Just a quick reminder from Singletrack Towers that the Snowdon curfew is now in effect – please enjoy your Welsh mountains responsibly!
Recently Snowdonia National Park Authority has become aware that a minority of mountain bikers have been breaking the voluntary summer curfew on Mount Snowdon. The curfew was set up years ago to combat increasing tensions between bikers and walkers in the summer months (between 1st May and 30th September), especially on the popular Llanberis, Rhyd Ddu and Snowdon Ranger trails. Set up between Sports Council for Wales, Gwynedd County Council, the Snowdonia National Park Authority, the CTC, the Welsh Cycling Union and IMBA, the voluntary curfew forbids riding on Snowdon between 10am to 5pm. From October to the end of April there is full access for cyclists.
Although the curfew is not compulsory it was set up to prevent conflict between both parties, and to prevent injury from collisions between cyclists and walkers. Concerns have also been raised about erosion on the mountain. The threat in response to repeated curfew violations would be to ban cyclists from the mountain altogether, which clearly isn’t a good thing. The Snowdonia National Park website contains a map with suggested routes including ascent of the mountain before 10am or after 5pm:
http://www.eryri-npa.gov.uk/visiting/Activities/Cycling/voluntary-restrictions
Alternatively, some of us at Singletrack have enjoyed riding up the mountain after 5pm, bivvying at the top (enjoying the selection of fine wines and cheeses you’ve brought with you, naturally) and descending back down before 10am the next day. Snowdonia National Park contains many other attractions for the steely-eyed mountainbiker: Cadair Idris is another big mountain ride with stunning views of the Welsh mountain ranges with full access all year round, and there are a number of trail centres: Coed Y Brenin, Antur Stiniog, Penmachno and Betws Y Coed.
Comments (5)
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Only 3 weeks late
Where do you get the ‘Mount’ from? Its just Snowdon
Pffft, leave your Anglicized names at the border its Yr Wyddfa (which is a corruption of the welsh for “The Tomb”).
“leave your Anglicized names at the border ”
Amwythig
Childish bickering is what makes this forum
It’s not a curfew…. its a lovely voluntary restraint from use during an agreed period. And by enlarge it works very well as most riders can happily live with it. There is also a small problem with MTB riders riding back down the railway track towards Llanberis when the path back down is full of walkers. This imposes safety problems that could see a traffic order prohibiting cycling. Is there a rule of thumb.. yes go up from Llanberis, ride down Snowdon Ranger then return over the Telegraph Pass which avoids riding down in a stream of walkers. If you turn up for a ride during the day there is a bridleway linking Llanberis to the Rangers path that runs through a deep valley under Foel Goch known as the Hengwm Bridleway with a high point of 467m. There is no restriction at any time on this route and if people carry on riding with the courtesy and good manners they do now its never going to be under any threat of loss of access….