Routes to summits of Snowdon and Pen y Fan among the most walked on British Isles, Strava data reveals
If you pop up Snowdon or Pen y Fan this bank holiday weekend you will be walking some of the most well-trodden routes on the British Isles – if you can squeeze past the crowds.
The Llanberis path up Snowdon is the second most walked route in the whole of the British Isles, according to fitness app Strava, while Pen y Fan is the fourth.
Analysis from Strava reveals that the last 1.5mile section to the top of Snowdon, which at 3,560ft is Wales’ highest mountain, is the second-most popular route, with 25,125 attempts by 13,060 people using the app.
It narrowly missed out on the top spot – 26,772 walks had been made of a 1.9-mile section of the path between the town of Fort William and the summit of Ben Nevis in Scotland.
A 1.8-mile section of the trail up Pen y Fan, the highest mountain in the south of Wales, has seen 19,778 people trudging up it.
‘Iconic’
Strava which is used by 100 million people around the world breaks up routes into user-generated ‘segments’ which they can then use to compete against each other when running or cycling.
Commenting on the data, Michael Horvath, CEO and Co-Founder of Strava, said: “The growing popularity of hiking across Europe is a trend we are seeing reflected globally as many of us continue to prioritise access to the outdoors following the pandemic.
“That’s why we launched our Trail Routes functionality over the summer to empower our global community of over 100million athletes to explore the outdoors more confidently.
“This summer, we have seen more people than ever before hitting their local trails as well as enjoying iconic hiking routes further afield.
“We are proud to see our community share their joy of exploration and help inspire each other to get outdoors and tell their stories on Strava.”
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The days of being able to walk up to Pen Y fan to enjoy the feeling of isolation are long gone
If you go early enough you can, but not for long. In fairness though it’s more of a hill than a mountain. Most people stop at Pen Y Fan. If you follow the ridge line it’s a lot quieter. Also starting from Lower Neuadd ex-Reservoir is a longer ascent and about 4x harder than the stroll from Storey Arms or that car park 1/4 mile to the South.
Yr Wyddfa just needs to get rid of the cafe and railway line and numbers will significantly fall away
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find isolation anywhere. On a short walk up & down Pumlimon yesterday I met sixteen people, and oh! the camper vans around Nant y Moch… Last weekend, I had a long walk over the Elan Valley and once away from the water met not a soul all day. I think the British have finally woken up to how beautiful Britain is. It’s a shame, though, that so many are so new to the wilderness game that they have no idea of camping (or even of walking) etiquette and I worry that these wild places’ beauty… Read more »
I wonder what names the English press, and the Tory’s here, could dream up for us Cymru, if we were to introduce a charge, say £9 ,like the €9 one has to pay when reaching the top of Mt Etna. But of course the Italians are, unlike us , not racist or anti English, but conservationists looking after the environment.
Because Wales is just a theme park for them to enjoy at their convenience. The only thing that spoils it is the natives!