I stumbled into Llanberis because I found a reasonably priced bunkhouse behind a pub about 1 mile out of town.. and a climbing wall about 3 miles further out than the bunkhouse. It turned out that the walk into town is rather beautiful, and the local population of chickens are rather friendly.It wasn't until i arrived that i realised quite how close Llanberis actually is to Mt Snowdon. On the way into town from betws-y-coed, I actually changed busses at pen-y-pass, the place where most people (or at least the ones who don't catch the train) start their walk up Snowdon.
Rain seemed to be a general theme for my time in Llanbeirs.., (apparently it doesn't always rain there.., (I've seen photos). When i first arrived it wasn't raining!, but i was tired and lazy, so unfortunately i wasted the few spare hours i had that day. The next day, when i woke up, it was raining.... then it fined up a little but still looked menacing so i headed off to the climbing wall..., it was a longer walk than i'd expected, but still worth it. The beacon climbing center (complete with panoramic photos on the website..., ) isn't in the biggest building out there, but there is plenty of wall space, over 100 good bouldering routes (I was climbing at about the middle of the difficulty range there. Lotsa space for leading, (but since i went there on a week day, there were a few pairs of people climbing, and a whole pile of kids groups. so i didn't get any opportunities for belayed climbing. They did, however have one steep bit of wall with an autobelay on it and by the time i'd spent 3 hours climbing just about every variation of the 4 climbs on that rope, and bouldering , i couldn't get up a 6b (~19ish) so i felt it was ok to leave. (all this “not climbing” and eating is really taking a toll on my strength.., I don't think I've been this weak since I was 16..The next day was sunny so i decided to head up the mountain, but unfortunately, it was the same day that i realised that the place i was staying at has wifi., so by the time i started walking it was 12:30, and the weather was starting to turn to crap. since i'd started so late, i cheated, just like everyone else, and started the climb from pen-y-pass, and was at the top 2.5 hours later after a reasonable amount of mucking around scrambling on rocks at the side of the path. The number of people on that mountain is quite outstanding., it makes the Tongariro crossing look like a back country wilderness experience..., (and i was there on a rainy day, mid week, and when the summit train wasn't operating because the cafe is currently being rebuilt.) Every man and his dog were up there.., I'd guess that 2000 people and 50 dogs, of all shapes and sizes climbed that mountain the day that i did (and did i mention the seagulls at the summit??. While i was up there, I did see a route i want to try, following ridge lines up to the peak and back down. rather than the paved tracks to the summit.
On some of the bussier tracks in nz, you see sacks full of gravel that have been dropped off by helicopter for track maintenance, but here they have sacks of large slabs of rock, it's both a testament to the geology of the area and the sheer volume of traffic it recieves.
The economy of Llanberis seems to rely heavily on outdoor “adventure sports” with the river full of school groups canoeing and all the small crags at the base of the valley also packed with kids.., (which somewhat limited my soloing opportunities) just at the south end of town, there is a small industrial area, including the DMM factory.., those who don't know what DMM is, probably don't care, but they're the only manufacturer of climbing gear made in the UK. they also make gear for wild country and Mammut, and have developed some ingenious designs like the I-beam construction for lightweight carabiners, carabiners with a built-in pulley to reduce rope drag, and the belaymaster (a specialist extra-safe belaying carabiner) to name a few. As a result, the local climbing shop, V12 receives a lot of cosmetic seconds which they sell for a slightly reduced price... and they stock a comprehensive range of full priced gear as well. 
Anyway, I was lucky enough to still be in Llanberis on Wednesday night when large numbers of outdoorsy people converge on a hotel at the end of town for pizza and a pint... which costs a chiefly sum of about 6 pounds, depending on what toppings you choose for your pizza.., (ok, it's more than I'd spend at some greasy takeaway, but it still works out as pretty good value) and during the course of the night i managed to talk to kayaking instructors, climbing instructors, and a variety of other outdoors obsessed people.
On Thursday morning, I bundled up my life, bouldered for a while on a slab of rock that once sheltered secret meetings of the miners union while they were banned from meeting anywhere on land owned by the mining company. A mat and spotters would have been a welcome bit of security, but I still managed to play on some sweet lines. before heading in to town to catch a somewhat indirect bus to Aberstwyth.
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