I couldn't reach Wales' highest summit because people jumped the queue

When Helen Pacey and her family booked a trip on the Snowdon Mountain Railway, they were looking forward to touching the summit marker at the top of Yr Wyddfa, also known as Snowdon.

But after spending 30 minutes waiting in a queue at the top of Wales' highest mountain, 58-year-old Helen ran out of time and had to get the return train back down.

"I've had both my hips replaced, so there was no way I could have gone up the rocky side of it," said Helen, from Hull in Yorkshire.

"Because people were pushing in, we missed out. That is not fair."

Scores of visitors have climbed Yr Wyddfa this summer, but there have been reports of people waiting more than an hour to reach the mountain's highest point, at 1,085m (3,560ft).

Earlier this week, we reported on arguments breaking out between queue-jumpers and those waiting in line at the top. Dozens of readers subsequently got in touch to share their views on the issue.

One of those who contacted us was Pacey, who hoped to touch the metal plate at the mountain's highest point alongside her husband, sister and brother-in-law.

But when Pacey and her family got off the train on 22 August, they were faced with a long queue.

"It was hectic," she said "There were people just pushing and shoving and running past us and climbing up the rocks to get up."

Pacey said the summit was so crowded that she was surprised nobody fell.

The group had only 30 minutes before their return train and they did not reach the trig point before they had to begin their descent.

"It was quite sad," she said. "It's really disappointing we didn't actually go right to the summit.

"But for me, it's not something I would do again, I just felt it was too dangerous up at the top with the amount of people shoving and pushing."

Pacey said the mountain was "for everybody", not just the "endurance runners and hikers".

"It's not fair that these people that are much fitter than others are just running up the rocks and getting to the top," she said.

Pacey said there should be an "authority figure" to help keep order, or a barrier telling people which way to go up and down the steps.

Serena Cain, 50, travelled from Norfolk to hike up the mountain with her partner for his 56th birthday.

She said when they got to the top and saw a long queue, it was "soul-destroying".

"I literally go to pieces in a queue," said Serena, who has ADHD and said she felt physical pain trying to stand still.

"It is very difficult for me, particularly when I'm exhausted and overstimulated."

Serena said when she saw other people avoiding the queue by climbing the rocks, she and her partner decided to do the same.

"We just didn't see what other option there was at that point, other than just not reaching the top, which would have been gutting," said Serena, adding that she had a birthday meal booked and needed to get back down in time for it.

Having climbed up the mountain's second hardest route, she added: "It was such a big achievement for us, because we're in our 50s, it's not a small feat."

But she recalled how one woman was "so cross with me" that "it ruined that moment completely for us".

"We didn't want to upset anyone, and we'd like to apologise if we did."

She said she understood why people waited in a queue, and thought there should be a sign at the beginning of the route to make people aware of the possibility.

James Munday, 21, from Loughborough, completed the Three Peaks challenge earlier this month and Yr Wyddfa was the last mountain he and his friends had to climb.

"It's a challenge where you hike up the three tallest mountains in the UK, which is Ben Nevis, Scarfell Pike, and Snowdon. The aim is to do it within 24 hours, including all of the driving. We managed to do it in 23 hours and 13 minutes."

Munday said he and his two friends were raising money for a hospice.

But their success depended on them making it up and down all three peaks within 24 hours, so when they spotted the queue at the summit of Yr Wyddfa, Munday said they had no intention of joining it.

"The queue started sort of towards the bottom of the steps that led up to the summit, but there was there was quite a few people not queuing and just climbing up the back, touching the top and then leaving straight away."

He said there were between 100 and 150 people queuing to get to the top.

As they were making their way to the top, he said a woman who was queuing "had a dig" and said "she'd been queuing for 40 minutes". Munday said they apologised and explained it was a timed Three Peaks challenge for charity.

"I feel like it was valid because obviously she doesn't know that we're doing the Three Peaks and that it's for charity. But I think if people understood... you have to do it under 24 hours, and if you're doing it for charity, I feel like people would understand a bit more."

Munday said he believed queuing was "Snowdon specific" due to how popular it is.

"And I think it's just what British people do, really, isn't it?"

He said if he had not been doing the challenge he would not have bothered going to the summit.

Munday said he had no issue with people queuing but "they either need to make it a rule that you must queue and signpost it, or police it... or have a queue and a sign that says Three Peaks climbers don't have to queue, please respect that".

Liam White said queues at the top of Yr Wyddfa had been an issue for years.

He said he and his friends climbed the mountain in 2023 and had to wait in a queue for more than 30 minutes to reach the summit.

"There were those that were just jumping the line, getting straight up to the peak and touching the old metal plate," he said.

"It's obviously a little bit frustrating because you're patiently waiting," he added.

He said his friend booed people as they cut past them.

The reason people queue is because of "the sheer volume of people" who are walking up the set pathways leading to the trig point, he said.

"When you've got a lot of people waiting to do something, you can't all rush out at the same time," he said. "If people start pushing and shoving, it's a bit of a risky place to do it. Because if someone slips, falls, they might not stop falling."

White said he did not think a warden would be good as he feared it could result in charges for hikers, but "maybe just a few signs to say 'be considerate'".

A spokesman for the Eryri National Park Authority previously said there were "no plans to intervene in a dispute over hikers queuing at the top of Yr Wyddfa".

"There are three quarters of a million people summitting annually, so queues are likely to be expected in peak times," the spokesman added.

He said the matter would be discussed at a meeting to mark the end of the season in the early autumn.