Campion School students complete their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award Expedition

In July we were privileged to host on their first night a team from Campion School in Northamptonshire who were doing their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Expedition. The centre and cottage are ideal for D of E Group expeditions as they are able to use the centre for the first night and then the groups supervisors can make use of the cottage. The following report is taken from the Campion School website.

True to the ethos of The Award, the sixth-form students organised practically everything for themselves. This included booking the camp sites, making travel arrangements and booking an assessor.

Despite leaving early on Friday afternoon to avoid traffic, they still got caught up in traffic jams and heavy rain. After 4 hours on the road, the group finally arrived at Yr Hen Felin Cynwyd Activity and Mountain Centre (near Corwen), just outside of the Snowdonia National Park. Luckily, 4 days of glorious sunshine followed.

During the first evening at Yr Hen Felin Activity Centre, Steve Layt, the group’s excellent assessor, did a pre-expedition check to make sure the group were well equipped. After a good breakfast, the team began their expedition. They hiked from around Llandrillo to Llangynog and Bala Lake. This included three nights’ camping. They tackled challenging areas requiring careful navigation as their routes are relatively un-walked or unmarked.

At the end of the expedition, the group were very tired but incredibly pleased and satisfied with their achievement. They worked extremely well together and are a credit to themselves and Campion School. Thank you to Steve and Kay Layt who were nearby throughout the entire expedition. We are looking forward to seeing their presentation based on the aim of their expedition “The sky and its wonders”. We wish them well with completing the remaining sections of The Award. All being well, they will be presented with The Gold Award at St James’ Palace in 2012.

The team consisted of Rachel Dickson, Larissa Gardner, Lydia Prince, Kelly Oakley, Kizzy Jurgon, Dale Thomas, Matthew Chatting

Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty

THE Countryside Council for Wales today (Tuesday 22 November 2011) welcomed the Welsh Government’s decision to extend the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Beauty, to include southern parts of the Clwydian Range, the Vale of Llangollen and parts of the Dee Valley.

The decision follows a statutory consultation process, undertaken by the Countryside Council for Wales.

CCW Chairman Morgan Parry said: “We are delighted with the decision, which confirms all the evidence provided that this is truly an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Whilst the designation gives the area the national recognition it deserves, the key to its success will rest with local management.

“We now look forward to working with the local authorities of Wrexham, Flintshire and Denbighshire, their local communities and landowners, to realise the environmental, social and economic opportunities of this national designation - so that all sectors of society benefit from the sustainable management of the natural environment.”

The Clwydian Range AONB Management Service has an excellent track record in implementing and funding sustainable environmental enhancement projects – experience that can now be drawn on for the benefit of a wider area. CCW will now start detailed discussions with the local authorities on the resources and administrative arrangements required for the future management of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as a whole.

Rhug Estate

I recently picked up a leaflet on the Rhug Estate which is one mile west of Corwen so about 2.5 miles from the centre. The estate has a couple of things that are of interest to users of the centre and so we detail these below.

Farm Tours

You can visit the large working organic farm where you will be taken on a guided tour of the farm in a purpose built covered trailer which is complete with audio equipment and full safety features which includes disabled access. On a tour you will see sheep, cattle and bison and will also learn about crop rotation that is key to the success of an organic farm. The cost is £4.50 for an adult and £2.00 for a child under 16 with OAP’s being £4.00. A family ticket for two adults and three children is £11.00.  Private parties can be booked in by prior arrangement by telephoning the estate office on 01490 413000 during office hours the maximum party size for this is 36 with a minimum charge of £100.

As well as the guided farm tour there is also a self guided farm trail.

Farm Shop

The farm shop on site sells fresh meat off the farm (which is superb) and have over 1000 lines of gourmet food items. It also has a popular farm cafe selling organic food off the farm.

The estate are currently constructing a new 60 seat cafe, children’s play area and shops which are all due for completion in 2012. This will make a great place for users of the centre to visit as well as all the people visiting Corwen and those travelling further along the A5 to Snowdonia.

See  the estate web site www.rhug.co.uk

July Trail Magazine

For many years I have subscribed to Trail Magazine which I still consider to be the best magazine for all round interest in mountains and walking. I bought my first Trail magazine on my very first trip to the Lake District and it inspired me to greater efforts with regard to my mountaineering. TGO magazine comes in a very close second and we have been impressed by the first edition of the new format and eagerly await the next few editions to see what that brings. TGO has some very thought provoking articles and we hope that this continues as each of the three regularly read outdoor magazines all bring something a little bit different to the party. It would be a shame for any of them to try and copy each other as this would in my opinion change why I liked all three magazines so much. The third magazine I regularly read is Country Walking. I will say that over the past few months Country Walking has had some good Denbighshire routes in it. Both Trail and Country Walking magazines have recently introduced a new routes service via Trailzilla and this is really excellent and worth subscribing to one of these magazines for the free subscription to Trailzilla.

The July edition of Trail has a real treat in it for centre users with a five page article on the Berwyn Mountains. Jeremy Ashcroft describes ‘The Berwyns Round’ a journey around all the main peaks of the Berwyns and with a little bit more walking this could be adapted to be done from the centre.

We have long advocated that the Berwyn’s are a great set of mountains which are far too often overlooked by people who see North Wales as Snowdonia and therefore ignore the truly great ridge that the Berwyns offer. We are glad that this article, with its stunning photos, brings these great mountains to a widespread audience. If anyone does this walk please drop us an update which we will publish on the Blog.

Annual Report for Northampton District Scouts April 2010 to March 2011

The year up to March 2011 was a good year for the activity centre in Wales. In some ways we can look back on this year and see it as a stepping stone for a greater level of booking in the future. Although income remained static from the previous year we saw interest gradually rise so that even when we had a booking on popular weekends we got two or three additional enquires. This is good in the fact that many people now know that booking early is essential so our ongoing bookings are now consistently good. This year was also the year when we finally agreed to take a big step and employ a caretaker. This allows us to ensure that the high standards we had worked hard to achieve could be maintained on a weekly basis and we thank Fay for all her efforts.

For new members of the District and to remind other people we will again reiterate what the Yr Hen Felin complex offers. The main centre provides a thirty bedded centre with catering kitchen, toilet, washing and shower facilities, lounge and dining area which is suitable for groups to use. The cottage has two ensuite rooms with a double in one and a set of bunks and a single in the other. The addition of a bed settee in the lounge ensures that our cottage facilities are suitable for both small groups and families. The complex also has a small camping area and a drying room with a washing machine.

The centre and now the cottage continues to get people re booking year on year. In this twelve month period over 50% of bookings were returning customers showing that our level of commitment to quality is justified. We continue to use the evaluations that we receive to ensure that we constantly develop both our programme of activities and the facilities the centre offers and we now see evaluations from returning customers reflecting their appreciation that we listen to even the smallest items. In order to build both a committed and loyal client base we continued to hold our prices and this will continue as long as we can to build on what we have achieved so far. We receive regular bookings from the commercial outdoor activity companies based in North Wales and have become particularly popular with schools booking activities with these companies.

At the end of this year we had to replace all our fire extinguishers as they were all getting too old but this was the first time they had to be replaced rather than serviced and so the high cost this year will stand us in good stead for the future. We have also increased our drying ability within the drying room as this was an area of concern for our customers. We have some more work to do on the drying room but this has greatly helped and so even at the height of last winter the drying room worked by drying wet kit overnight for use the next day.

The website has been revamped and we now monitor its usage. We get above 300 visitors (10 per day) to the website each month. This year we also set up our Facebook page and this is now our main way of giving details of our special offers which are always worth considering. We also launched a blog and this has been viewed from around the world.  We continue to monitor the outdoor industry press and have had some success in correcting the notion that there is no hostel left in Cynwyd. This has given us positive feedback and whenever we are mentioned in widely read outdoor publications we see a spike on the website, Facebook and blog usage.

Last year we had made the decision to try and increase bookings by applying for an activity license so we can run our popular activity packages for people outside of the Scout Association. We have had some positive feedback and help on this from the staff at Gilwell Park. The governments’ review of health and safety has meant that major changes are going to be made to licensing and so we have put this aspect of the centre on hold until we see what is going to happen. We continue to still run our packages for Scout Groups, families and groups of adults and so we would encourage anyone who uses commercial companies to provide activities for their Scout group to talk to us about what we can offer as we guarantee to beat any commercial price. Every activity we run is done so as if we were a commercial operator and we maintain the same standards that they do so you can save the cost to your young people. Last year we were involved in the BBC Thrillseeker activity programme of events and this in itself was good publicity for the centre.

For groups of young people using the centre we now offer a workbook that can be used before, during and after a visit. This has proved popular with our school bookings and ensures that use of the centre is proper outdoor education that can build on learning in other areas.

We continue with our two clear aims for the centre in Wales which are to offer adventurous outdoor activities at a very low cost to the members of Northampton District and to provide an additional income to Northampton District Scout Council. For the future we have now set some additional targets and would like to increase bookings over the next year by 25% and to increase our midweek bookings by 10%. Both of these are ambitious targets but we hope to report on a successful outcome in next years report. We are also looking at developing two programmes for young people from Northampton District using the centre with a Basic Adventure Wales and Advanced Adventure Wales package to suit all users. These will be backed up by badges that can be used as part of the progressive training scheme.

We would encourage all Groups to make use of your own facilities for adventure by coming to stay in your own centre in Cynwyd so why not give us a call on 01604 813505 or visit the website at www.yrhenfelin-cynwyd.co.uk.

Loggerheads Country Park

Loggerheads Country Park is situated 2.5 miles south of Mold in the Community of Llanferres, and covers 80 acres of the Alyn Valley.  From the centre you travel to Ruthin then follow the A494 signposted to Mold. Loggerheads is on the left hand side before you get into Mold itself. It takes about forty five minutes to get to the park from the centre. There is a pay and display car park on site. Loggerheads Country Park is a tree lined limestone valley with riverside walks & a history of lead mining. The main paths are gentle but you can be more adventurous & explore the steep cliffs with views over the surrounding countryside

The dominant feature of the Park is an imposing limestone cliff, Pen-y-Garreg Wen, which overlooks the Leete Path, a 4 mile walk through mixed woodland to Rhydymwyn.  This walk and the surrounding countryside, have been renowned for their beauty for over 200 years.  In 1985 the Clwydian Range was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) for its rich landscape. Loggerheads Country Park is a popular visitor destination, attracting over 100,000 visitors every year. The Countryside Centre gives visitors an insight in to the history and life within the Park and provides a wealth of information and an excellent learning opportunity.

Loggerheads Country Park is an established Rural Country Park set in a limestone valley in the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It encompasses a mining and tourism history. The Park is also managed for conservation, with SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) designation and rich and varied natural habitats. The Discovery Trail gets visitors out & about in the park. They can see evidence of the history for themselves, along with abundant wildlife. Visitors also get the chance to become a Trail Detective and collect the secret symbols.  Woodland, riverside and cliff top experiences make this a very good day out for users of the centre.

The history of the country park dates from 1926 when the Crosville Motor Bus Company purchased land at Loggerheads on which they developed Tea Rooms and Gardens for the enjoyment of visitors many of whom travelled on the Company’s bus trips.  Not only was there a Tea House but also a bandstand, boating lake and kiosks selling sweets and ice-cream.  Loggerheads was very popular during the 1920’s and 30’s but its popularity waned after the Second World War, as the use of buses declined.  In 1974, Clwyd County Council purchased the land and the gardens as a Country Park.  In August 1984 the old wooden Tea Room was destroyed by fire.  A new Information Centre, restaurant and visitor facilities were built to continue the tradition of providing for the enjoyment of the many tourists who still come to Loggerheads.  The Park is now owned and managed by Denbighshire County Council.

There is a great café on site Caffi Florence. They have brought a fresh approach to food in Loggerheads Country Park to match the stunning countryside. Much is homemade and seasonal and many of their suppliers and products are local. Their tea, coffee and hot chocolate is fair-trade and their meat is local and eggs and chicken are all free range. The cafe serves morning coffee, homemade soup, lunches, afternoon tea, homemade cakes, ice creams and snacks. When we were there we had the soup of the day and sandwiches which was excellent and the girls had a children’s platter which is lots of chopped vegetables and fruit that went down really well. You can see their website at http://www.caffiflorence.co.uk/

Loggerheads country park is a great place to visit when using the centre for groups with both young people and adults and makes a worthwhile day trip worth considering in you planning.

Plas Y Brenin Taster days

The National Mountain Centre Plas y Brenin in Capel Curig (about 40 minutes from the centre) are offering taster sessions in canoeing, skiing and climbing in the school holidays at either £15 per session or for just £35 for all three activities.

The sessions run in 2011 from May 28^th to June 5^th, July 23^rd to August 29^th and October 24^th to October 28^th being the school holidays for the rest of the year. The sessions are open to people aged from seven upwards and being Plas Y Brenin the instructors who will work with you will be superb.

If you booked the centre for two days with 15 people and went to do these activities for one day with the other day spent doing activities in and around the centre then the cost per person would be £51 each which will give you a superb couple of days away. On top of this you only have transport and food to account for.

Activity sessions need to be booked with Plas Y Brenin (offered on a first come first served basis) and they can be contacted on 01690 720214 with the centre being booked through us and you will need to ensure that both are available at the same time.