#29 Wales

Apr 3

Set in North Wales, Snowdonia National Park is home to some of the most stunning, rugged scenery in the United Kingdom. Boasting the highest peak in Wales, Mount Snowdon, at 1,085m, is part of the United Kingdom’s 3-Peak Challenge. We completed the 2 other peaks in July 2022, so this was the final peak to conquer. Standing on the summit of Snowdon, Snowdonia National Park was unveiled beneath our feet. A maze of walking tracks curled away over steep-sided pinnacles and along pristine lakes. It was so beautiful once the clouds cleared and gave us a glimpse of what we couldn’t see when we hiking up.

Fun fact: Sir Edmund Hilary even famously trained on the slopes of Snowdon for his first summit of Mt Everest in 1953.

Snowdonia National Park is actually known for being the wettest place in the UK, with on average nearly 4,500mm of rain a year, so you can never guarantee what the weather will be like, especially when you go climbing Snowdon. This hike was the wettest hike Michael and I have ever experienced. It was wet and gloomy for 90% of the hike, but it was wonderful. It’s not just the empty trails that the rain brings; it also brings a special kind of solitude in natural areas, particularly in more enclosed places like woodlands.

It becomes a sensory experience, and you get absorbed in your surroundings and feel like you’re worlds away. All the moisture brings plants and vegetation to life, adding so much color to your surroundings. The greens, blues, and browns of woodlands or rolling hills are magnified, and the shimmering surfaces flashing all around are a treat. I highly recommend you try hiking in the rain; you may enjoy it more than you think!

Our accommodation was on a sheep farm, and I couldn’t have been happier. We were there during lambing season, and within the last couple of weeks, over 1500 lambs were born. We could walk in any direction from our Airbnb and were surrounded by nature. We walked along the riverside and soaked in the sounds of the rushing water with the lambs talking in the distance. I was lucky enough to be able to hold one for the first time! Our powerful connection with animals can fulfill us in ways we never knew.