At 7a.m. just under eighty workmen boarded the train for Snowdon's summit, with a 12-hour day ahead of them. The kitchen area of the cafe has its units in place and the shopfitters, Arthur Hapgood Ltd from Kinmel Bay, have started fixing Welsh oak hand-machined slats to the birch plywood panels. The slats or strips are of various sizes to mirror the stone-work on the outside of Hafod Eryri and the differing depth is intended to create an interesting shadow effect.


Hafod Eryri from the new summit steps leading down to the rear of the building.


Oak slats are being fitted to the birch ply lining the cafe's interior walls.

Up on the roof, Stone Central, are managing to add around seventy-five granite blocks to it each day; weather allowing of course. When the roof is completed it will be made up of nearly 4000 pieces of stone. The official opening of Snowdon's new summit building will not be before September. And if the weather in July and August turns inclement then it will be pushed back further.


The roof is made up of nearly 4000 carefully fitted granite blocks.

This Saturday, on the longest day of the year, lead singer of The Alarm, Mike Peters, is planning to repeat his successful 2007 fund raising (Love Hope Strength Foundation UK) ascent of Snowdon (here) by leading a group of nurses, doctors, fans and supporters to the summit and performing an acoustic concert.


The southern end of Hafod Eryri.

Continuing good weather has enabled steady progress to be made at the Hafod Eryri construction site. Since work re-started on the granite roof just over two weeks ago, it is now two courses away from being half-finished, while within the month the interior is looking like being close to completion.


Stonemason, Robin Hughes, will be featuring in Sunday's S4C documentary
Yr Wyddfa...a'i Chriw (Snowdon and its Crew).

The inside of the cafe area is being fitted out with moisture and fire resistant birch ply panelling which will be overlaid with strips of Welsh oak. A lattice of scaffolding, erected by the contractors Netwell (Graham Maxwell), covers the whole exterior of the building and periodically the scaffold platforms will need to be raised to lift the stonemasons up, as the height of the blockwork increases. The train platform on the western side has been renovated with new slabs and once again now looks like a platform.


The cafe area of Hafod Eryri lined with birch panelling.

There has been surprisingly little coverage in the wider media of the construction of Snowdon's new summit building. But that seems likely to change as it approaches completion. This Sunday (8th June) a half-hour documentary following the construction of the new cafe and visitor information centre will be shown on S4C at 8.30pm: Yr Wyddfa...a'i Chriw (Snowdon and its Crew).


Granite blocks piled up on the roof waiting to be fixed into place.

The programme follows the challenge of building Hafod Eryri through the eyes of six people who have made an important contribution to its success. Made by Antenna for S4C, producer Iestyn Garlick, said: "We see the project from a personal point of view, and realise how important every individual's hard work is to the success of the project."


Hafod Eryri from the northern end with the renovated platform clearly visible.

The six people followed are - engineer Geraint Bowen with the international engineering and design consultancy ARUP at Wrexham; train driver Gwyrfai Williams from Llanberis; buildings manager with Snowdonia National Park Tecwyn Hughes; labourer Eifion Yates originally from the Bala area; stonemason Robin Hughes from Groeslon and the former National Poet of Wales, Professor Gwyn Thomas. Prof Thomas, originally from Blaenau Ffestiniog and now living in Bangor, retired last month from his post as the National Poet of Wales. He has been commissioned by Snowdonia National Park to compose several couplets of three or four lines long, in both Welsh and English, which will be inscribed onto the windows of the new building and in stone.

If you live outside Wales and have access to Sky, you can watch it on channel 134 (for English subtitles press 888). S4C digital can be viewed in Wales on Sky 104, Sky (without subscribing) 134, Virgin TV 194 and Freeview 4.


Workers gathering at the end of the day to catch the train back to Llanberis.