Couch Potatoes on Top of Wales

We’re no strangers to the mountains & love to find some of the most beautiful spots in Wales to lap up gorgeous views. Our usual mode of exploration is our feet & you’ll often find us hiking in the hills in mid Wales in search of natural beauty.

Last week we headed away from our usual spots and drove North on an adventure to Snowdonia. We’ve visited on several occasions before and climbed several peaks including the summit of Snowdon so are no strangers to the awe striking beauty that greets you at the very top of the highest peak in Wales. With an elevation of 1,085 metres (3,560ft) above sea level, this towering mountain really is something special & is a must for any explorers bucket list. On clear days you are promised 360 panoramic views that stretch over the national park and out to the ocean that hugs the North Coast.

After defeating this mountain with the children in tow we were extremely overwhelmed to have an invitation to ride to the top on The Snowdon Mountain Railway. We’d travelled on the railway a few years ago and due to snow had only made it halfway up before the snowdrifts made it impossible for the train to go any further so we were really excited to go back to complete our journey.

We planned to make the very most of our ride to the summit & take advantage of the difference between a hike with only essentials in tow, maps, safety equipment, common sense, planning etc & being able to carry things up that would otherwise not be on our essential list to go in our rucksacks, so our plan was to toast the occasion ‘Family Days Tried & tested’ style..

We packed plastic champagne flutes, lashings of tea, iced gems and, of course, somewhere comfy to sit to take in the view…..we were to become couch potatoes with the aid of an inflatable sofa on the summit of Snowdon with the most beautiful views you could ever imagine absorbing from the comfort of your own settee.
It was a gorgeously blue skied day, with no wind & only breeze forecast for the mountain so we were set for our adventure….

Here’s what greeted us…we arrived at Llanberis mountain railway station and spent some time watching the trains coming and going..

Noah was in awe of the trains.

before we boarded our train we checked out the drivers carriage..

With our tickets in hand, some snacks for the journey and our deflated sofa tucked under our seat we were off…up, up and away….

the scenery that accompanied us as we climbed high and higher up the mountain was spectacular.

we passed trains on the way up.

we passed through Rocky Valley….which was rocky 🙂

we climbed higher & higher..

The views were a stark contrast to those that we’d seen during the snow, here’s the same spot, one lush greenness basking in sunshine and the other glistening white under a beautiful blue sky…

halfway up and we were enjoying every second of beauty outside our window.

we past lots of walkers on the way up..

Noah spent lots of time waving 🙂

we could see the familiar summit approaching..

we pulled into the station alongside the cafe nestled in the sky..

here we were able to use the wash room, purchase a cup of tea and snacks or just sit and admire the beautiful view out of the window…

we had taken our own snacks and drinks so we headed straight to the top to inflate our sofa and sit to enjoy the most beautiful views ever…

with a quick trip to the trig point for a ‘on top of Wales’ selfie 🙂 before heading back to the platform to watch our return journey train coming back for us..

When we got back down we spent some time in the small train museum before choosing some souvenirs in the gift shop..

we had an absolutely fab day on Snowdon Mountain Railway and would like to thank them for inviting us to ride on the train… It certainly made a little boy who loves trains very very happy & a family who love the mountains very happy too…. It was a great adventure!!

You can find more info on Snowdon Mountain railway on theirwebsiteor over on their facebookpage.

**please remember that if you are hiking it is not advisable to take a sofa with you and to always be sensibly prepared, taking the train up enabled us to reach the top of the mountain in completely different manner to our usual ways & experience it in an unusual way. We love walking, but we also love mountain trains 🙂