Snowdon Mountain Railway

The Snowdon Mountain Railway is the only public rack-and-pinion railway in the United Kingdom, Wikipedia records, 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, and the operator publishes both the running dates and the summit building’s opening. In busy periods, it says, trains can sell out weeks in advance; tickets down from the summit are sold only there, first come first served, and a return is valid only from Llanberis.

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. Walkers and train passengers reach the same summit together, so the train is no escape from a crowd; a walker who wants height without one has Moel Hebog above Beddgelert, quieter than Yr Wyddfa.