Part of the inscription on the south entrance wall.

At the south entrance, the stone masons following architects plans, have just completed laying a course of blocks with the inscription: 'The summit of Snowdon. Here, you are nearer To heaven'. It will also appear a couple of courses higher up the wall in Welsh. Inside the building itself, erecting all the internal walls is nearly complete and work has begun on laying the thick granite tile flooring. Staying with the subject of stone, there is an interesting thread on the Country Walking Messageboards discussing the steps recently built up to the summit cairn from the building and featured here in Sept 27th and October postings.


Granite block-work at the south entrance.

While surrounding peaks cleared of cloud during the afternoon, Snowdon's summit remained hidden, as so often, in a stubborn chilly mist. The occasional brightening of the sky promised but never delivered any clear spells. Looking ahead, the soothsayers are predicting a stormy month of weather.


The firm Alan Lancaster from Abergele laying the granite tile flooring.

Although Snowdon Mountain Railway closed its doors to the public on Sunday for the winter, it still continues to take the summit contractors to the summit and back. Despite the poor summer weather, having one engine less (being used by Carillion) and only running as far as Clogwyn Station, the trains carried just over 125,000 passengers in the period starting from the last day of March. Not as short as you might have expected from last year's figure of 131,000 when the train went to the top of Snowdon.


Workmen lining up at the platform's edge as the 2:30 train approaches.

The working day at the summit is very short at this time of year: the train left Llanberis today at 7:45 a.m. and the summit at 2:30 p.m. It is necessary to leave the mountain so early on the grounds of Health and Safety, so that if a train broke down there would be sufficient daylight left to send another train to collect the passengers.