Climbing Snowdon on The Rhyd Ddu Path

Our adventure weekend of climbing Snowdon on the Rhyd Ddu Path was kick-started on a Friday evening with a short conversation that went something like — “The weathers nice this weekend, shall we do something?” and me replying “why don’t we climb Snowdon?”

A quick, last minute hotel booking, some kit thrown in the back of the car and we were set, on our way, full of energy and buzzing with anticipation.

I might add neither of us had done any sort of climbing or mountaineering before, we were both complete novices but climbing Snowdon had always been on our to-do list!

About Snowdonia National Park

Snowdon may be humble in mountain scale when considering the Swiss Alps or the Pyrenees, but many of Snowdonia’s mountains can be scaled after a good breakfast and descended in time for dinner and a pint! This, for us is what makes Snowdonia the ultimate, adventure playground and weekend getaway. After all why settle for one summit when you can be conquering your next by Sunday afternoon!

Snowdonia has had a long standing history in the mountaineering world, and still does! Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tensing used Snowdonia as a training base for the first ever successful Everest climbing expedition back in 1952, they became the first men to summit Mt Everest in 1953. There are many mountaineers that frequently visit here, and there has always been a certain magnetism that brings people back to these mountains time and time again!

One of the reasons why we’ve visited here a few times this year is to test our fitness and gauge our own ability. We have an upcoming trip to Nepal where we will be hiking various circuits through the Himalayas, including the Mardi Himal Trek. I can see why Snowdonia makes such a good training base, there are many challenging mountains here, and some with treacherous rock faces and unstable sections of scree.

Snowdonia is ever growing in popularity, and world acclaim, now even more so thanks to recent films such as King Arthur. But this is no surprise with a national park that’s filled with a stunning landscape of mountains, jagged rock and striking peaks! It’s a landscape that’s raw, beautiful and mysterious, and one that at times could be compared to a scene from a Lord Of The Rings film!

Rhyd Ddu Path

After scouting through articles and web-posts, looking for a less popular, not so busy route to climb, we came across the Rhyd Ddu Path. This path was described as an easy to intermediate walk and with both of us being novices at this point, along with the allure of some stunning mountain scenery, we decided to take this route.

The Rhyd Ddu Path Route

When we arrived at the car park it was about 10:00 am and by then there were some questionable parking methods being used to secure a space! Although the Rhyd Ddu Path route is quieter than others, don’t expect to have it all to yourselves on a sunny weekend day.

We headed through the main gate over the railway line with our backpacks on, raring to go but somewhat unprepared. It was a hot day with no cloud or shade so we quickly realised this was going to be a little harder than expected.

We stopped about an hour into the walk for some lunch and to take in the fantastic views

Further up, sections of the path started to get rockier and steeper and we kept looking up wondering how much further it was to the summit. We could see a huge ridge way ahead of us so we kidded ourselves that the top must be just past that. The reality hit when a family walked past us, we heard a young girl saying to her mother “we’re half way there”. We looked at each other and laughed, thinking that we couldn’t possibly only be half way to the top. Well it turns out the young girl had clearly walked this path before as we still had a long way to go.

Silencing our doubts and blocking out the dull ache, that’s slowly crept its way up into the back of our legs we pushed on, with the sun beating down on us.

The first flat ridge was a short, welcome relief of level land and then it took all we had to push ourselves up the zigzagging path that was super steep. We stopped along it a couple of times to take in the views. Okay, okay we stopped to get our breath back, but the views were just incredible!

Nearing the top, the rising path becomes more and more compressed, pinched together, twisting and turning, almost like you’re walking along the jagged backbone of the mountain, as it guides you towards the summit.

With our legs complaining and already wobbly we had to walk along a narrow, cliff edge with a sheer drop on one side. We’re not going to lie, if you have a fear of heights this will test your nerves! It was worse because our legs were so tired so we didn’t feel as steady as we would have liked. We made it across and then sat for a rest and some well deserved food as our legs dangled over the cliff edge. This is the first time you get to see some of the views over the other side of Snowdon so we sat here for a while taking it all in.

There is then a final section of the ridge where you need to climb up and around a few rocks and you may find it easier to use your hands to help. This is not difficult though, but again due to some fairly sheer drops, it may just test your head for heights.

Reaching The Summit Of Snowdon

As you reach the summit you’re hit with a sense of fulfillment and rewarded with spectacular views that reach further than the eye can see. You conquered your fears, silenced your doubts, you’re at the top, you made it to the summit!

I never really understood the draw of mountaineering until now, even though Snowdon is relatively small when comparing it to other mountains. I guess reaching the summit of any mountain gives you the same sense of achievement and buzz, as you look out over a world ruled by nature and her raw beauty, and realise you are just a passenger, here for the briefest of moments.

On the way up don’t forget to enjoy the dramatic scenery and turn round every now and again to take in the wonderful and ever changing views beneath you. On a clear day you can see for miles!

To view this map in more detail click here

Facilities At The Summit Of Snowdon

It is likely to busy at the top of the summit due to all the different paths meeting, plus the visitors that arrive via the Snowdon Mountain Railway. As we went on a sunny Saturday is was very busy at the top with a huge queue to have a photo with the brass plate on top of the trigpoint (small brick pillar) at the very highest point.

The Snowdon Summit Visitors Centre, Hafod Eryri, was built in 2009 and is operated by the Snowdon Mountain Railway. It only operates when the trains are running, which is from late Spring till the end of October from 10:00 am till 20 minutes before the last train leaves the Summit. On bad weather days when the trains can’t run it will remain closed so be sure to check their social media feeds for Summit updates.

• Summit Cafe – sells a selection of hot and cold drinks, including alcohol and handheld snacks
• Summit Gift Shop – sells gifts, clothing and souvenirs – there is even a post box!
• Vending Machines – sells cold drinks and snacks (when we arrived in the afternoon the snacks were all gone and there was only a limited selection of drinks left)
• Toilets

Before You Set Off Ensure You Have:

• Comfortable shoes and clothes
• Plenty to drink
• Food, including snacks to keep you going
• Sun cream for sunny or partially cloudy days as there is no shade
• Layers as it can get cooler towards the top or even very cold on a cloudy or cold day
• A camera to capture all the beautiful views
• £5 in change if you are parking in the car park

Where To Start The Rhyd Ddu Path Walk

As the name would suggest the walk starts from the small town of Rhyd Ddu, which is on the A4085. The car park is by the West Highland Railway Station and isn’t particularly big so on a sunny weekend day we would recommend getting there early.

There are toilets there, but no other facilities so make sure you buy food and water before you arrive.

It is £5 to park all day and you must have the correct change with you as it doesn’t give change and the card machine doesn’t work.

There is also a Snowdon Sherpa bus stop right outside the car park.

How Long Does It Take To Walk Up The Rhyd Ddu Path?

The walk up to the summit using the Rhyd Ddu Path takes around 3 hours, with it taking slightly less time on the way back down, even with achy legs. It took us around 8 hours for the round trip as we took our time to stop and take in the views both on the way up and at the summit.

We would recommended putting aside at least 6 hours for the whole walk.

Things To Consider When Walking Up The Rhyd Ddu Path

Even though the Rhyd Ddu Path route is suitable for everyone there is however a section where you need to walk on a narrow ridge with steep drops so you do need a head for heights. Due to this we wouldn’t recommend this route in winter conditions unless you are experienced and have the correct equipment.

All the routes have some steep sections and this one is no different. Although it’s only very short, there is a very steep section when you get towards the summit.

This route is easy to follow with sign posts and markers, but there are a couple of sections where you need to pay extra attention to the piles of rocks (markers) other walkers have left to show the correct path.

In fair conditions we highly recommend taking the Rhyd Ddu Path as there are breathtaking views and far less people than the more popular routes that take you up the other side of Snowdon.

Other Routes Up Snowdon

There are 6 main routes up to the Snowdon summit — Llanbaris Path, Rhyd Ddu Path, Watkin Path, Snowdon Ranger Track, Miner’s Track and Pyg Track.

These routes vary in length and difficulty, with the easiest and most popular being the Llanbaris Path.

There is also 7th route called Crib Goch but this should only be attempted by experienced mountain hikers. It has knife edged, sheer drops and unfortunately there are many accidents along this dangerous route.

For more amazing things to do in Snowdonia check out our guide here!