What a wonderful week of adventures, underground, up mountains and on rivers. Safe journey home.
Roselane Primary 2026
Writer’s Retreat for Students
Today with Pen to Print, we welcome students from four of our secondary schools to Trewern OEC. We have a very busy program linking outdoor adventures, workshops, local visits and the Hay Festival. A great opportunity to explore, develop writing skills and use experiences to help our writing. Meeting new people and developing new skills adventure learning!
New Cabins
Did you know we have three new Luxury Cabins for self-catering breaks. Get in touch or find us on Airbnb.
Friday Evening Forest Skills Club
Starting in 2026, we’re excited to invite the local Hay-on-Wye community to our small patch of woodland to learn, share, and connect in nature through our regular Forest Skills Club. Contact Steve at stephen.nunes@lbbd.gov.uk or phone.
Join us for relaxed, beginner-friendly sessions featuring practical bushcraft skills, nature connection activities, and plenty of time to gather around the campfire.
Each session offers something new as we learn together and grow a welcoming, supportive community.
As this is a new project for us, we’re excited to see how it develops and evolves over time.
🌿FAQs
Who is it for?
Our club is mostly for adults, and participants should be at least 16 years old. Any under 18s need to be accompanied by a legal guardian or parent.
What should I bring?
Comfortable outdoor clothing suitable for the weather, sturdy footwear, and a water bottle. You may also wish to bring a snack.
What happens in bad weather?
Sessions run in most weather conditions to give a true outdoor experience. In extreme conditions, sessions may be cancelled and you’ll be notified in advance.
Where exactly is the location?
Details of the exact meeting point will be shared after booking, but will take place at Trewern Outdoor Centre, Church Road, Cusop, HR3 5RF.
Is there parking available?
There is limited parking on-site.
🔥 Experience & Expectations
Do I need any experience?
No experience is needed — sessions are designed to be beginner-friendly and welcoming to all.
What kind of activities will we do?
Activities may include but are not limited to fire lighting, shelter building, tool use, campfire cooking, and nature connection exercises.
Is it physically demanding?
Sessions are generally low to moderate intensity and can be adapted to suit different abilities.
🪵 Safety & comfort
Is it safe?
All activities are guided with safety in mind, and you’ll be supported throughout the session.
Are tools used?
Yes, at times we may use tools such as knives or saws, always under guidance and with clear safety instruction.
Are there toilets on site?
Toilets are on-site but involve a short walk from our small woodland site.
🌲 Booking & Structure
Do I need to book in advance?
Yes, spaces are limited and must be booked in advance. Email Stephen.nunes@lbbd.gov.uk
Can I just turn up?
You will need to book ahead as sessions are capped at 12 participants.
How often does the club run?
The club runs usually fortnightly, any cancellations will be informed in advance.
Other
Can I come on my own?
Absolutely — many people come solo and quickly feel part of the group.
Is there food provided?
Tea and biscuits are provided and sometimes we will cook together over the fire.
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Please note that I work with groups outdoors during the day so may not be able to reply quickly. Thanks for your patience.
Later this Summer at Trewern
On September 2nd and 3rd this year, Trewern will be giving you the chance to sample a few of the things that we do here at the Centre. We’re offering a fun mix of activities and ecology over two days for £10 per activity session (i.e. morning, afternoon and/or evening), with the option of staying over on Saturday night, as we’ll continue our activities into the night (fees vary according to the type of accommodation required). Activities suitable for young people from 8-16, adults also welcome to join in.
Planned activities are as follows (timings approximate):
Saturday 2nd September:
10am-1pm BMX session -come and have a go at our pump track! Bikes and safety equipment will all be provided.
1-2pm BREAK FOR LUNCH -please bring your own packed lunch.
2-5pm Archery session -test your aim on our archery range.
5-6pm BREAK -a chance to settle in for anyone staying the night.
6-7.30pm Pizza making session -build your own pizzas for us to cook in our clay pizza oven, then chill around the campfire.
8-9.30pm Ecology session -find out about the wildlife in and around the Trewern site, as we place our moth trap, set our ink traps (for mammals) and take a walk to look for bats and bugs. If the skies are clear we may also have a chance to do some stargazing.
Sunday 3rd September
9-10am Ecology session -revisit the traps we put around the site to find out if we have had any visitors!
10am-1pm Bushcraft session -try your hand at firelighting, shelter building, knots and lashings, whittling, or campfire cooking.
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10am-1pm Climbing Wall session -a taster session in our wall. Come and have a go: how high will you get!?!
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N.B. We reserve the right to amend or alter the activities offered according to weather conditions and number of bookings. We will endeavour to inform all parties affected as soon as we are able if a change needs to be made.
Each session (morning, afternoon or evening) costs £10 per child, who must bring an accompanying adult (no extra charge). Adults are free to get involved, but can also choose to relax with a cup of tea! Booking in advance is essential, please phone 01497 820512 or email trewern@lbbd.gov.uk for a booking form, which will include a kit list.
Accommodation available at the centre on a self catering basis, either in our Lodge, Pod, or camping in our Yurts or your own tents -please contact us for prices.
Recently, at Trewern…
A bit of a summary of the last term at Trewern for you: lots to catch up on, mega busy and plenty of changes to talk about!
First of all, we’re very pleased to say that things at Trewern are now pretty much back to normal -we’re back up to full capacity, and all activities and venues are back on the table. We’re obviously going to keep an eye on the ongoing Covid situation, and will again react as we need to to keep everyone safe, but as it stands we have no restrictions, it’s back to being mindful of our hygiene and giving each other space as much as we can.
The past term and a bit has gone by in a flash, as we’ve got to grips with having the centre full of people again. It’s been lovely to have young people filling the place, playing in the grounds and having space to be kids again, and we’ve really seen them benefit from being able to have this residential experience. They’ve reacted so well, and in some cases so quickly, to having more independence, as well as time with others, building connections and developing life skills. We’ve seen young people go away from their time at Trewern with increased confidence and capacity to care for others, we’ve helped them build fantastic teams and develop leadership, and more than anything they’ve had a chance to have lots of fun. We feel really privileged to be able to give them this opportunity and to see the difference it makes.
This spring we’ve had groups from across the Borough stay with us, others more local and some from different parts of the country altogether, and if anything a greater spread in age ranges than usual, as we’ve welcomed more secondary groups back to the centre, offering the Trewern experience to some of the children that might otherwise have missed out. We’ve welcomed back Eastbrook and Barking Abbey, schools that hadn’t been to the centre for a number of years, and completely new schools, such as Franksbridge and Crowdys Hill, making for a really interesting and diverse term.
Changes
Staff
This term has also seen a number of staffing changes -check out the new entries on the Staff page.
Firstly, in the New Year we welcomed Dave Barber back to the centre as Deputy Head, after a few years away in schools and a University as well as freelancing with other local centres. It’s great to have his passion and experience back at the centre, bringing new ideas and perspective to how we do things.
We’ve also recently welcomed Clare Thomas to the team. Clare also brings a great deal of experience to the team, having started as a trainee at another centre like Trewern around 17 years ago. She’s worked around the UK and in France in diverse settings and brings the average age of teachers at the centre right down!
We’ve also had a couple of departures, as Jenny Cusick, teacher at the centre for nearly 4 years, has moved on to manage YHA Brecon Beacons -a fantastic opportunity and a chance to use her knowledge and experience to take the Hostel from strength to strength.
June Jones has also moved on. After years of sterling service at the centre as a domestic engineer she has decided it is time to retire. June has been a force of nature, keeping going until her 80s, she has helped keep the centre clean and tidy, effectively running the place in all the ways that matter. We gave her a lovely send off at Easter time and hope she will pop in to visit often.
Buildings
Of course you already know about the updates to the rooms (painting in both girls and boys dorms), dining room (moved the door) and staff room (room with a view beyond the lounge), but we haven’t stopped there!
The lodge is now up and running, and we have a Pod next door to give us flexibility with groups booking that space. In conjunction with the yurts, which will be moved shortly so that they are next door, that gives us a new range of options for accommodation, which can be separate from the main house with capacity of around 25 beds. These can be booked all together or individually depending on your needs and the needs of the group. We also have space for camping (as we always have), and there are now electric hook up points and hard standing around the lodge for guests to bring camper vans, and/or caravans. These would be used in conjunction with the outdoor toilet facilities built in 2018, and we have plans to add an outside covered area for washing up/cooking. It doesn’t affect our guests in the same way it does us, but we’ve also moved a few of the stores around to make things more efficient, biggest of which is the BMXs are now in a new container, as is the fieldstudies equipment. Trewern teachers have also now got a new changing room, much warmer and drier, with better lighting!
Still in the pipeline for the next few months (fingers crossed completed by the end of the year): the drying room is going to be moved and upgraded, which will allow us to increase the number of showers in the main house, some of which may be multi-use. At the end of all that, the only thing that will be looking for a new home will be the tuck shop!
Activities
We also never stand still with our activities, and there are a couple of additions that are interesting. We now have some Stand Up Paddleboards (SUPs) which we’re looking forward to introducing more groups to soon. We also have developed foot golf and photo orienteering as options for first afternoons and other periods where we might want something a little extra. The giant skis have had an update, as has the muddy puddle (back in full swing now!), and we’ve now had a few goes at rubber chicken rounders. As we’ve got used to the new low ropes course we’re also looking at different ways that can be used, so watch this space! In fieldstudies, we developed new ways to prep for Geography A-level NEA investigations, with a packed day in Porthcawl for physical studies and a day in Cardiff Bay that used Survey123 extensively for those interested in human projects.
Website
Finally, the website has had a few tweaks (more to come), but there’s a new accommodation page, and our self catering offering has a new section, plus we’ve had a lovely new video made by Shooting Reels, which is now on the front page, and which also means we now have our own YouTube channel. Who knows, we might get a taste for this and make some more videos!
Anyway, onwards and upwards! Only 4 more weeks till the end of term -where did the time go?!
Jo Richardson GCSE Geography 2022
In the middle of Storm Franklyn and the aftermath of Storm Eunice young people from Jo Richardson Community School arrived at the centre, here to enrich their GCSE Geography course. The weather wasn’t going to stop them, and kitted up with the finest Trewern waterproofs and wellies, they’ve had a fantastic week of experiences that will hopefully last a lifetime (or at least until their exams!). They were here to enhance their fieldwork skills, especially decision making, but also to expose them to new environments and give them real life examples of content covered in class. We had a day in Talgarth looking at the Mill, which was rebuilt in 2010 as part of the Village SOS program, and its impact on the town, which we later compared with Capel-y-ffin at the other end of the rural continuum. We also had a day on the river Dulas, which forms the border between England and Wales looking at how it changes as it travels from its source towards its confluence with the Wye. A little light number crunching back at the centre allowed for a few activities alongside the hard work, so in the evenings the young people were able to use our low ropes course and climbing wall to blow away the cobwebs. It’s been a great few days, which we hope have been really memorable and valuable to give these students extra confidence going into their exams and will complement the fieldwork they will do over the coming months with the rest of the class.
We were really impressed with how conscientiously the students worked and how thorough they were in collecting data, especially arguing over how to rate environmental quality! Thanks to everybody involved in making this an excellent week, staff and students included. All the best for the future.
Roding Primary School – Week 2
This week saw the second group of Year 5 pupils from Roding Primary School visit us here at Trewern. A week of caving, climbing, mountain walking and gorge walking as well as a visit to a local farm to see the new born lambs. The children had a lot of fun this week and were really good at showing determination, resilience and perseverance especially when wet and cold.
There was great improvement in their teamwork and willingness to try new things as the week presented many challenges to overcome from being in the pitch dark in a cave, to crawling under a waterfall and even making our own beds and taking part in looking after the centre washing up and putting away the kit we used.
The weather was kind to us this week and we even saw a little bit of sunshine. The walk up Twmpa gave every group a great view across the local area. Caving was the most daunting activity for this group but by the end of the week it proved to be one of the most popular. The visit to the farm was a great way to find out how the area around Trewern is different from the children’s home area and the farmer was really welcoming and friendly. In the indoor climbing wall every group learned how to keep each other safe when climbing and some children showed a natural ability for this activity. The gorge walking was another very popular activity and the children enjoyed crawling, climbing, sliding and walking around the river and waterfalls.
Thank you to all the school staff who worked really hard this week to make sure the children got the most out of this experience. We hope to welcome Roding Primary School back again next year.
The Leys
First group of the year – a big thanks to The Leys Primary for making it such a great week! We had a lovely week, working on teamwork, life skills and trying new things, and we gelled beautifully. By the end of the week it was like a well-oiled machine, with loads of excellent progress on being independent, so much so that the Friday morning departure-chaos was pretty minimal. Throughout the week the teamwork was a joy to behold -we even had some sort of magic on the first night as a completely blindfolded group managed to make a golf ball travel through our maze like it had some kind of homing device fitted! Not many lambs yet at the farm, but lots of really good questions that showed the children were really interested. Gorge walking was cold but taken in good spirits, canoeing was new for everybody but you wouldn’t think so for some in the end, and we all loved the cold crisp visit to the top of Twmpa. We also had snappy bushcraft sessions with really imaginative shelter designs, got to try a bit of climbing, walked in the dark, and had a go on the new low ropes course.
Thanks for a smashing week, surely this is a sign for the rest of this term!
Monteagle 2021
After 2 years away and in autumn for the first time, we welcomed Monteagle School back to Trewern last week. A week of climbing, bushcraft, mountain walks, tunnel challenge and gorge walking was enjoyed by all, with orienteering, night walk with star gazing and a candle challenge from the visiting staff (a new one for us, we may be nicking the idea…!) to occupy them in the evening. A fab week of the children working on independence, teamwork (especially with new people) and pushing their comfort zone. New friendships developed and everyone surprised themselves in some way with some fantastic memories to take with them. Great progress was made by all and the children can be proud of what they achieved together. Well done!
