Kathrin Schweinberger
Snowdonia National Park
















Facts of Snowdonia:
In Wales there is the second largest national park in Great Britain called Snowdonia (Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri; eryri means "place of the eagles"). It was established in 1951 as the first national park in Wales and it covers 838 square miles (2171 square kilometres) of beautiful scenery. The national park has 23 miles (37 kilometres) of coastline with many sand dunes.
Snowdonia isn't such a wilderness area as many other national parks, but it's a landscape where 27500 people live and work.

The Park Profile from 2004:
Welsh speakers: 55%
unemployed people: 6%
woods: 36ha
day visitors: 51%
stay visitors: 49%

Mountains:
There are a lot of mountains in Snowdonia. The youngest of them is called Silurian and is over 400 million years old.
The five biggest mountains in Snowdonia are Yr Wyddfa(1085m), Crib-y-Ddysgl(1065m), Carnedd Llywelyn(1064m), Carnedd Dafydd(1064m) and Y Glyder Fawr(999m).

Here are some more:
Tryfan; Cader Idris










Lakes:
There are over a hundred lakes in Snowdonia which have more than an acre in size. They are all over the national park from the north to the south and from the east to the west. The lake far in the north is called Llyn Gwern Engan, in the south Llyn Barfog, in the east Llyn Tegid and in the west Llyn Cwmdulyn.

Here are some more:
Nant Gwynant; Cwm Idwal; Llyn Tegid










Woodlands:
In Snowdonia there are 30.000ha of woods; 1.000ha mixed woodlands, 25.000ha coniferous woodlands and 10.000ha broad leaved woodlands. They cover about 17% of the whole national park.

Here are some photos from different woods:










Rules:
- stay on paths
- take your litter home
- don't make noise
- have a permission for camping
- keep your dog under close control
- don't feed cattle
- close gates

Information Centres:
There are a lot of information centres in Snowdonia. They are all over the national park. There you can ask for information on local events, attractions, activities or the public transport. From there you can also book accommodation locally or guiding tours or you can buy some souvenirs.

The centres look like this:












Wild life:
In Snowdonia there live so many different animals, that you are fascinated by them. You can watch buzzards, otters, snakes and a lot of colourful birds which give you the feeling that you are really in the nature. It's fantastic.

Attractions and activities:
Snowdonia has many attractions on offer, for example Penrhyn Castle where you can visit exhibitions, museums and some shops with souvenirs or the Centre for Alternative Technology which is Europe's leading eco-centre. You can also try to find your way out of King Arthur's Labyrinth.
There are a lot of activities, too, for example surfing, canoeing, kayaking, coasteering, climbing or abseiling. You can also be taught in these activities.



Quelle
www.eryri-npa.com