The Snowdon Horseshoe includes the peaks of Crib Goch, Carnedd Ugain, Snowdon itself and Y Lliwedd, linked in a horseshoe shape on the east side of Snowdon. It is normally undertaken in an anti-clockwise direction from Pen y Pass, leaving the Pyg Track at Bwlch y Moch (about 35 mins up the Pyg Track), and descending to the Miners’ Track at Llyn Llydaw.
The peaks of the Horseshoe viewed from the Miners’ Track
This is an extremely challenging, long walk which contains some grade 1 scrambling and serious exposure on Crib Goch. The southern half, over Y Lliwedd, is far less challenging.
The total distance from Pen y Pass is 11 miles (17½ km), and there is 900m (2,950 ft) of ascent.
The Horseshoe can, of course, be split. For instance, doing just the northern half (Crib Goch and Carnedd Ugain) from the Pyg Track, and then descending on the Pyg or Miners’ Tracks. Or doing just the southern half, ascending Y Lliwedd from the Miners’ Track, again descending on the Pyg or Miners’ Tracks.
Y Lliwedd and the southern half of the Horseshoe, seen from the summit
Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2023