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The highest restaurant in Britain opens on Mount Snowdon Posted on 12/06/2009
'Hafod Eryri' opens today, June 12th 2009. An amazing feat of engineering, this mountain top restaurant has been planned for many years. You can climb the mountain to reach it, or take the easier option of the train!
Some facts The original building was designed by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis and built in 1935. Hafod Eryri has to be able to withstand extreme weather conditions on the summit Winds over 150mph (twice hurricane force) Over 5 metres of rain Temperatures of -20°C (excluding wind chill) The new building cost £8.3million. It was funded by: Snowdonia National Park Authority The Welsh Assembly Government Objective 1 European Funding Visit Wales Snowdon Mountain Railway Company And last but not least the generous proceeds of a public appeal The steel frame was actually built twice. Firstly in a large warehouse in the old Shotton steelworks and secondly on the summit. This was necessary because of the unique nature of the structure as it was better to test the construction where it could more easily be altered. All materials were carried to the summit by train. The wonderful granite walls, roof and floors are built with stone from Blaenau Ffestiniog and Portugal. The internal walls are lined with Welsh Oak. Many work-days were lost because of the high winds resulting in the train not being able to reach the summit. Wind speeds of over 42mph at Clogwyn and the train cannot proceed. On many days the men walked to the summit. Because of the design in which the walls curve and lean, much of the stone was hand cut on site by the stonemasons. A time capsule has been laid in the floor. The contents were brought together by school children from Beddgelert and Llanberis. The name was chosen from over 500 suggestions canvassed by the BBC. It means a summer residence (Hafod) in Snowdonia (Eryri).
