps
''National Library of Scotland''
The station and line
''Rail Map Online''
Images of the station and line
''Yahoo'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Summit (SMR) Railway Station Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1896 Llanberis Heritage railway stations in Gwynedd