So after a couple of warm up walks of Cnicht and Moel Siabod, we’d reached the big one, Snowdon or Yr Wyddfa in Welsh. This walk would see us all break through the 1000 metre barrier and for Linda and the boys its their highest walk. After a bit of research on the best routes, plus finding parking spots, I thought that the Watkin path would give us a good walk in along a gradual path, good chances of parking and importantly nothing too exposed. Having done it, I can confirm it is indeed a great route. We were in the middle of the summer holidays, so parking could have been tough, but as with the Lakes, if you go in the week when locals are in work then you stand a better chance. Bethania has a paid car park but we parked roadside, beyond the car park, easily at 9.50am. I chose the Watkin path as Crib Goch is too exposed for us, Miners and Pyg track both start from Pen y Pass, which at £20 for 8 hours parking is horrific, if you miss that time then its £30 for 8-12 hours, eye watering stuff. Binning those routes the other option was Llanberis track, a dull plod beside the railway, not for me. Watkin kept coming up as the second best route up and with the strong winds, I also canned the Rhyd Ddu and Ranger paths due to the crossing of the Bwlch Main. If I was going again, I would pick the Watkin route, it starts gradually on a wide path, before climbing lots of steps and twists up to Bwlch Ciliau. Here it gets interesting the path angles up across the front of Clogwyn y Garnedd, and a bit of scrambling is needed to pull over some bigger outcrops, when it is wet these can be tricky especially descending, but would provide little issues in the dry. You pop out just under the summit cafe building, and all that is left is a simple walk to join the queue and touch the top. Then just drop down and find a place to enjoy your sandwiches, and listen to people arguing about queuing and which way you head up to the trig point. The weather for us prevented views from the summit, but on the way down the cloud lifted a bit and we got some stunning views of Y Lliwedd, Glaslyn, Crib Goch and Yr Aran. All in all a brilliant walk, which is something that I’ve said a lot this year, the walks of the year could be a long list.

Start – Bethania

Route – Watkin Path – Cwm Llan – Gladstone Rock – Quarry buildings – Bwlch Ciliau – Bwlch Y Saethau – Snowdon Summit – Watkin Path – Bwlch Y Saethau – Bwlch Ciliau – Quarry buildings – Gladstone Rock – Cwm Llan – Bethania

Distance – 9 miles    Start time – 10am   Time taken – 7hrs  Highest Point – Snowdon 1085 metres

Weather – Drizzle on the way up, cloud down on Snowdon, windy but brightening on the way down.