Snowdonia National Park
From Conway in the north down to Aberdovey in mid Wales,
the Snowdonia National Park covers 823 miles of the most beautiful
and unspoilt countryside in North Wales.
75% of the Park is farmland, 19% is woodland and the remainder
made up of open water & other land. The majority of the Park
(71%), is privately owned and farmed, while the remainder is owned
by The Forestry Commission, The National Trust, Welsh Water and The
Snowdonia National Park Authority.
Over half of the land in Snowdonia is over 300m above sea level.
The highest point in the Park is Snowdon Mountain
at 1085m. There is over 800km of rivers & coastline as well as
over 100 lakes bigger than an acre. Llyn Tegid at
Bala is the largest freshwater lake in Wales.
The natural history of the Snowdonia National
Park is highlighted through the landscape with Stone Age
burial chambers, castles, keeps, forts & pallisades, ancient
churches, slate quarries & industrial works. The geology of the
park is internationally renowned with investigations into some of
the world's oldest rocks taking place in Snowdonia.
The population of Snowdonia is just under 25,500 and the largest
towns are Dolgellau, Bala,
Harlech, Aberdovey &
Betws y Coed.
Welsh is the mother tongue in Snowdonia and is used daily by the
majority of its population. Children, including incomers, are
taught Welsh as a first language from their early days at
school.
Snowdonia National Park has about 8 million visitors every year.
Most visitors come to walk & enjoy the countryside, others come
to travel around the area taking in the sights.
Tourism is nothing new for Snowdonia. Since the 17th Century
visitors have been coming to Snowdonia to paint & write. As the
visitors came various centres of tourism grew around them. Guides
were hired to escort them up into the mountains, new roads were
built to accommodate the traffic & railways were built to take
people further into the countryside. And so, in order to protect
& preserve the area, the Snowdonia National Park was
formed.
Snowdonia was designated a National Park in 1951; the third in
Britain and a first for Wales. Today Snowdonia National Park is one
of 14 parks in Britain. A team of people that included
Clough Williams Ellis, of
Portmeirion fame, recommended the boundary we have
today.
The criterion for inclusion into the Snowdonia National Park
were outstanding scenic beauty, which led to certain slate
production areas & urban developments being excluded.
Goals of the Park are:
-
Conserve & enhance the natural beauty, wildlife &
cultural heritage of the area.
-
Promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the
special qualities of the Park by the public.