Snaefell () – () is the highest

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

and the only summit above on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

, at

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. The summit is crowned by a railway station, cafe, several communications masts and can be reached by narrow gauge railway.

Views

It is a well-known saying in the Isle of Man that on a clear day six

kingdoms Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchic state or realm ruled by a king or queen. ** A monarchic chiefdom, represented or governed by a king or queen. * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and me ...

can be seen from the top: the

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

. Some versions add a seventh kingdom, that of Manannán (or the

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

). The summit plaque indicates the directions of five points from Snaefell as well as their distances: * to the Mull of Galloway (Scotland) * to Scafell (England) * to the Mountains of Mourne (Northern Ireland) * to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

(England) * to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

(Republic of Ireland) (For some reason, Wales is absent from the plaque). While highly dependent on weather conditions and visibility, all of the four countries of the United Kingdom can be seen from the summit of Snaefell. This includes much of the southern coast of

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

, the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

in England, the northern coast of

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

in Wales, and the Mountains of Mourne in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. Points in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

can also be seen.

Climbing Snaefell

The Snaefell Mountain Railway has a seasonal electric tram service, typically from April to October, which climbs the from Laxey to the summit. The A18 Snaefell Mountain Road passes over the slopes of Snaefell, and is the highest section of the Snaefell Mountain Course over which the Isle of Man TT races are held. Walkers often use the car park on this road near the Bungalow railway station (last railway stop before the summit) from which there is a rough path to the peak. The trail has sections of gravel, slate stones, grass and rock. While the angle of ascent steepens significantly closer to the summit, special climbing equipment is not required. However, caution is required in steep areas as the grass, earth and rocks are often slippery. Average climb time on foot on a dry footpath is about 45 minutes. A geodetic marker embedded in the small, concrete

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

indicates the true mountain summit. The rock

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

standing nearby has an information plaque on top.

Weather

In 1970, the automated weather station at the Snaefell summit recorded a gust of which was one of the highest wind speeds ever recorded in the British Isles. During hurricane storm-force winds, the Civil Aviation Authority radio mast at the Snaefell summit was damaged and blown down on 2 December 1966.''Birmingham Daily Post'' page 27 Saturday 3 December 1966

Gallery

Image:Snaefell Mountain Walking Trail - Isle of Man - kingsley - 24-JUN-09.jpg, Footpath entry near Bungalow railway station typically used to climb Snaefell Image:Snaefell with Snaefell Mountain Railway.jpg, The Snaefell Mountain Railway on the ascent of Snaefell Image:Summit Hotel - Snaefell Mountain - kingsley - 24-APR-09.jpg, Defunct hotel (now

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargil ...

) near the summit Image:Snaefell Mountain Summit - Isle of Man - kingsley - 24-APR-09.jpg, Top of Snaefell with geodetic marker and nearby

with plaque Image:Plaque atop Snaefell Mountain - Isle of Man - kingsley - 24-JUN-09.jpg, Plaque pointing out the directions of landmarks and their distances from the summit

References

External links