Photo © Tomas Anton Escobar

If you live in London or the South East you might think it impossible to Climb Snowdon without a car or an expensive and complicated train journey. Well you’d be wrong! So if you’ve dreamt of climbing Snowdon from the Capital then read on because it’s much easier than you might think.

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Driving to North Wales from London will take you around five hours but public transport is faster, more convenient and likely cheaper too.

The West Coast Mainline operated by Avanti West Coast (formerly Virgin Trains) runs its Super Voyager trains between London Euston and Holyhead on Anglesey but you’ll want to get off in Bangor (the one in North Wales and not Northern Ireland!) There are five direct trains a day between London Euston and Bangor. The journey time is a little over three hours with trains traveling via Milton Keynes Central. An advance single ticket starts from around £30 or you can choose to travel first class and take advantage of the lounge at Euston and excellent on-board facilities.

In addition to these direct trains there are many more travel options if you’re happy to change at Crewe and/or Chester or Birmingham International. Taking these non-direct trains will obviously slow you down a bit but not by much.

When you get to Bangor you’ll find regular buses running around Snowdon.

Snowdon Buses

Once you’re here you can travel around the region using local buses such as the Snowdon Sherpa. This is a bus service operated by local bus companies and provides an essential link between the six main Snowdon footpaths as well as the main car parks, villages and tourist attractions in the area. It’s an ideal service for walkers and climbers who intend to start their journey from one point and finish at another or for anyone who simply wishes to travel around Snowdonia leaving the car at home.

All Snowdon Sherpa journeys are operated by ‘low floor’ buses with ramps and wheelchair spaces to ensure that the stops provided with raised kerbs are served by accessible vehicles.

Tickets are bought on the bus and contactless payment is accepted. Tickets cost just £2 for an adult single or £3 for an adult return (£1 for a child single and £1.50 for a child return) with a Snowdon Sherpa ‘hop on hop off’ day ticket costing £5 for adults and £2.50 for children. Dogs are welcome on all Snowdon Sherpa services.

The most popular services are the S1, S2 and S5 that run between Llanberis and Pen-y-Pass:

  • S1 – Snowdon Sherpa – Caernafon – Llanberis – Betws-y-Coed
  • S2 – Snowdon Sherpa – Bangor – Llanberis – Pen-y-Pass
  • S5 – Snowdon Sherpa – Llanberis – Pen-y-Pass

Other services run further afield covering the rest of the national park and beyond:

  • S3 – Snowdon Sherpa – Beddgelert – Caernarfon – Bethel – Llanrug – Deiniolen – Dinorwig
  • S4 – Snowdon Sherpa – Porthmadog – Llanfrothen – Beddgelert – Pen y Pass

Find out more about the Snowdon Sherpa service and view full timetables for each route at www.sherparwyddfa.wales