A Costly Journey into the Clouds... (Snowdon Mountain Railway)

Member Name: flyingpenguin

Product:	Snowdon Mountain Railway
Date:	04/09/09 (65 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Unique, amazing views on clear days, interesting commentary

Disadvantages: Expensive for what it is, can be over-crowded

I have just returned from a short and much needed, break in North Wales. It was my first trip to the area, booked very last minute (just after midday on our day of departure!) so my partner and I hadn't really looked at what there was to do in the area, we just packed up our bags and embarked on the adventure!

Our hotel offered lots of leaflets to peruse, including one on the Mountain Railway. The leaflet gave lots of details about the route the train took and how to book, however failed to mention the price (gulp, see further on) or train times. Both of us thought it seemed like a good idea, and planned to take the train up then walk down so we could explore all the little details we would miss from the train. We were warned the journey would take an hour each way by train, and walking down would take around 2hours 30mins.

On the leaflet it mentioned an "Early Bird" special - if you pre-book the 9am trip, you got tickets half price. You needed to book by phone, which incurred a £3.50 booking fee, at least a day in advance. Despite loving the idea of saving some money, we were staying about an hour away and the combination of comfy bed and hotel breakfast was too luring for us to make the first train, so we decided to take a leisurely drive there and get the first train we could.

On arrival to Llanberis, a big sign indicated the car park to use for the Mountain Railway, at a whopping £5 parking fee (although we were assured this was for the whole day, and we could leave and come back if we wanted). The man on the gate was quick at offering information about the next train, and had taken our money and given us a ticket before we'd had time to say we just wanted to turn round and investigate the other car parks first (there was one just down the road for £3.50).

The day we chose had terrible weather, and the concept of walking downhill for 2.5hrs in the rain and wind became completely unappealing, so we opted for a return ticket instead. We got quite a shock on seeing the prices: £25 each for a return ticket, £16 one-way! Having grown up just outside of London I have been use to extortionate prices, but for a steam train trip, this just seemed too much. There was a train leaving in 10mins, and as we were there and pretty unconvinced at the practicalities of walking either way, we bought 2 tickets and joined the queue to board. The leaflet advises arriving 45mins before departure, however there were no problems with the time we got there. In peak times they advise pre-booking due to crowds, and even on this wet September day, the train was full up.

There were two trains boarding, each divided into 7 sets of seats (two rows facing each other, with a door) each row seating 4 people, so 8 people per section, in theory. We boarded in section G, and were the only 2 people in there at first. The rows are quite close together, so there isn't a lot of leg room, We sat opposite each other, put our bag under our legs and maneouvered our feet so the were interwined but comfortable. When 5 other people were added to our section, it became pretty squashed. I could see how with 8 children or small people there would be adequate room, but with slightly larger people it became a tight squeeze - certainly not the seat I expected for £25!

The journey up was enjoyable. There is an audio commentary which points out interesting sights along the way. We had purchased the souvenir brochure for £3.50 in the ticket office, and found some of what was said was in the brochure anyway. We were sat on the right-hand side on the way up, which was a fortunate choice as much of the commentary focussed on sights on that side. Along the route, the train stops at several places to allow other trains to pass coming down the mountain, and at these times the commentary usually pointed out some more things of interest or told a tale about the mountain.

Once at the top there is a cafe and visitors' centre, with souvenirs and toilets. Visitors can continue the short walk up to the summit, where it promises amazing views on clear days. Sadly, on this day the mist was especially dense, and we found ourselves staring into a white oblivion getting very wet. We did climb to the very top tho, taking care on the slippery steps, and were pretty amused by the sight of a dozen or so tourists stood upon this mound of stones, trying not to be blown away, huddled around the marker on the top showing in which direction you can view different places!

The journey back down was less enjoyable. Passengers are advised to change sides so they can have a different view on the way down. Sadly for us our compartment-sharers had got back in first and had taken up the majority of the seats. We ended up squashed together at the end of a row, legs pulled in and barely touching the floor (due to the traveller opposite taking up the floor space) with Steve pushing into my right side and the window soaking my other arm in condensation. There is no commentary on the journey back down, and as on the way up there are points when we had to stop and wait for trains to pass. Visability improved as you went down, but due to the rain photos weren't great. Windows were covered in condensation and rain drops, and although the middle window opened, our fellow passengers had been greatly unimpressed when I did open it to take a picture!

Overall, on a clear day I can imagine the views would be amazing, and even with bad weather we still had the sense of being very high up. Visability was only very bad near the top, so on the journey there were points when you could see a drop right beside the train, and look out over vast valleys, which was amazing. The novelty of travelling a steam train was limited for me - it was great to be travelling up Snowdon on the mountain railway, and the commentary and souvenir brochure gave lots of interesting tidbits of information about the trains - however, the squashed carriage and price didn't seemed fair.

Summary: Nice for a one-off experience, but next time I'll walk!