LLANBERIS PASS

NANT PERIS, CAEMARFON

So stunning is this road that you half expect Gandalf the White, staff aloft, to come charging down the valley on a horse. This is truly awe-inspiring scenery. Begin the climb just outside the small village of Nant Peris; a short lip up takes you up to a slight leveling before you settle into some solid climbing. It’s a while before the gradient really bites though, and for the most part it’s a sit-down climb. There are a few points where you have to leave the comfort of your saddle, but these are mostly in the first third of the climb, on the approach to a small bridge where the road crosses from one side of the stream to the other. Following the bridge beneath the towering banks of fallen rock, the climbing is steady again until you close in on the summit. The last 200m are tough up to the brow outside the Pen-y-Pass Youth Hostel and the car park for walkers heading out to conquer Snowdon.