Crowds in Snowdonia?

steve said:

My wife and I are visiting the UK from the US at the end
of May. We were considering some hiking in Snowdonia the
weekend of the 28-31st. Can anyone tell me if this weekend
would be very crowded walking the trails? I think this may
be a holiday weekend for you as it is for us?? Would we be
better off going somewhere else, like North York Moores or
Brecon Beacons? We do plan on some walks and caving in the
Yorshire dales earlier in the week and were looking for
somewhere else to go for this weekend. We will have a car
as well. We have never been to the UK so any help and
suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks, Steve

This is a holiday weekend and so will be more crowded than a
regular weekend but that doesn't make it a write off. Just
don't expect to travel far and fast on the Friday evening.
Most tourists don't go more than a few metres from the road
but the hills will be busier too. A lot depends on what you
want the most and your tolerance to *sharing*. If you are
expecting solitude then you won't find that in Snowdonia or
NYM any weekend in the late spring / summer - I dont know
the BB's at all well, so can't comment. I usually go to
Scottish southern hebrides (Islay and Jura) for this week,
but will be indulging in some easy rock climbing in
Snowdonia this year, but I'll pick my spots very carefully
and will probably camp high (weather permitting) or stay in
out of the way climbing club huts. Do you prefer heather
moors or more craggy lumpy bits up to 3000 or so feet? The
Isle of Arran would be doable for the weekend from the
Dales. Take the ferry from Ardrossan. You'll get more help
if you can allude more specifically to what you want - but I
accept that without knowing what's on offer that may take a
few iterations. Cheers Graham

"steve" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My wife and I are visiting the UK from the US at the end
of May. We were considering some hiking in Snowdonia the
weekend of the 28-31st. Can anyone tell me if this weekend
would be very crowded walking the trails? I think this may
be a holiday weekend for you as it is for us?? Would we be
better off going somewhere else, like North York Moores or
Brecon Beacons? We do plan on some walks and caving in the
Yorshire dales earlier in the week and were looking for
somewhere else to go for this weekend. We will have a car
as well. We have never been to the UK so any help and
suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks, Steve

Steve, your main problem with that weekend is our pathetic
road network. I can't help you with this particular area,
I'm a stranger to Wales (one visit, bad pud, big fight) but
there's a few on here will give better advice. The UK at the
moment is in the middle of a traffic cone breeding epidemic,
with a shortage of workers :-) But my feel for the area says
it's going to be busy.

KRO

On 7/3/04 7:22 pm, in article
[email hidden], "steve" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

My wife and I are visiting the UK from the US at the end
of May. We were considering some hiking in Snowdonia the
weekend of the 28-31st. Can anyone tell me if this weekend
would be very crowded walking the trails? I think this may
be a holiday weekend for you as it is for us?? Would we be
better off going somewhere else, like North York Moores or
Brecon Beacons? We do plan on some walks and caving in the
Yorshire dales earlier in the week and were looking for
somewhere else to go for this weekend. We will have a car
as well. We have never been to the UK so any help and
suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks, Steve

This should not be too much trouble. Once you're on
the hills you should be OK - there's quite a lot of
space up there!

With a car you should be OK although it is a day's travel
to get from Yorkshire to North Wales - but it will be worth
it. Alternatively, you could get to the English Lake
District quicker!

In message <[email hidden]>,
Andy Howell <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

On 7/3/04 7:22 pm, in article
[email hidden], "steve"

Quoted message said:

My wife and I are visiting the UK from the US at the end
of May. We were considering some hiking in Snowdonia the
weekend of the 28-31st. Can anyone tell me if this
weekend would be very crowded walking the trails? I think
this may be a holiday weekend for you as it is for us??
Would we be better off going somewhere else, like North
York Moores or Brecon Beacons? We do plan on some walks
and caving in the Yorshire dales earlier in the week and
were looking for somewhere else to go for this weekend.
We will have a car as well. We have never been to the UK
so any help and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Steve

This should not be too much trouble. Once you're on the
hills you should be OK - there's quite a lot of space
up there!

With a car you should be OK although it is a day's travel
to get from Yorkshire to North Wales - but it will be worth
it. Alternatively, you could get to the English Lake
District quicker!

No, Yorkshire to N wales is a doddle. Straight along the
M62, then along the dual carriageway leading into Wales,
then drop down into Snowdonia.

It's much easier than for me trying to get from Nottingham
to the same area.
--
Chris Morriss

Snowdonia is a magnificent area, it doesn't have the scale
of areas in the USA. Lovely, it is! Crowded it will be. The
UK doesn't have the huge expanses like the USA, so please be
patient and expect not to be alone.

If you are considering Snowdon itself, please read on. That
is a holiday weekend and Snowdon will be VERY busy.
BUT...maybe try a different mountain in the area. Most
popular mountain areas in the UK are prone to crowds at peak
times, this is definitely one of them. A bout of bad weather
usually put off the amateurs.

My best advice is be there on a week day rather than the
weekend. I was up there last summer, on a Wednesday, 9.00 am
on Snowdon summit, 2 other people. One week later, on a
Saturday, you had to queue to get to the Trig. point. If you
must be there Sat\ Sun \ Mon ( it is a holiday weekend in
the UK) for a quieter time try a very early start and meet
the crowds on the way down. Please remember the train will
be running from Llanberis so there'll be lots of punters up
there clambering over the summit. It's the sort of place
that you'll meet someone you haven't seen for years! Usual
preparation, OS maps, compass, wet weather gear etc.

Generally, prepare before hand, don't expect to get
anywhere very fast over the holiday weekend (unless the
weather is bad). If you are travelling allow plenty of
time. Keep clear of rush hours on the motorway around major
cities, 8.00 am - 9.30 am - 4.00 am - 6.00 pm. Particularly
Manchester and London.

Negative dross out of the way, if you can get a quiet time +
good weather you will be impressed with Snowdonia.

Have fun! Mike

"steve" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My wife and I are visiting the UK from the US at the end
of May. We were considering some hiking in Snowdonia the
weekend of the 28-31st. Can anyone tell me if this weekend
would be very crowded walking the trails? I think this may
be a holiday weekend for you as it is for us?? Would we be
better off going somewhere else, like North York Moores or
Brecon Beacons? We do plan on some walks and caving in the
Yorshire dales earlier in the week and were looking for
somewhere else to go for this weekend. We will have a car
as well. We have never been to the UK so any help and
suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks, Steve

"steve" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

SNIP:

Quoted message said:

We do plan on some walks and caving in the Yorshire dales
earlier in the week

Hi Steve, email me if you need any information on caving in
the Dales.

Glenn

Web site: andromeda-park.demon.co.ukandromeda-park.demon.co.ukOpen ↗ Speleo
Vercors: speleo-vercors.orgspeleo-vercors.orgOpen ↗

In article
<[email hidden]>, steve
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Quick question, whats a "doddle"? (Good short drive or long
traffic laden one?). I know we all speak English but you
guys must have added some words recently :-)

Doddle - an easy task.

No link to driving. Often used to suggest that somebody
else's task is much easier compared to that of the speaker.

--

dscs.demon.co.ukdscs.demon.co.ukOpen ↗

steve said:

My wife and I are visiting the UK from the US at the end
of May. We were considering some hiking in Snowdonia the
weekend of the 28-31st. Can anyone tell me if this weekend
would be very crowded walking the trails? I think this may
be a holiday weekend for you as it is for us?? Would we be
better off going somewhere else, like North York Moores or
Brecon Beacons? We do plan on some walks and caving in the
Yorshire dales earlier in the week and were looking for
somewhere else to go for this weekend. We will have a car
as well. We have never been to the UK so any help and
suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks, Steve

Snowdon peak will be a magnet and will heaving with people
all on their mobile phones "Guess where we are ...". It is
the highest point and has a railway to the top. The other
popular peaks won't be lonely but should be fine. Other
areas will be deserted.

As for the roads, the main trunk road along the North Wales
coast is the A55 and it will be busy at times. Avoid going
west after about 3pm on the Friday or before 11am Saturday
to Monday, East after 4pm on Saturday to Monday. There is a
particularly narrow spot with long term traffic restrictions
where they are strengthening the road supports and barriers
over a railway. There is single lane working, speed limits
of 40mph and speed cameras just west of Conwy. Expect that
to be difficult.

Others have suggested heading North to the Lakes or
Scotland. Sadly, the M6 (Birmingham to Scotland motorway) is
likely to be worse than the A55 if my experience of it a few
weeks ago is any guide.

See BBC2 TV Teletext page 431 (I think) for traffic holdups
when you are here.

Regards and enjoy your holiday!

Phil

The message <[email hidden]>
from Chris Morriss <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

No, Yorkshire to N wales is a doddle. Straight along the
M62, then along the dual carriageway leading into Wales,
then drop down into Snowdonia.

Quoted message said:

It's much easier than for me trying to get from Nottingham
to the same area.

It depends where in North Yorkshire you start from.

Per AA Milemaster

Nottingham to Pen-y-pass 145 miles in 3 hours 24 minutes.
Richmond to Pen-y-pass 202 miles in 4 hours 2 minutes.
Whitby to Pen-y-pass 219 miles in 4 hours 35 minutes.

--

Roger

Graham Bowers wrote on Sun, 07 Mar 2004 20:25:32 +0000....

Quoted message said:

If you are expecting solitude then you won't find that in
Snowdonia or NYM any weekend in the late spring / summer -
I dont know the BB's at all well, so can't comment.

On the holiday weekend at the end of May, the central Brecon
Beacons around Pen-y-fan will be heaving. Other areas of the
Brecon Beacons National Park will be worth visiting, though
not deserted.

--
Tim Jackson [email hidden] (Change
'.invalid' to '.co.uk' to reply direct) Absurd patents:
visit patent.freeserve.co.ukpatent.freeserve.co.ukOpen ↗

Wow, Thanks to all for a wealth of information. These
newsgroups are great and it seems as if the people of GB are
a friendly lot.

Sounds like you have worse traffic than here in New York!
Quick question, whats a "doddle"? (Good short drive or long
traffic laden one?). I know we all speak English but you
guys must have added some words recently :-) Punters? I'll
have to pick up some of the interesting lingo.

We are still not sure of our plans. If everyone is out at
the parks that weekend does this mean it may be a good time
to visit London? About how long a drive is it from lets say
Settle in the Yorkshire Dales to London on that Friday 28th
morning? We have never been there and although I'm not
really a city person I probably should see it since we are
flying all the way over there.

Thanks again, Steve.

P.R.Brady said:

See BBC2 TV Teletext page 431 (I think) for traffic holdups
when you are here.

If you can get access to the web
trafficmap.co.uktrafficmap.co.ukOpen ↗ covers major roads in England.
Nadics 62.189.99.2262.189.99.22Open ↗ covers Scotland, but also does
Birmingham to Carlisle.
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the
"Westminster Gasworks"

(steve) said:

Wow, Thanks to all for a wealth of information. These
newsgroups are great and it seems as if the people of GB
are a friendly lot.

Sounds like you have worse traffic than here in New York!
Quick question, whats a "doddle"? (Good short drive or
long traffic laden one?). I know we all speak English but
you guys must have added some words recently :-) Punters?
I'll have to pick up some of the interesting lingo.

Doddle.... easy, no problem (dismissive) Punter .. A
customer, the rude public, everyone else.

Richard Webb

The message <[email hidden]>
from [email hidden] (steve) contains these words:

Quoted message said:

About how long a drive is it from lets say Settle in the
Yorkshire Dales to London on that Friday 28th morning?

Definitely not a doddle.

AA Milemaster predicts 4 hours 38 minutes for the 241
miles from Settle to Central London but that makes no
allowance for holiday traffic. About 195 of that is
Motorway but some sections of that are busy even on a
normal day. I have no idea what the run into London would
be like but on a busy day I would be tempted to double up
the time from Settle to the
M606 (1hour to 2) and add another half hour for the
Motorway part of the journey.

--

Roger

"RJ Webb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 8 Mar 2004 17:47:04 -0800, [email hidden]

(steve) said:

Wow, Thanks to all for a wealth of information. These
newsgroups are great and it seems as if the people of GB
are a friendly lot.

Sounds like you have worse traffic than here in New
York! Quick question, whats a "doddle"? (Good short
drive or long traffic laden one?). I know we all speak
English but you guys must have added some words recently
:-) Punters? I'll have to pick up some of the
interesting lingo.

Doddle.... easy, no problem (dismissive) Punter .. A
customer, the rude public, everyone else.

On the language front you may find this of interest
effingpot.comeffingpot.comOpen ↗

Regards

Bernard

Roger said:

The message
<[email hidden]> from
[email hidden] (steve) contains these words:

Quoted message said:

About how long a drive is it from lets say Settle in the
Yorkshire Dales to London on that Friday 28th morning?

Definitely not a doddle.

AA Milemaster predicts 4 hours 38 minutes for the 241
miles from Settle to Central London but that makes no
allowance for holiday traffic. About 195 of that is
Motorway but some sections of that are busy even on a
normal day. I have no idea what the run into London would
be like but on a busy day I would be tempted to double up
the time from Settle to the
M606 (1hour to 2) and add another half hour for the
Motorway part of the journey.

It also kind of depends on when exactly you will be
travelling and whereabouts in London you want to be. I'd
hazzard a guess that driving into London will be less of a
hassle than getting out of it.

AA Milemaster calulates the shortest route on time but there
can be better alternatives. There are three possibilities
that I would consider. M1 the obvious roue but likely to be
busy. A1 not technically all motorway but almost always
flows more freely if a little slower. The other option is a
combination of motorways on the western side of the country.
M61 M62 M6 M42 M40. However this is also likely to be busy,
especially in the middle section where traffic will be
heading down the M6 to get to the M5.

AA Milemaster times, without breaks, for these routes, using
heavy goods vehicle speeds as a kind of built in traffic
factor are:

M1 5 h. 48 min, 240.80 Miles A1 5 h. 57 min. 237.80 Miles
Western M 6 h. 12 min. 267.20 Miles

All things considered I would take the A1 option
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the
"Westminster Gasworks"

In article <[email hidden]>,
Phil Cook <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Lots of shops do "cashback" where you put more than the
value of your goods on the credit/debit card in return for
goods plus cash.

Only on debit cards. Debit card processing usually has a
fixed transaction fee whereas credit card transactions are
charged at a percentage. As the fixed fee is already charged
for your purchase they do not have any greater costs for
supplying the cash.

--

dscs.demon.co.ukdscs.demon.co.ukOpen ↗

Thanks all, This is a big help. I hope I'm not pushing my
luck and getting too off topic with more questions but this
just seems like such a great place to get the real story.
Guide books don't give you details like this. So my next
(and hopefully last) question is about money (way off
topic!). Are US dollars readily accepted in most places? I
doubt it, but if so does anyone know the going exchange rate
used by businesses? If not readily accepted does anyone know
if I am better off changing money when I get there, at a
bank or ATM, or getting it ahead from a bank here in theUS.
Thanks Again, Steve.

"Phil Cook" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

P.R.Brady said:

See BBC2 TV Teletext page 431 (I think) for traffic
holdups when you are here.

If you can get access to the web
trafficmap.co.uktrafficmap.co.ukOpen ↗ covers major roads in
England. Nadics 62.189.99.2262.189.99.22Open ↗ covers Scotland, but
also does Birmingham to Carlisle.
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster
Gasworks"

Xmurray wrote on Wed, 10 Mar 2004 00:42:22 GMT....

Quoted message said:

So my next (and hopefully last) question is about money
(way off topic!). Are US dollars readily accepted in most
places? I doubt it, but if so does anyone know the going
exchange rate used by businesses? If not readily accepted
does anyone know if I am better off changing money when I
get there, at a bank or ATM, or getting it ahead from a
bank here in theUS.

No, you'll need to change your dollars at a bank or bureau
de change. Any bank should be able to do it, and you
shouldn't have too much difficulty finding one (but most
only open Monday to Friday and beware that they've had a
tendency in recent years to close their branches in some
smaller country towns and villages).

Some travel agents in towns and cities have bureaux de
change, but otherwise you'll probably only find them at
airports and in central London. Longer opening hours than
the banks, probably 24 hours at the biggest airports. Some
tourist bureaux de change in central London may be a rip-off
but otherwise you should get a fair deal in most places
(banks may be marginally better but not much in it). Some
advertise commission-free deals but probably make up for it
with a slightly worse exchange rate, so it's swings and
roundabouts. Large hotels in big cities may also exchange
dollars, but are likely to give a poor rate.

ATMs are convenient and likely to be give you the best
rates, unless your own credit/debit card issuer hits you for
charges or commission. That aside, the vast majority of ATMs
make no charges for cash withdrawals (which is why they are
likely to be the best deal). The few that do charge are
likely to be in places like petrol stations, convenience
stores, etc and you should nowadays get an on-screen warning
about it and an opportunity to cancel, though that wasn't
always true in the past. Personally, when I go abroad these
days, I just reckon on finding an ATM at the airport when I
arrive, then topping up from other ATMs when I need to.

Credit and debit cards are pretty widely accepted in the UK
when you are paying for things and may save you the bother
of changing large amounts of money in advance.

Travellers cheques may be useful if you are getting travel
money before you leave home. If you bring dollar travellers
cheques, you'll need a bank or bureau de change to change
them. You can get ones in pounds instead which may be free
or cheaper to exchange and may also be accepted directly
when paying for things in some shops and hotels (but I've no
experience of how widely they would be accepted).

You may have heard of these new-fangled things called euros,
but we don't believe in them.

--
Tim Jackson [email hidden] (Change
'.invalid' to '.co.uk' to reply direct) Absurd patents:
visit patent.freeserve.co.ukpatent.freeserve.co.ukOpen ↗