We take the safety and security of Cornel guests very seriously: however the site is not manned or supervised and YOU are responsible for the safety of your party.
When there are other guests on site, you MUST liaise with each other to ensure that you all enjoy the site safely.
Being in a mountain valley, Cornel can be subject to extremes of weather which are very different to the general forecast.
Weather in Snowdonia can change very quickly and you must prepare for the worst.
You should get a Mountain weather forecast for the area to help your planning.
Because there are no full-time wardens on site, all groups are responsible for providing their own First Aid equipment and having personnel and procedures to deal with accidents and incidents.
Please record any accidents in the Accident Books provided.
There are Defibrillators sited at the Lakeside Cafe and in Trefriw.
In the event of fire, because of our location, assistance from the emergency services will not be quick, so it is imperative that groups always ensure that they guard against fire and are prepared to keep their party safe.
Leaders MUST ensure that their party know what to do in the event of fire.
The House has a full fire alarm system.
The Annex has separate heat and smoke alarms which are interlinked upstairs/downstairs.
There is emergency equipment in all buildings and on the camp field when in use.
The Assembly point is at the lake end of the car park.
SMOKING IS NOT PERMITTED INSIDE THE BUILDINGS
For incidents that DO NOT require Ambulance support:
Doctor: Gwydir Surgery, School Bank Road, Llanrwst, LL26 0AR 01492 640411 (6 miles – 20 mins)
Hospitals: Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Rhuddlan, Bodelwyddan, LL18 5UJ
01745 583910 (17 miles – 50 mins)
Ysbyty Gwynedd, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, LL57 2PW
01248 384384 (22 miles – 1 hour)
Llandudno Minor Injuries Unit, Hospital Road, Llandudno, LL30 1LB
01492 860066 (14 miles – 40 mins Open 08.00 hrs-20.00 hrs)
Dentist: Llanrwst Dental Practice, Watling Street, Llanrwst
01492 641000 (6 miles 20 mins)
The house has a payphone which takes £1, 50p and 20p coins. The nearest public telephone box is in Trefriw.
The guests in the Annex and Camp Field are issued with keys to the Emergency telephone box outside the back door of the House – it is limited to make only 999 calls.
There is almost NO mobile phone signal in the valley, however there is WiFi available in the buildings at the Centre. Mobile coverage improves once down in Trefriw.
Each organisation should have its own Child Protection procedures in place and the Leader is responsible for ensuring compliance with these.
ALL adults (over 18 years of age) must hold a current DBS Certificate (the only exception to this is when all adult parties have booked the WHOLE SITE).
Wardens and members of the management team often visit Cornel.
The team always carry photographic ID and are DBS checked by The Scout Association. They have Master keys and may need access to the parts of the site you are occupying.
If you are still unsure about anyone, then telephone one of the Warden team for verification – their numbers are above the telephone in the main house.
Whilst there should be no farm animals immediately around the buildings or on the camp field during the camping season, there are often sheep or cattle grazing behind the fences in the marsh. These animals should always be left alone. To avoid stomach upsets or more seriously E.coli, it’s particularly important for campers to wash hands before eating to avoid contamination from animal faeces. Most organisations, including Scouting, provide specific guidance for this.
Cornel land is not part of the designated ‘open access land’ and there are NO public footpaths across the site.
The public therefore have no right to enter the site; always keeping the driveway gate shut will help to keep strangers and stray animals out.
Like much of the British countryside, ticks, horseflies and midges are common on the site. Suitable precautions should be taken to avoid being bitten by ticks since their bite can result in Lyme disease which can be serious without medical intervention.
Guidance is provided to guests.
Guests are NOT permitted to bring pets to Cornel (recognised assistance dogs are allowed).
Please ensure that vehicle movement around the site is restricted and completed in a careful manner to avoid hurting other guests or damaging property. Be mindful that many young people are not aware of the dangers posed by moving vehicles. In locations where movement is restricted by other vehicles or site features, eg. the house gateway, then it is always wise to be guided by someone outside the vehicle.
Please park sensibly leaving access for emergency and delivery vehicles.
When multiple groups or lots of vehicles are on site, please coordinate with each other to ensure vehicles can be moved quickly if required.
We regret that caravans and motorhomes/campers are NOT permitted at Cornel.
Conwy Council DO NOT collect waste OR recycling from the site.
Cornel has waste and recycling facilities at Gymanog Farm approximately 4km down the road towards Trefriw. Cans, glass and plastic bottles/trays should all be recycled there.
Anything that can’t be recycled should be packed into black plastic bags & placed in the large refuse bin.
PLEASE NO LOOSE WASTE IS TO BE PLACED IN THE REFUSE BIN.
Please leave the site in a state fit for the next guests – since our volunteers DO NOT clean or visit between guests. Whilst there is a vacuum cleaner in the House and brushes/mops/buckets in the House, Annex and Campblock , you will need your own cleaning cloths and products.
You will be issued with a ‘Site Leaving Checklist’ to assist you.
After your balance payment is made, you will be issued with a code and your keys can be obtained from the Keysafe on site as detailed in your instructions. Keys should be returned to the Keysafe at the end of your visit.
The site is near the end of a three-mile road West from the village of Trefriw.
If approaching from Betws y Coed or Llanrwst, turn left immediately after the bridge in Trefriw and stay on the road leading to Llyn Crafnant. The road is extremely steep for the first part in the village but then winds through farms and woodland, climbing steadily until you reach Llyn Crafnant. The road continues alongside the lake until you pass the café and then a small converted chapel – Cornel is then 50m on the right, down through a metal gate with our red sign.
The road is narrow and winding, suitable for vehicles up to small/medium vans and mini-buses but does require users to be able to reverse if necessary to allow oncoming traffic to pass.
THE ROAD IS NOT SUITABLE FOR COACHES OR CARAVANS.
NOT FOR BOOKINGS OR FOR COMMUNICATING WITH US
Cornel Scout Centre, Crafnant Road, Trefriw, Conwy LL27 0JZ
House Telephone: 01492 640429
Maps: Ordnance Survey Explorer OL17 or Landranger 115
Grid reference: SH 748 605
what3words folds/houseboat/camped
Here are a few simple ways that you, other guests and our neighbours can continue to enjoy this wonderful valley.
We share the valley with neighbours who live here all year. Additionally, lots of people visit Crafnant because of its beauty, remoteness and peace.
PLEASE be considerate – noise travels, so NO radios/music/unnecessary noise etc. For this reason, drones are also discouraged.
After 22.30 hrs, leaders are requested to ensure activities are organised quietly.
Generators are NOT permitted at Cornel.
There are fridges and freezers in the House/Annex and Camp Block. When there are multiple groups camping, it will be necessary for campers to liaise over use of these shared facilities.
There are Private properties at Pen y Llyn (behind the single rail wooden fence in the Camping field), Capel Carmel (on the roadside just before Cornel) and at Y Chwarel (directly across the road in front of the House).
PLEASE DO NOT disturb them OR enter their land for any purpose – just as you wouldn’t enter your neighbour’s garden at home.
DO NOT try to use the gate to Pen y Llyn to enter or exit the Camping field
YOU MUST NOT gather wood from their property or fences.
Cornel has 25 acres of land and almost all is a SSSI. The main area of interest is the marsh which contains many rare plants.
If you wish to enter this area, please use the stile & DO NOT climb the fence or locked gate and DO NOTintentionally damage plants or disturb animals.
Camp and cooking fires are part of camping and are encouraged. Fires are only permitted on the four stone fire platforms in the camp field and in the stone circle on the lake side of the house.
Wood is in short supply locally. DO NOT cut any live timber, either on the site or in surrounding woodlands. There may be some limited supplies available from pruning operations, but to ensure firewood supplies are adequate it would be wise to bring it yourself.
There is a store of pioneering poles near the camp block. We do not reserve these for groups or provide lashing ropes. Please liaise with other users if you wish to use them and replace on the rack after use.
PLEASE DO NOT CUT OR BURN THESE POLES, PLEASE ADVISE US IF YOU FIND ANY DAMAGED
Some groups like to build dams from stones in the stream that runs at the West of the camp field. This is a fun activity, but please remove them afterwards – if we have heavy rain they do direct water across the camp field which floods the site and makes it very muddy.
Cornel lies in Terrain Zero (Scouts) as does all the ground to the South and East towards Betws y Coed and Llanrwst. Activities in Terrain Zero (see POR 9.26) do not require a mountain authorisation.
The mountains of the Carneddau to the West and North can be serious undertakings and require the appropriate authorisations.
The rock in the valley is loose and not used by climbers.
There are abandoned mines in Snowdonia but they are not open to the public unless as a visitor attraction.
Llyn Crafnant is NOT available for water activities, it is a fishing lake.
Llyn Geirionydd is open for water activities, access by road is from Trefriw along very narrow roads. A small number of motor boats are permitted to use the Eastern part of Llyn Geirionydd but they are not permitted to use the Western end; the boundary is marked by buoys.
The lakes to the North of the Crafnant Valley: Cowlyd and Eigiau supply the power station at Dolgarrog and boating/swimming are not permitted.
Snowdonia is increasingly becoming an area famed for its outdoor attractions, we suggest you look at www.visitsnowdonia.info as part of your planning. There are a variety of commercial activity providers in the area and there are leaflets on display in the Centre.
Co-op Llanrwst 07.00-22.00 Monday-Saturday; 10.00-16.00 Sunday
Spar Llanrwst 06.30-22.00 open 7 days
Tesco Llandudno Junction 06.00-24.00 Monday-Saturday; 10.00-16.00 Sunday
Lidl Llandudno Junction 08.00-22.00 Monday-Saturday; 10.00-16.00 Sunday
Asda Llandudno 07.00-22.00 Monday-Saturday; 10.00-16.00 Sunday
In the past both Tesco and Asda have made deliveries to site after on-line ordering.
Cornel has attractive cloth badges that can be purchased as a keepsake for your party. These cost £1.50 each and can be ordered when booking and will be posted to you. Wardens hold some stock for purchase too, however you may not see them while you’re on site.
Explorer Scouts, Network members and Leaders are always welcome to join the Service Team that maintain and improve this wonderful centre. This is great fun and an opportunity to learn new skills which can be used towards Scouting and Duke of Edinburgh awards. We meet 4 weekends and 2 weeks each year and team members choose when they want to attend.
If you’re interested, please use the ‘Contact Us’ link or email bookings@cornel-scouts.org.uk
Cornel is available to Scouts, Guides, youth groups, schools/education organisations and companies.
It is not available for private bookings, nor are we allowed to have caravans, trailer tents or motorhomes.
The Camping field is available between Easter and end of September each year.
The complete Centre is closed over the Christmas & New Year holiday period.
We have a limit on the total number of persons at the centre at any one time, so as not to overstretch resources, this is normally 60 people. If you have special needs you would like to discuss, please email.
To find out if we have availability you should use the form on the Home page OR email bookings@cornel-scouts.org.uk
Please provide the following initial information:
Once availability is confirmed we will email you a Scout or Non-Scout booking form to complete.
See our PRICING page
Please note :
All booking communications are managed by email only.
DO NOT use the Cornel House address for posting any bookings or payments.
If there is anything else we can help with, please don’t hesitate to email.