FAQs

Here are some of the questions we frequently get asked. If you have any other questions please contact the relevant member of the team.

Course Bookings
Hostel Bookings
Technical Questions
General Questions

Course Bookings

What time do your courses start and end?

The programme for all courses starts on the Saturday morning straight after breakfast and we aim to be finished by 4pm on Sunday. For arrival, the centre is open from 7pm on Friday night. Whilst there is no formal programme on the Friday night it’s a good opportunity to meet the staff, the other candidates and discuss your requirements for the weekend!

Is the training and assessment for a permit done on the same weekend?

No, our weekends are not combined training and assessment courses as a period of consolidation of at least 3 months is required between training and assessment.

Can I book an entire course (or several places) for my leaders?

Sure, you’ll need to complete a booking form for each participant. If you intend to combine several payments please contact the Course Secretary to let them know.

Do your course fees include food or accommodation?

Yes, all our courses include breakfast, packed lunch and dinner on Saturday and breakfast and packed lunch on Sunday. Indoor accommodation is also included in bunk rooms. You’ll need to bring your own pillow and sleeping bag. Where possible we try to have single sex dorms but we cannot guarantee this.

Can I change or cancel my course booking?

You can cancel or change your course up to 56 days before for no charge. After this a change will be treated as a cancellation and the following charges will apply:

Up to 15 days before the event – 50% of the total course fee
14 days or less before the event – 100% of the total course fee

Download our full Terms and Conditions

Hostel Bookings

Please see here for the booking process.

Do you have Risk Assessments for the Hostel?

Risk Assessments for the Hostel can be found here. You are expected to have your own Risk Assessments for the activities you are undertaking.

For Hafod Courses we have Risk Assessments for all activities we provide.

Can I hire Yr Hafod instructors?

All of the staff and instructors at Yr Hafod are volunteer Scout Leaders and therefore we can’t hire our instructors out for Scout or external groups booked into our hostel.

We recommend you check your local area for permit holders using the permit search feature of Compass
or search for a local instructor to hire through the Mountain Training Association, alternatively why not book on one of our Explorer Scout Weekends?

Can I cancel my hostel booking?

You can cancel up to 29 days before for a full refund. For 28 days of less your deposit will be retained unless a like for like booking is made by another group.

Download our full Terms and Conditions

Technical Questions

What’s the difference between Terrain 1 and 2?

In general terms Terrain 1 (T1) covers non-remote areas that can be considered hills and moors. Terrain 2 (T2) covers more remote areas and mountains.

Specifically Terrain 1 is defined by POR 9.29 and Terrain 2 by POR 9.30.

In effect, Terrain 1 covers areas such as the Peak District, Brecon Beacons, Dartmoor (perhaps not the very middle), Cheviots, North Yorkshire Moors, Yorkshire Dales and the lower mountains of Snowdonia and the Lake District. Terrain 2 covers the higher mountains of the Lakes and Snowdonia and any ground in Terrain 0 and 1 areas that can be considered “steep ground”. Exmoor is mostly Terrain 0 with a bit of Terrain 1.

Should I attend a Terrain 1 or 2 course?

This largely depends on why you want the permit and your own experience:

If it is to lead groups into Mountainous terrain which includes areas either above 800m, places where your hands are needed for balance or 3 or more hours form a road, you need a Terrain 2 permit.
We would expect T2 candidate to have reasonable experience in the above terrain (perhaps 20 days or more in the last 5 years).

The requirements for a T2 permit are significantly different to a T1 permit:

T2 involves managing a party on steep ground including ropework.
T2 Navigation is to the standard of the Mountain Leader Award , T1 Navigation is to the standard of the Hill and Moorland Leader Award .

If in doubt please feel free to contact the Course Booking Secretary who can arrange for one of our assesors to talk to you.

Pen-Y-Fan, Cheviot or similar mountains are a few metres over 800m. Do I need a Terrain 2 permit?

The short answer is yes. However, whilst these mountains clearly fall within the definition of Terrain 2 they do not present any additional difficulties above and beyond a Terrain 1 skill set. At Yr Hafod your assessor will be more than happy to issue you a Terrain 2 permit that will enable you to climb specific Terrain 1-style mountains that just sneak into Terrain 2 subject to a successful Terrain 2 assessment with adjustments for the difference between the two. We won’t issue this type of exception to mountains that are well into Terrain 2 and we won’t issue blanket permits for all mountains up to 810m, for example. Exceptions must be specific. Please contact the Course Bookings Secretary or speak to your assessor if you have any queries.

Do you assess lightweight expedition permits?

Unfortunately not.

Do you issue hillwalking permits?

No, we follow POR for adventurous activities namely we make a recomendation to your District Commisioner based on our technical assessment of you against the syllabus. Please note, we will only recomend leadership permits after a successful assessment. Supervision permits rely on a different set of skills that we cannot assess over a weekend. They also depend much more on personal suitability. We recommend you speak to your County Hillwalking Assessor.

How do I know if I’m ready for assessment?

This depends on how confident you feel and how much experience you have. As a rule of thumb, 20 days in the terrain in the last 5 years for assessment. If you are coming for assessment we would expect your navigation to be confident, accurate and slick. Again feel free to contact the Course Bookings Secretary

Should I go for a Scout Hillwalking Permit or Mountain Leader?

Irrespective of wether or not you hold the Mountain Leader Award (ML), you will need a Scout permit however if you hold an ML and have sufficient recent experience, your District will usualy automatically grant a T2 permit.

Mountain Leader Award is a significant undertaking requiring attending a 5 day teaching course followed by a 5 days assessment course at a Nationally Recognised Centre. It is the standard qualification required by those working professionally in the outdoor industry on the Hill.

Should I go for a Scout Natural Rock Climbing Permit or Rock Climbing Instructor

Answer pending…

General Queries

Do you have a non-0845 number?

Unfortunately not, the 0845 numbers redirect to our personal mobile phones but we’ve tried to keep things cheap and Our 0845 numbers are charged at local rate.

What are your office hours?

Our phone lines are staffed by volunteers so there aren’t any. You may or may not get an answer at any time of the day!

Remember you can always leave a message, include your name and contact details and we will get back to you.

How can I make my Compass profile visible to Yr Hafod assessors?

You will neeed to make your profile visible to us if you want us to recommend a permit. Follow these steps to share the bare minimum information with us (and anyone else that knows your membership number).

Login to Compass at compass.scouts.org.uk.
Click My Scouting on the menu across the top then click Visibility on the new menu that appears. (Image 1).
Click the Edit button on the right hand side then select the following options (see Image 2):
- Make me visibile outside my hierarchy: Yes
- Minimum Level of members searching outside your hierarchy: Everyone
- Tick Permits and select Everyone.
- Click Save.
Image 3 shows you what information is now visible. This information can only be seen by Scouters if they have your membership number. People outside of your hierarchy cannot search for you using your name. You can reverse these changes after we’ve recommended a permit.