Beautiful Snowdonia

Snowdonia is a region in north Wales that consists of an 837 square mile park. Snowdown inspires the name, which is the highest mountain in Wales at 3,560 feet. The Welsh name for it is Eryi.   Some say the Welsh name means “Eagle” but others say it just means “Highlands.”  In the Middle Ages the lord of the area was Lord Snowdonia.  Today the National Trust and the Snowdonia Society which is a committee of charitable volunteers run it.

This is a huge place that has 37 miles of coastline. These are very wet lands and they contain many special types of sand dune systems. The forests in the area are mixed deciduous and include Welsh Oak, Birch, ash, mountain ash and hazel. There are lasso some large coniferous forests in some areas.  Snowdonia is also the only place in the world where the Snowdonia hawkweed grows. It is also home to the Snowdon Lily and the rainbow colored Snowdon Beetle.

There are also many rare mammals in the park including otters, polecats and the feral goat. It is also hoped that it is still home to the pine marten which has not been seen in many years. Rare birds in the area include the raven, peregrine, osprey, merlin and the red kite.

The park is divided into a couple of main areas. The northern area includes several tall mounts including The Snowdon Massif, the Glyderau and the Carneddau. The southern most area also has quite a few tall mountains including the Aran Fawddwy, which is the highest mounting in the United Kingdom south of Snowdon.

Although there are many peaks to climb in the area most of the hikers in the area concentrate on hiking in Snowdown itself.  The park has 1,479 miles of public footpaths. The area is governed by Right to Roam laws which means the public has the right to access wilderness.

Some areas are desolate looking because of an invasive species of plant known as Rhododendron potimcom. This species has  a companion fungus that takes over for a seven year period and emits toxins. Where this fungus has taken over there are no plants on the mountains.

The area is also farmed by the by the Welsh farmers who live there. There is also a huge slate quarry in the center of the  park that was excluded from inclusion in the protective designation.  This is very unusual but the quarry was spared in order to protect the employment in the area.