Snowdon no more: Wales' highest mountain reverts to its Welsh name
Visitors to Wales's highest mountain will have to get used to calling it by a new name.
For Snowdon is to now be known by its Welsh name, Yr Wyddfa, and the Snowdonia region by Eryri.
About 400,000 people a year visit the area to walk or climb the 3,560ft mountain - many from Shropshire and the Midlands as well as across the world.
The decision to revert to the Welsh names, pronounced "Er Withva" and "Eh-Ruh-Re" was taken by the Snowdonia National Park Authority after 5,000 people signed a petition calling for the change.
Naomi Jones, the park's head of cultural heritage, said Welsh place names were part of Eryri's "special qualities".
"By referring to our most renowned landmarks by their Welsh names, we give people from all over the world the opportunity to engage with the Welsh language and its rich culture," she said.
The debate over the names started last year when Councillor John Pughe Roberts asked the park to stop using the English names Snowdon and Snowdonia.
The park has already started using the Welsh names online and in its publications.
Covering a total of 823 square miles, Eryri is Wales’ largest National Park. Home to over 26,000 people, Eryri’s landscape is steeped with culture, history, and heritage, where the Welsh language is part of the day-to-day fabric of the area.
Nearly four million people visit Eryri every year.
