The nights may have drawn in and the weather might be best described as “grim”, “grizzly”, “mizzly” and “misty”, but does that mean our beautiful Snowdonia is any less beautiful? No, it doesn’t, or so we think anyway! Who needs the clear days and blue skies of summer to appreciate the gorgeousness that is where we live?

Image by Mark Taylor (on freeimages.com)

And in celebration of our lovely region…. here’s 10 Things You (probably) Didn’t Know About Snowdonia…..

• The Welsh name for Snowdonia is Eryri, which is a reference to the population of Eagles that once lived in the highlands and hills. The name Snowdon is derived from the Saxon words “Snow Dun” which mean “snowy hill”.
• Snowdon may be the highest peak in Enngland and Wales but only just. Did you know that there are 89 other mountains in Snowdonia that are also over 2,000 metres high?
• Snowdonia was badly hit by the Black Death in the Middle Ages, despite then being an isolated and rural location.
• Snowdonia is home to the wettest place in Britain (ok, if you didn’t know that, you probably guessed it?!).
• There are 6 official paths up Snowdon (and one train track….). Come on, you don’t need the train!
• The first person who was recorded to have reached the top of Snowdon was the botanist and scientist Ben Johnson in 1639. There have been quite a few people since then – in fact a whopping 350,000 visitors reach the top of Snowdon each year.
• Five hundred million years ago (can you remember that far back?) all of Snowdon’s 10,85 metres were underwater!
• On average, only 12 people live in every square kilometer of Snowdonia making it a very undensely populated region. That means there’s loads and loads of wild open spaces for us all to enjoy.
• Legend has it that Snowdon is the home of the monster Rhita Gawr, who killed Kings for fun to make cloaks out of their beards. Nice chap….
• There used to be two seperate hotels on the summit of Snowdon – the Roberts Hotel and the Cold Club. There were often more visitors than beds though – we wonder if they had to share!!

Image by Audrius Neturiu (on freeimages.com)