Snowdon Mountain Railway

The Snowdon Mountain Railway is Britain’s only rack-and-pinion railway, and it is the way to reach the summit of Yr Wyddfa without walking. Trains leave from a station in Llanberis and climb 4.7 miles to a summit station just below the top, gaining around 957 metres over the journey. A return trip, including a stop of about 30 minutes at the summit, takes roughly two and a half hours.

It runs both diesel and steam locomotives, with a diesel return the cheaper of the two options. It operates a seasonal timetable rather than running year-round, broadly from spring into early November, and the summit building is open daily from May to late October.

That summit building, Hafod Eryri, opened in 2009 at a cost of £8.4 million, replacing a 1930s building designed by Clough Williams-Ellis that Prince Charles once called “the highest slum in Wales.” The current building won a RIBA Welsh Architecture Award in 2010 and includes a viewing terrace and cafe at 1,065 metres, a short way below the true summit trig point.

This suits anyone who wants the view from the highest point in Wales without the six or seven hours the walking paths demand, including visitors with limited time or mobility. It does not suit anyone trying to avoid a crowd, since walkers and train passengers reach the same summit together.