Snowdonia

Photos from a trip to the North West corner of Wales taking in Gwynedd, Anglesey and Snowdonia.

Being the height of summer the weather should have been better but being part of Britain there are no guarantees at any time of year. The largely dull, wet and windy weather made for poor photography conditions and I had to take my chances when they arose to make the best of it.

During my week in the area I only once saw the top of Mount Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales (3,560ft), as it was mostly shrouded in cloud, very gloomy and foreboding.

The name Snowdon is from the Old English for “snow hill”, while the Welsh name “Yr Wyddfa” means “the tumulus”.

As the peak was clouded almost all the time there seemed little point in making the effort to climb or even take the Snowdon Mountain Railway from Llanberis to the top. Apparently the trip is really popular and frequently over subscribed. On a clear day it is possible to see all the way to England, over the sea to Ireland and also to the Isle of Man.

For the technically minded the train runs on a track using a rack and pinion system.

For the less technically minded that means there is a big cogwheel under the train engine that engages with a slotted rail to transmit the power for the ascent and acts as a break during descent. This provides a mechanism guaranteeing a slip-proof journey.

The railway operates several locomotives, some steam and some diesel.

You can find out more on the official Snowdon Mountain Railway website.

This the first of a series. I will post more images of my trip to the area in due course. Fortunately they are not all so gloomy. There is plenty for tourists to see in the area. To see more image posts in this series click on the “Wales” category in the sidebar.