Ssshhhh! Climb Snowdon’s Keeping It Quiet For The Local Community

Here at Climb Snowdon, we facilitate plenty of walks, activities and events that require participants to set off before sunrise or return in the dark. Some of these early/late arrivals and departures are born out of necessity. Long days in the mountains mean setting off in the early hours. On other occasions, we set off early/late because Eryri (Snowdonia) and Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) are wonderful places to explore in the dark.

Nighttime events with Climb Snowdon

Our Snowdon By Night event is a fantastic example. Making the most of the area’s status as one of only 18 International Dark Sky Reserves in the world, it’s an opportunity to leave all the light pollution behind and soak up the magic of the breathtaking star-studded sky.

On these events, we depart from Llanberis village, ascend to the summit and return to the village. Of course, people live in Llanberis and don’t necessarily appreciate some of the disruption caused by walkers making early starts or returning late.

The good news is that there are things we can do to minimise that disruption and ensure we don’t wake up the local residents. With this in mind, we created a quick four-point guide that will help keep the locals sweet and stop you (and us) from getting in trouble.

Noise

Sound travels further at night and the noise caused by groups arriving and departing is one of the biggest issues. It’s also where you can have the most significant impact. No one is expecting total silence. But you can do a few things to lower the volume and keep this beautiful countryside village nice and quiet.

• • Keep your voices low and chatting to a minimum. We know there’s a lot of excitement, but there will be plenty of time to let that out once we’re walking.
• • Be mindful about slamming car doors. They make a lot of noise and that’s understandably frustrating for residents.
• • Don’t leave cars idling.
• • Try to make sure dogs stay quiet. It is usually a good idea to keep dogs in the car until you’re ready to go. That way, they won’t make too much noise or set off the local hounds.

Lights

Lights are easy to forget and, while not as disruptive as noisy chatting, can irritate residents. Having your living room or bedroom lit up like the Eiffel Tower by a big group of head torch-wearing hikers isn’t all that nice.

• • Turn off head torches when there are street lights.
• • Only turn on head torches when you need them.
• • Angle head torches down so they’re pointing at the ground rather than your surroundings.
• • Use the lowest settings if you do need your head torch.
• • Only put a few lights on if you’re in a big group. You probably don’t need everyone’s lights shining brightly while preparing to leave.

Parking

Llanberis is a small village and its infrastructure reflects that. The roads are narrow and there’s not a huge amount of parking. So you need to be a bit careful about how you park. It’s annoying for residents when they leave for work early only to find they are blocked in or arrive home after a long day to realise there are no free parking spaces.

• • Park responsibly and obey all parking regulations. Make sure you’re not parking illegally.
• • Use public parking rather than residential roads. We know you have to pay, but the mountain’s free to visit, so spending a few quid to park and keep everyone happy isn’t so bad.
• • Try to travel in as few vehicles as possible. Ride-sharing is much better for the environment and reduces congestion on the roads and in car parks.

Respect

Finally, we would just like to emphasise that respect for local communities is crucial. Residents live here 24/7, year-in, year-out and see a lot of people passing through. Generally, if you’re respectful and friendly, they are happy for you to be there. It’s when people start to get rude and combative that the problems begin.

It is also worth noting that Welsh is many people’s mother tongue in Llanberis. Locals speaking Welsh to you (or in your presence) is not rude. It is how people typically express themselves. Just because nearly everyone speaks English does not mean they have to. 99% of the time, there are no language issues. But, on the odd occasion, a visitor takes offence at Welsh being spoken, believing it rude or unaccommodating. Don’t be that person.

Thanks from Climb Snowdon

And it is as easy as that! Be mindful, respectful and aware of the people around you and it will benefit you, us and the residents. Thanks for taking the time to read this quick guide and we look forward to seeing you on either our Snowdon By Night event or one of our other guided walks soon!