Rhodri Morgan to open Snowdon visitor centre

Jun 11 2009 by Samantha Castle, North Wales Weekly News

FIRST Minister Rhodri Morgan will officially open the new visitor centre built atop the summit of Snowdon, on Friday.

At 3,560ft Mount Snowdon is the highest mountain in England and Wales.

The new centre – called Hafod Eryri, meaning summer residence in Welsh – replaces the well-worn summit building built in 1935, designed by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis of Portmeirion fame.

The old building was once famously described as “the highest slum in England and Wales” by Prince Charles.

The wrath of the Prince of Wales, coupled with ponderous planning regulations and cash problems, hindered the progress of the £8.3 million project, with the biggest obstacle being the notorious North Wales weather.

Architect Ray Hole designed the building to withstand the extreme weather conditions, but construction work was delayed a whole year as attempts to haul materials up the mountain by rail were thwarted by two of the worst winters in living memory.

Visitors to the summit can either walk up one of six trails – some 250,000 people a year choose to tackle it this way – or take the longer but more moderate Llanberis Path running beside the railway track.

The Snowdonia Mountain Railway, a feat of Victorian engineering and the UK’s only public rack-and-pinion railway, is a lifeline to the summit. Some of the original 1896 steam engines still complete the five-mile climb in around one hour, and transport 140,000 passengers a year.

The new summit building is a low-rise rectangle with two long walls of panoramic windows showcasing Ireland to the west and Anglesey to the north.

The First Minister can expect to see a Welsh oak finish inside with an open plan cafe area ringed by interpretation material about the geology, environment and folklore of Snowdon.

Words by former national Poet of Wales Gwyn Thomas etched into granite by the entrance help reassure visitors: “The summit of Snowdon – here you are closer to heaven.”