 It is unfortunate that they only built steps up to the actual summit, when for a further £0.5 million they could have put in a stair-lift. I was also concerned by the lack of inter-active features - maybe a 15' touch-screen LED display with Max Boyce explaining the landscape features invisible below the mist & cloud. The general lack of significant signposting was also disappointing, as was the absence of Health & Safety notices & fencing around areas that might prove slippery. On that note, some rubber matting would be useful. Personally, until Snowdon is properly developed so as to provide a wholly safe & risk-free wilderness adventure experience, I'll not be visiting again in a great hurry.
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 £8.4 million for a cafe. I wonder how far £8.4m would get the local MRTs?
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 Good point Cb remember when we was up there and sheltering behind the wall before we split into two groups the bloody pointing and stones were loose  ,I mean come on this was months before it was due to open and the bloody thing was falling to bits. £8.4 million and it didnt look like it would last a winter  God help it when the snow and ice and the thaws get a grip on it.
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 Good point Cb remember when we was up there and sheltering behind the wall before we split into two groups the bloody pointing and stones were loose ,I mean come on this was months before it was due to open and the bloody thing was falling to bits. £8.4 million and it didnt look like it would last a winter God help it when the snow and ice and the thaws get a grip on it.
helped by you, matt, ceeb and sean all digging away at the loose bits 
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Good point Cb remember when we was up there and sheltering behind the wall before we split into two groups the bloody pointing and stones were loose ,I mean come on this was months before it was due to open and the bloody thing was falling to bits. £8.4 million and it didnt look like it would last a winter God help it when the snow and ice and the thaws get a grip on it.
helped by you, matt, ceeb and sean all digging away at the loose bits
 just inspecting the workmanship  and you missed dave the Git!! 
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 Just so that I'm clear......, You think they spent too much and there shouldn't be steps. The visitor centre should be an empty shed. You are surprised at the lack of safety notices, rails etc. You don't like the fact that thousands of people can visit Snowdon summit each year without having to walk. _______________________________ Whether you agree with the principle or not, the Victorians managed an enormous feat of engineering in building the railway in the first place. Once you accept that it would be criminal to allow such a monument to fall into disrepair and dereliction, then the cafe logically follows. It brings huge benefits to the area and allows a lot of people who would otherwise never physically manage it, to enjoy the experience of standing at the summit of a significant mountain. Personally, I think the new summit station and visitor centre is a triumph and I am happy to take my clients into it - something I would never have done with the old one. If I want to experience wilderness adventure in Snowdonia I certainly don't choose to go up Snowdon and I mourn the lack of imagination amongst the throngs who do so only to be disappointed that they are sharing their summit with those less fortunate whose only way up was on the train.
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 "I'm standing just below the summit of Snowdon, the highest mountain in England & Wales" Does that make Ben Nevis the highest mountain in England & Scotland?  
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 I ran up Snowdon about 10 days ago - couldn't see the caf cos of the clouds and crowds, but was up and down the mountain in less time than it took the train!
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 is Caff welsh for Cafe?
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With the opening of the caff more people will be enticed to enjoy the experience.
If they tarmac over the entire area just think how many more would come and enjoy it.
Stick some housing on it, people could permanently enjoy it.
Afterall such experiences are rare enough that we should all be able to enjoy them as easily and as painlessly as possible.
Think what a great feat of engineering that would be, we have too much precious unspoilt landscape it's time we overdeveloping it to make a few quid out of it. Nature is such a waste of land.
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 is this an "elitism and place snobbery" thread? it's a major tourist attraction that brings valuable revenue into the area. unlike the wild campers/day trippers who clog up the roads and sneer at the very thing they make absolutely no contribution to except erosion and the deposition of their waste.
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 Was up there last month, it's actually rather nice inside, surprisingly so. Its a huge improvement on what was there previously.
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 it's a major tourist attraction that brings valuable revenue into the area. unlike the wild campers/day trippers who clog up the roads and sneer at the very thing they make absolutely no contribution to except erosion and the deposition of their waste.
.... and never spend anything during their trips on parking, food and drink, gear(!!!), b&b/hostel/bunkhouse/campsite, bus or taxi, etc. etc. etc.
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 Good point Cb remember when we was up there and sheltering behind the wall before we split into two groups the bloody pointing and stones were loose ,I mean come on this was months before it was due to open and the bloody thing was falling to bits. £8.4 million and it didnt look like it would last a winter God help it when the snow and ice and the thaws get a grip on it.
i too was checking the pointing out diddy,while up there with ed,his bro and cw. there are big gaps but the slate has great big bolts going through it so it aint going anywhere. still shoddy workmanship though.
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isn't that what i said matt...
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Well said Parky Again.
It would be a hell of a shame if there was anywhere left not turned into a consumer centre.
I am sure the caff will reverse the process of littering and erosion considerably while employing half the locals in the process.
9mill is a perfectly reasonable price to pay for a caff.
Keep the shops in the high street.
This is about the right things in the right place as you so correctly point out.
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 I can't believe they haven't built a decent wind break out the front! It needs something big, made of perspex so you can see through it, so you can sit outside with your drinks.
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 Is it open in winter, and does it serve chocolate muffins?
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its not open in winter
it serves coffee and cakes etc. at high prices to eager tourists
sadly it also has a silly gift shop area selling tat (again at high prices)
by the way the coffee was crap
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Poo. Then I will not visit it.
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