Today has turned out to be a beautiful day for once I can see blue sky through the skylight above a good day to catch the Snowdon Mountain steam train to the Snowdon Mountain and then do the Hydro Electric Mountain Tour. Would have loved to book these on the internet but there doesn't seem to be any EE coverage here it fades in and out all the time.

The steam train ride to the summit is fully booked this morning next available ride is 3.30pm so looks like that will be when we are going, then we thought we would do the Hydro Electric tour this morning but guess what that was completely booked today and the next available tour is tomorrow at 11.30am good excuse to stay another night at the Llanberis Touring Park.

   Pity we didn’t cycle down to the village would have made exploring the sights a little quicker. Passed the Dolbadarn Castle hidden in the woodlands on the hillside near Llyn Peris, saw the Power Station where I think we might be going inside the mountain for the Hydro Electric Tour.


A bit of a walk to the National Slate Museum but really worth it, lucky to see the little train pass over the bridge to the village plus at the Lake Railway Station across the road from the museum.

The museum is the original workshops of the former Dinorwig quarry where slate was first quarried at Dinorwig in 1787 along the slopes of Elidir Fawr Llanberis. In its heyday (1850-1910) Dinorwig employed more than 3,000 men and supplied slate to all parts of the world. During the 1950s and 1960s the industry declined as like every other industry in the world and one after another the quarries closed.

Watching the video and walking through the workshops life would have been very hard on the men and their families. Even the Penrhyn Lockout (1900-1903) one of the longest running disputes in British industrial history due to a disagreement about pay on 22/11/1900 where 2,800 men walked out of the Penrhyn Quarry failed. The 500 that did return were called "Bradwyr", which means traitor or blacklegs, 1,000 men never returned and in August 1969 the quarry closed.

The four houses at the museum were originally from the village of Tanygtisiau near Blaenau Ffestiniog that grew as a consequence of the development of the area’s quarries. They were original chosen because they are typical of the cramped two-up-two down terraced houses characteristic of the quarrying towns and villages. I certainly wouldn’t like to live in one of those no toilet or bathroom even the end one done in the 1960’s era.

The afternoon is getting quite warm now, near time to crack out the tee-shirt but we need our warm jackets for our train ride to the Snowdon Summit. A speedy cycle to the Snowdon Mountain Railway to board the little steam train with only one carriage to take us on a journey to the highest mountain in Wales and England. Chugging up the mountainside with stunning scenery and awe-inspiring views it is something one will not forget and brings back memories of Skagway, Alaska when we travelled on the stream train on the White Pass and Yukon Route built during the Klondike gold Rush.

From the steam train you can see the mountain trail enthusiastic people are either ascending or descending to the summit and at times they looking like tiny ants in the distance. So glad we are doing it the easy way one hour ride up, 30 minutes viewing on the summit and one hour back down not over four hours of strenuous walking up and back.

You have to be so careful once on the summit the tracks are on the mountain edge and it is over 3,000ft to the glazier valley below. The sheep amaze us grazing right next to us and then going down the edges, Richard was holding me by my jacket as I was taking photos. We didn’t climb the last few steps to the top of the summit, it was too windy and the steps were on the edge of the mountain if we were younger yes but not now.



We had a very enjoyable afternoon with lasting memories that will not be forgotten. The only thing we will remember of Llanberis is the poor internet connection.