In 1846 two hotels based in Llanberis built two wooden huts on the summit and offered board and lodgings to the many visitors the summit had. Affectionately known as the “Cold Club” the wooden huts were very popular.
When the first train stopped on the summit in 1896 the wooden huts were struggling to keep up with the trade and by the 1930's they were in a bad state of repair. Clough Williams-Ellis designed a new multipurpose hotel/café/station which was completed in 1935.
The hotel had improvements and additions through the 1950's and 60's though none of which was enough to prevent the building suffering substantial wear and tear inside and out. It had not been designed for the amount of use it was getting from almost 350,000 visitors every year.
In 1997, in a survey conducted in the Snowdon area, 76% of respondents were of the opinion that the present summit building should be replaced. Planning approval for a total refurbishment of the building was given in January 2004. The total cost of constructing the new building is £8.35 million.
It was to meet certain criteria, such as, it will be no bigger than the current building, a new slanting roof will not impair the view of the summit, the new building will be on one level giving better access, local stone will be used to help blend the building in with its surroundings, the shop will sell locally produced goods, there will be no bar and no winter shelter, as understanding is that it will draw inexperience or ill- equipped parties further than they would otherwise go.
The new building must be completed no later than early summer 2008, to meet this tight timetable, the existing building must be demolished during autumn 2006.
When things start up, we will keep you informed and I'm sure we will have some work in progress photos as well. Any more information or if you want to make a donation take a look at their website www.snowdon-summit.co.uk
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