Plas y Brenin

06/09/2026

Right then, ladies and gentlemen, observe the brave soul hurtling down an icy slope backwards and upside down, all in the name of personal growth! There is no finer way to test your mettle, conquer your fears, and earn your evening brew than by flinging yourself down a frozen gully and coming out the other side entirely victorious. Splendid effort.

But as anyone who's walked or climbed anywhere will tell you, the trick is not falling over in the first place! Our Welsh Winter skills and preparation courses will give you the skills to stay on your feet in winter terrain, and the tools to help if you don't!

Head to the website and click "Winter" to book your weekend in the mountains.

04/09/2026

When were you last observed working? When did you last observe someone working? How did it make you feel?

"Being observed can be a little nerve wracking, but having the opportunity to be watched and given constructive feedback by someone with lots of experience is incredibly valuable. What makes it even more special is the peer-learning environment at the National Centre, we're constantly learning from each other, sharing ideas, challenging our thinking and helping one another develop. It's a real privilege to be able to work alongside such experienced instructors and have that space to learn from one another. It's easy to be hard on yourself when you're striving to be "really bloody good!" (in my best Geordie accent!) but becoming a better instructor doesn't happen overnight. Having supportive people around you who can challenge, encourage and help you develop is a huge part of the journey, and I'm very grateful for it." - Nicola Dunsford Welch

"Teaching observations aren't about checking up on our team—they're about backing them up. We think of an observation as a collaborative opportunity. It's a chance for our instructors to get a fresh perspective on their coaching, ask questions, bounce ideas around, and map out where they want their career to go next. When we know what our instructors love to deliver and where they want to grow, we can pair them up with the right courses and help them step into new opportunities. Every year, every instructor gets observed at least once. It keeps our standards sky-high, our sessions safe, and our guests' experiences top-tier. Who runs the observations? They are carried out by our senior team of contracted instructors. We invest real time into training them as observers, making sure their feedback is supportive, actionable, and genuinely useful." - Kath James

03/09/2026

We were lucky enough to be joined by the Welsh language communicator (he hates being called an influencer) Doctor Cymraeg a couple of weeks ago. The Doctor (turns out he's called Stephen) headed up Tryfan with Arwel and Tom, and spent the day talking about all sorts of stuff, not least the importance of Welsh in how we communicate.

But more than that, we had a brilliant day on the hill taking an experienced walker and introducing them to a new, challenging way to travel in the mountains. Stephen was kind enough to share a bit of insight into his time on the hill with us, and we can't wait to get him out again!

02/09/2026

Looking to step onto winter ground this season? Here is what one of last season's participants had to say about their experience with us:

"Always very professional, in depth instruction by guides with amazing portfolios. Very relaxed, excellent access to kit, great drying room & very good food & accommodation."

Whether you're building foundational crampon skills in Wales or taking on winter mountaineering routes in Scotland, our winter programme is designed to give you technical proficiency supported by a comfortable and well looked after stay.

From specialized gear access to warm drying rooms and full-board catering, we take care of the logistics so you can focus entirely on the conditions and the terrain.

👉 Explore winter dates across Wales & Scotland: https://hubs.ly/Q04vW9Hm0

31/08/2026

Leave Nothing but Footprints, Take Nothing but Pictures"
The foundational rule of low-impact backcountry travel.
- The Sense: This saying is the cornerstone of the Leave No Trace movement. The core philosophy is one of absolute preservation: when you pack up camp or step off a trail, the wilderness should look exactly as it did before you arrived. You don't pick the wildflowers, you don't carve your initials into trees, and you absolutely don't leave trash or food scraps behind.

- The Verdict: Essential Baseline. It is a brilliant, easy-to-remember standard that sets the absolute minimum baseline of respect for natural spaces. If every outdoor visitor adhered strictly to this, our parks, crags, and waterways would be in pristine condition.

The Limitation of "Zero Impact"
While "leaving nothing but footprints" is an honorable goal, it is ultimately a neutral concept. It assumes that humans are inherently a threat to nature, and that our best possible contribution to the wild is to pretend we were never there at all.
In a world where outdoor spaces are facing unprecedented pressure from climate change, erosion, and overcrowding, simply "doing no harm" is no longer enough to save them.

The Conclusion: Why "Leave a Positive Trace" is Even Better
The next evolution of outdoor stewardship is moving from a passive mindset to an active one: shifting from Leave No Trace to Leaving a Positive Trace.

- Active Stewardship: Instead of merely avoiding damage, leaving a positive trace means actively leaving an outdoor space better than you found it.
- It’s stopping to bag and carry out plastic wrappers or rusty cans left behind by others on the trail.
- It’s spending an hour of a climbing trip picking up micro-trash at the base of the crag, or volunteering a weekend for local trail maintenance.
- It’s sharing safety and environmental knowledge with beginners respectfully, rather than gatekeeping.
- It’s stopping to bag and carry out plastic wrappers or rusty cans left behind by others on the trail.
- It’s spending an hour of a climbing trip picking up micro-trash at the base of the crag, or volunteering a weekend for local trail maintenance.
- It’s sharing safety and environmental knowledge with beginners respectfully, rather than gatekeeping.
The Shift: "Leave nothing but footprints" asks us to be invisible ghosts passing through the woods. "Leave a positive trace" invites us to be active caretakers of the land we love.

28/08/2026

are back to help us wrap up the summer holidays, all weekend long. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday!

Alun will have the gazebo up and the oven lit ready for 5pm, so get your order in and shelter from the classic Welsh summer in our bar.

27/08/2026

Let's not take it for granite!

Nick Bullock is giving a FREE talk here on Saturday night (29 August) from 8:30-9:30pm on his journey into climbing and the many stories he's had along the way.

Please feel free to grab a drink and join us*

* Nick is renowned for his humour, so we recommend consuming enough of your drink beforehand so you don't spill any over yourself whilst laughing.

27/08/2026

🦭🎶
Poor Dave, forgot he had a camera on...
Still it could have been much worse I guess.
🦭🎶

26/08/2026

26/08/2026

We've got a packed Autumn of evening and weekend events coming up, scroll across and check them out!

Women's Adventure Film Tour
Paddle Out
Mike Raine
Mountain Training Association
Mount Everest Foundation The Alpine Club British Mountaineering Council

The Womens Adventure Film Tour is coming to Plas y Brenin on September the 12th.

This year’s program celebrates the resilience, creativity, and perseverance of women in the outdoors. The line up features powerful stories:

- Run Antarctica: Beyond Limits: Follow Australian ultramarathon runner and pain scientist Donna Urquhart as she tackles Earth's harshest environment in a quest to break the world record for the longest run in a polar region.

- Trail to Bayanihan: A journey of cultural connection and community as Sam explores diverse landscapes on her bike, discovering a wider family within the Filipino biking community.

- Beauty in a Fall: Canadian mountain guide Julianna Howatt confronts her past and reclaims her identity as a trans woman while navigating an industry that struggles to accept those on the margins.

- Beyond the Known: A cycling expedition across Turkey where four strangers from different backgrounds—united by a passion for riding—become a resilient team through shared challenges and discovery.

- ): After a life-changing traumatic brain injury in 2015, professional skier Jamie MoCrazy shares her journey of recovery, identity, and her mission to revolutionize TBI treatment.

Women's Adventure Film Tour

Ready to get out on the water with us this October? 🚣‍♀️✨

Paddle Out Tickets are on sale now! PYB's first LGBTQI+ paddlesports festival!

Whether you want to try paddlesports for the first time on flat water, tackle whitewater, or explore the coast by sea kayak, we’re shaping the weekend’s workshops around what you want to do.

What’s waiting for you at PYB:

🌊 Tailored daytime coaching sessions across 3 disciplines

🔥 Fully catered meals, evening talks & festival vibes in the heart of Eryri

🏡 Flexible stay options (single, twin, non-gendered bunk rooms, or non-residential)

🛶 Free kit hire directly from our stores

Spots are limited so we can keep group ratios small