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How to Avoid a Parking Ticket in Snowdonia This Summer

By Dave Roberts   

on August 2, 2016    4.5/5 (6)

How to Avoid a Parking Ticket in Snowdonia This Summer

It’s that time of year that someone invariably has a good moan about the parking around Pen-y-Pass, doubly so if someone breaking the law has actually been punished with a ticket. They rarely offer a solution,  just a moan and a whinge and it’s usually only good for a throwaway article on a quiet news day.

Finding free parking can be a game
Free Parking? You’ll be lucky!!

Photo credit: Alan Cleaver via Foter.com / CC BY

So while we can’t actually magic parking spaces out of nowhere and we think that whingeing helps nobody, here are our top tips to make the most of the situation and avoid being ticketed in Snowdonia this summer.

How to Avoid a Parking Ticket in Snowdonia This Summer

There's actually a parking space in this pic. Better than Where's Wally..
There’s actually a parking space in this pic. Better than Where’s Wally..

1 – Get out of bed. Don’t think you can roll out of bed at nine, enjoy a leisurely breakfast and think you’ll still get parked. If it’s particularly fine weather, you’ll need to be aiming to get here by 7. Lie in or ticket? Your choice.

Ten more minutes!
Ten more minutes!

2 – Don’t park on verges and pavements. Whoever’s giving these parkers a tickets deserves a pat on the back. Why should we have to carefully walk our kids along the main road because of someone’s selfishness in parking on pavements? You’re also better off avoiding parking anywhere on the A-Roads around Snowdon unless it’s clearly stated that you can park there – as some have complained that the signs are too small. You can argue elsewhere about the rights and wrongs of that one.

This is the A5 -and I'm not impressed having to play frogger in the road in order to get past.
This is the A5 -and I’m not impressed having to play Frogger in the road in order to get past.

However, you’ll probably never fail as bad as this Wall’s van..

Oernant (21 of 31)3 – Choose your time carefully. In other words, summer holidays (especially weekends) and Bank Holidays are packed. It’s simply delusional to think otherwise. Here’s a quiet weekend on a summer Sunday afternoon at Snowdon’s summit.

crowded snowdon

4 – Park and Ride. You can park in Llanberis, though some car parks here are both expensive and busy, and catch the Park and Ride. Or, better still use the Park and Ride from Nant Peris. There’s plenty of parking, you just need to look for it.

sherpa wyddfa

Photo credit: The Ancient Brit. via Foter.com / CC BY

5 – Choose another route. If Pen y Pass is busy, head off down to Nant Gwynant and try the Watkin. Failing that, continue to Rhyd Ddu and finally the Ranger Path. If there’s no room in any of these, then go directly to 1, do not pass go, do not collect £200.

6 – Snowdonia is more than just Pen y Pass. It’s one of the last places we’d choose to go on a fine day in summer, though we reckon the vast majority of those visiting Snowdonia in any one day will disagree and still head here. Beat the crowds and go elsewhere, we have more routes for those wanting to go walking in Snowdonia National Park than anyone else, so plenty of choice here at Mud and Routes.

7 – Think different. Park in Caernarfon, catch the Welsh Highland Railway to Rhyd Ddu and walk up the South Ridge over to Llanberis to catch a return bus. You should have a good seven hours to get from Rhyd Ddu to catch the last bus to Caernarfon at around 6pm (yes, that’s how poor the bus service is).

whr

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Dave Roberts

Dave Roberts founded Walk Eryri in 2004, with the aim of providing routes that are off the beaten track. Walk Eryri is now part of Mud and Routes which continues to provide more off beat routes and walks in Snowdonia and beyond. Dave has been exploring the hills of Eryri for over thirty years, and is a qualified Mountain Leader. Dave also established Walk up Snowdon, Walk up Scafell Pike and Walk up Ben Nevis just to mention a few.

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