Nine Facts About Snowdonia

When staying at our Sunbeach Holiday park, near the village of Llwyngwril on the north Welsh coast, it would take you not much longer than 40 minutes to reach Snowdonia National Park. This is one of the UK’s most famous mountain ranges and a popular destination for those attempting the Three Peaks Challenge.

Snowdonia is probably one of those names you see all the time but actually know very little about. To help you build a better picture of this most stunning of landscapes and its deep meaning to the local area, we have put together a number of facts about Snowdonia to help you better plan your visit when you are next holidaying at Sunbeach.

Snowdon is the highest mountain in England and Wales.

Mount Snowdon stands a very proud 1085 metres above sea level, partnering Carnedd Llywelyn, which is 1064 metres as the highest mountain in Wales and England. In England, only Scafell Pike gets close at just 978 metres. All three mountains are dwarfed by Ben Nevis, which stands tall at 1345 metres, and is the highest peak in the whole of the United Kingdom.

Locals prefer to use the Welsh name.

Although Snowdonia is a recognisable name internationally, locals prefer to refer to the mountain by its Welsh name, Eryri – which means ‘home of the eagle’. Snowdonia National Park is called Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri in Welsh.

It boasts 2142 square kilometres of natural beauty.

Across the United Kingdom, the Cairngorms in Scotland is the largest national park, followed by the Lake District in England. Snowdonia comes in third, covering 2142 square kilometres, from Conwy Bay on the North to Aberdovey and the Dovey estuary in the south.

Snowdonia consists of nine different mountain ranges.

The highest three peaks are located in the north of the park. These are Carneddau, Glyderau and Snowdon. Below these are Moelwynion around Blaenau Ffestiniog and Moel Hebog close to Beddgelert. To the south are Rhinogydd, Cadair Idris, Aran Fawddwy and Dyfi Hills.

It’s not all about the mountains.

Snowdonia skirts the northwest Welsh coast of Cardigan Bay, which boasts some of the wildest and most beautiful sandy beaches in the UK. To explore this particular stretch of the coastline, both the Sunbeach holiday park near the village of Llwyngwril and Aber Bay on Clarach Bay near Aberystwyth provide you with the perfect starting point. Simply head north to breathe in the fresh sea air of Harlech Beach, marvel at the beauty of Llandanwg sand dunes protecting an ancient church, explore Dyffryn Ardudwy, and enjoy a family day out at Barmouth.

It’s not for the faint-hearted!

If you’re looking for some more thrills – over and above the challenge of trekking through Snowdonia’s mountain ranges, you could head up to Zip World Penrhyn, located in Bethesda right on the northernmost cusp of the national park. Penrhyn has been the home of the fastest zip line in the world, with 1.5km of zip line that takes you across the disused quarry at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour!

Alternatively, you could go underground, beneath those very mountains in Snowdonia, where underground mines have been converted into unique zip wire adventures, which involve the longest underground zip wire in the world, which measures 130m end to end.

It’s perfect for flower spotting.

If the gentle pastime of spotting unusual and rare flora and fauna is more your bag, then you might want to keep your eyes peeled for the rare Snowdon Lily. This alpine rarity only grows in the most inaccessible of peaks and crevasses, so it is very seldom spotted by visitors to the Snowdonia mountain ranges.

It’s a great training ground for world-class mountaineers.

The nine mountain ranges across Snowdonia have some incredibly difficult climbing challenges, such as the Crib Goch ridge, which is often used by world-class mountaineers as they train and prepare for expeditions further afield. Historically Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay visited while preparing for their Mount Everest expedition in 1953 and stayed at the now-famous Pen-y-Gwyrd hotel, a popular choice among the mountaineering community.

It’s perfect for Railways enthusiasts.

If you have a keen interest in the history of railways, Snowdonia is the perfect place for you. Historically a network of narrow-gauge railways lines was constructed to connect different points in Snowdonia, transporting slate from the quarries to the ports. The famous Snowdon Mountain Railway is a two-and-a-half-hour train journey that starts in Llanberis and heads up to the summit of Mount Snowdon with a 30-minute stop at the Hafod Eryri visitor centre on the summit, where you can marvel at the stunning view.

If you would like more information about both Aber Bay and Sunbeach holiday caravan sites, contact us now for more details.