Snowdonia Walking Short Break

Arrive in the small town of Llanberis, ideally located for hiking in Snowdonia National Park. The town overlooks Llyn Padarn with small boats, a steam train and the impressive slate museum. Check in is possible from 2pm. There is a car park for hotel guests. If arriving by train, Bangor Station is 25 minutes away by taxi. The hotel will be able to provide picnic lunches or you can buy supplies from the shops in town.

The Tour Leader plans to meet you in reception at 6pm for the introductory briefing, followed by the option to enjoy a group meal (not included) to get acquainted with your fellow guests. Stay: The Royal Victoria Hotel (Comfortable)

Today's hike takes us to the summit of Moel Eilio (726m), Llanberis' small, but perfect mountain. Setting out from our hotel we walk through Llanberis via the famous Dolbadarn Castle, arguably the best preserved original castle built by the Welsh, and make our way to the base of Moel Eilio. We follow the rounded ridge of Braich Y Foel and make a steady climb to the summit cairn of Moel Eilio, offering extensive views of Snowdon, Glyderai and Tryfan.

From here we extend our walk and hike along the wide ridge to the summits of Foel Gron and Foel Groch before dropping down to an ancient drovers' trail and returning back to the cafés and shops of Llanberis. As this is a shorter day, you may have time to visit the famous Slate museum (free admission). The addition of the slate mines as a UNESCO site is the pride and joy of this small slate mining village.

Today's moderate-graded walk will take approximately 5-6 hours and will cover a distance of 11 kilometres with a total ascent and descent of around 800m. Stay: The Royal Victoria Hotel (Comfortable) (B)

After breakfast, we drive around west side of Snowdon, to the trailhead beside the hamlet of Rhyd-Dhu. We follow this well-maintained path through beautiful sheep-grazing meadows and rocky outcrops that essentially follows a wide ridge. This route up Snowdon is especially attractive thanks to the combination of beauty and relatively low number of walkers. Although the Rhyd-Dhu route is longer, it avoids the shorter and over-crowded routes from Pen-y-Pass. The scenery opens up as we ascend with views of lakes, the surrounding mountains and the Irish Sea.

Closer to the summit the scenery becomes more barren and rocky with increasingly panoramic views. The hike up should take us around 3-4 hours and the 360-degree views from the summit are stunning. On a very clear day it is possible to see England, Scotland and Ireland. The top of Snowdon can be justifiably busy as it includes those who have arrived by train as well as popular routes such as the Pyg Track. For our descent we follow the Llanberis Path, the longest and most gradual of the six main paths from the summit. The path mainly follows the Snowdon Mountain Railway track, opened in 1896, and leads directly to Llanberis and our hotel. This is a classic mountain walk with a great sense of achievement.

Today's challenging-graded walk will take approximately 6-7 hours and will cover a distance of 14 kilometres with a total ascent of 895m and 980m descent. Stay: The Royal Victoria Hotel (Comfortable) (B)

Starting the day with a 20-minute bus ride to Llwynyrhwch on the south side of Snowdonia we commence our final walk in the Moelwyn hills, a quiet contrast to Snowdon. The scenery is less rocky with sheep-grazing meadows, ancient settlements and broken-down dry-stone walls. We hike past hidden lakes, over small mountain passes and up to the summit of Cnicht. Our route back to the village is along a different path and we return to the hotel after another great day in the Welsh hills.

Today's moderate-graded walk will take approximately 5-6 hours and will cover a distance of 12 kilometres with a total ascent and descent of 530m. Stay: The Royal Victoria Hotel (Comfortable) (B)

The trip ends after breakfast at our hotel in Llanberis. (B)