Snowdonia Expedition Assessment Service
Since 1st June 2008, Plas Y Brenin and the Mountain Training Trust have extended their support to the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and are now coordinating all expeditions in Snowdonia and the surrounding area. The Snowdonia Expedition Assessment service is managed on behalf of D of E Wales, by Plas y Brenin. Helen Barnard, the D of E coordinator for Plas y Brenin, and the Administration Team, Lissie Smith, Judith Schneider and Bernadette Redmond are available to advise and support group leaders in their planning for unaccompanied expeditions in Snowdonia
The service is available during office hours 9am to 5pm with a message only service outside these hours. If you have any queries or suggestions please feel free to contact us.
IMPORTANT
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award does not endorse any campsite, activity centre, courses or other opportunities contained within these pages. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award or Plas y Brenin cannot be held responsible for any arrangements, financial or otherwise, concerning participation in any opportunities described here. Participants should check with their Operating Authority to ensure that an opportunity they wish to pursue will count for their Award. Whilst every care is taken to ensure that each entry is accurate, neither Plas Y Brenin nor the Duke of Edinburgh's Award take any responsibility for the omission or errors regarding any entry. It is the responsibility of the user to ascertain that, where necessary, a provider has an appropriate license under the Adventure Activities Licensing Regulations. The supervision of Expeditions is the responsibility of Operation Authorities.
Contact Details
The Snowdonia Expedition Assessment Service is co-ordinated via a combination of the Administration Team at Plas y Brenin (Lissie Smith, Bernadette Redmond, Gaynor Lewis and Vicky Martin) and Helen Barnard, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award coordinator at Plas y Brenin.
The service is available during office hours 9am to 5pm, a message only service will operate outside these hours.
Contacting us is easy – we are available on email, telephone and post.
It may be quicker, cheaper and easier to send all the relevant information via email dofeexpeditions@pyb.co.uk .
Plas y Brenin has the latest edition of Memory Map and therefore can instantly see the routes selected for your groups.
The Snowdonia Expedition Assessment Service
Plas y Brenin,
Capel Curig,
Conwy,
LL24 0ET
Email - dofeexpeditions@pyb.co.uk
Telephone – 01690 720214
Fax – 01690 720394
About the Snowdonia Expedition Assessment Area
Snowdonia National Park covers 823 square miles of the most beautiful and unspoilt countryside in North Wales. Snowdonia offers mountains, lakes, woodlands and valleys. History and culture is everywhere and the Welsh language is the mother tongue of 65% of the population. The landscape illustrates the history of the area through Stone Age burial chambers, Roman forts, churches, castles, slate quarries and other industrial works. Snowdonia is famous for its most spectacular mountain scenery with Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in the North and Cadair Idris in the south. In all there are more than 90 summits over 2000 ft and 15 over 3000.
The expedition service covers Cadair Idris and Rhinogs to the south, Snowdon, Glyders, Carneddi and Moelwyns to the north and the Berwyns to the east.
The Weather
The weather in Snowdonia can sometimes be very fickle. Even in summer, the rain and wind can sweep across the mountains in a similar force you would expect in winter. Due to its location on the western side of the UK, the area is influenced by the moist air masses coming from the Atlantic. The saturated air is forced up and over the mountains, cooling and condensing to form rain. Snowdonia often experiences heavy rainfall and groups travelling to Snowdonia need to be prepared. Unexpected snowfall in October and late March will cause problems for groups.
Check out the latest weather forecast on mountain weather wales here
Check out the latest weather forecast on metcheck here
Previous experience, fitness and good quality equipment is a necessity when considering an expedition in the mountains. Travelling through the mountains rather than over is the safest option. Any high level walks need to always be accompanied by bad weather alternatives
Routes and Access
Mountain walkers have very good access in Snowdonia thanks to the Countryside Rights of Way Act 2000 and 'good will' on behalf of landowners. Snowdonia benefits from having an extensive footpath network in the form of permissive paths, public rights of ways and bridleways. Much of the land in Snowdonia is owned by private landowners (farmers) who make their living from 'working the mountains', extensively sheep farming.
When planning routes in Snowdonia, please take into consideration non-access land i.e. land that is not part of the CROW Act. In some circumstances, land owners do not permit the right of access through their land unless there is a designated public right of way path. It is therefore not advisable to plan a route from Beddgelert through Wernlas-deg to join the public right of way path to the west of Craig Wen. Please use alternative paths in the area.
Other areas of Snowdonia are owned by the National Trust, Forestry Commission, Forestry Enterprise, First Hydro and Welsh Water (to name but a few!). To ensure that the good will of the land owners is maintained it is important that groups adopt a minimal impact approach and follow the Country Code when walking in the mountains. This is particularly important when considering Wild Camping in the National Park. It is important that groups need to seek permission of the land owner.
Visit the Countryside Code for Wales website
Visit the Snowdonia National Parks Authority - Ardwdod Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri website
Due to the nature of the terrain in Snowdonia, it is unadvisable to use areas that are exposed and require techniques of scrambling.Additionally, terrain that is heavily eroded or scree, and is difficult in poor weather should also be avoided.
In the northern Snowdonia area, Crib Goch and the Watkin Path on Snowdon are not acceptable routes. Similarly, in the southern part, the Foxes path and the permissive path leading directly to Llyn Cau on Cadair Idris are also not suitable routes. The Minfordd path should be only used by experienced walkers.
Fires in the countryside cause widespread damage to the environment and wildlife and of course are a risk to human life. Grass/Moorland fires take hold very quickly—always take great care when using stoves and disposing of matches. Do not light camp fires or burn toilet paper to dispose of it.
Download the DofE 'Caring for the Countryside' leaflet
Camping
Please note that supervisors / Award leaders / groups are responsible for gaining permission to use campsites. Please respect all our campsites and other users of the campsites.
It is important to seek permission of the land owner when considering wild camping. Some land owners will charge for wild camping.
A list of campsites in the area is available. Please contact the Network for an up to date list. Many of the campsites request that groups are supervised overnight by a responsible adult – please check.
Wild Camping
Wild camping in England and Wales is currently not permitted.
The CROW (Countryside and Rights of Way) Act 2000 forbids camping unless you have express permission of the land owner. In contrast, the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (1 July 2004) does permit wild camping as long as this is not close to roads, houses or in other circumstances that could be considered an invasion of privacy. In reality, wild camping is tolerated in England and Wales provided good practice is followed. The British Mountaineering Council BMC has produced good practical advice for walkers, climbers and mountaineers in the upland environment. Section 8 deals specifically with wild camping issues and section 9 with sanitation
Visit: www.thebmc.co.uk/greenguides
Lyme Disease
Lyme Disease is a bacterial infection that is spread to humans by infected ticks. Ticks are small, spider-shaped insects that feed on the blood of mammals (commonly sheep and deer), including humans.
The ticks that cause Lyme disease are commonly found in woodland and heathland areas. Due to their breeding patterns, the tick population is at its highest during late spring and early summer.
The best way to prevent Lyme Disease is to take sensible precautions when you are in areas known to have a high tick population, such as wearing long-sleeved shirts, long trousers and using insect repellent. At the end of each day walking, inspect your skin for ticks, including head, neck and skin folds (armpits, groin and waist band).
If you find a tick on your skin, gently remove it by gripping it as close to the skin as possible, preferably using a fine toothed tweezer and pull steadily away from the skin.
For more information visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/lyme-diseases
Planning Your Route
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All expeditions must have a clearly defined purpose
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Spread out your route equally over the duration of the expedition
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Avoid travelling over difficult ground late in the day. Try as far as possible to make steep ascents early in the morning
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Groups should not use motorised transport and should take the form of a journey through the mountains and not over them.
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Avoid campsites that are remote. It will greatly help assessors if campsites are chosen which are easily accessible by road.
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It is time consuming and expensive for assessors to visit groups whose routes straddle the whole of Snowdonia.
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Avoid 'peak bagging!' – It can be just as rewarding to travel through wild country rather than attempting every mountain in sight!
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Avoid steep ground and exposed ridges – remember they are carrying heavy rucksacks.
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Safety of the groups is the responsibility of the supervisor. The supervisor should be based in the assessment area and adequate arrangements should be made to keep in contact with the assessor with regards to a change of plan.
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Alternative bad weather routes and escape routes should be clearly marked on the maps – these should be properly timed and distances measured.
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Routes should be clearly marked on either a photocopy of a map with the route, campsites, and escape routes highlighted or clearly marked via memory map.
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Any expeditions planned (unaccompanied practice and qualifying ventures) in Snowdonia, the Snowdonia Expedition Service has to be notified. This includes all Bronze, Silver and Gold expeditions in wild country.
Expedition Assessments
The Snowdonia Expedition Service can only assess Gold expeditions. This is due to the large numbers of groups coming to Snowdonia requesting an assessor.
All expeditions, including practice journeys, are to be supervised by an experienced adult who must accept responsibility for the safety of the group. He or she must be satisfied that the participants are fully trained and properly equipped to undertake the expedition planned.
Please send/email your NOTIFICATION FORMS AND A COPY OF THE ROUTES (2 copies of each), to the Expeditions Service as early as possible.
Assessors are all volunteers who give up their free time to assess groups; therefore it is not possible to guarantee an assessor for your group. However, it=is more likely that an assessor will be available if:
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Notification forms and tracings are submitted at least 6 weeks prior to the expedition.
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Routes etc are clearly marked on either Memory map or highlighted on a photocopy of a 1:50 map.
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Routes follow the guidance mentioned in the Planning the Route section.
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The Expedition Service requires 2 good quality copies of the routes and 2 copies of the notification form with either a SAE or an email address. No further information is necessary at this stage. Once the assessor has been allocated and approved the route then route cards, equipment lists, menus etc should be sent to the assessor directly.
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The Snowdonia Expedition Assessment Service will then provide you with an Assessor.
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A charge will be made to each DofE team for assessment by the Network.
Download Expedition Assessment Information Fees here.
Notification Only Groups
For groups who are coming to Snowdonia for practice expeditions or are bringing their own assessors, 2 copies of their intended route and 2 copies of their notification form should be sent at least 4 weeks prior to the expedition.
Groups will then receive an expedition notification number from the Expedition Service (please include either a SAE or an email address)
