Representing providers of Outdoor Adventurous Activities in South Wales and the Brecon Beacons
Following its earlier “Post Covid-19 Recovery Plan for the Outdoor Sector in Wales“, the Outdoor Alliance Wales (led largely by WATO Members with contributions from SWOAPG) has now produced: The aim of this new document, which has been designed specifically for use by Outdoor Activity Providers, is to provide an ‘at a glance’ guide to … Read more
Regrettably, we have taken the decision to postpone the ‘Caving and Covid’ workshop scheduled for 1 Oct, partly to avoid people having to travel from locked-down areas and partly because we still do not understand how Covid-19 behaves in the cave environment. Apologies to those who were hoping to attend. We intend to reschedule this … Read more
I noticed in passing yesterday that the Cwm Llwch car park is closed “until further notice”, so any groups planning to access Pen y Fan from there will need to find alternatives (e.g the National Trust car park at Cwm Gwdi or the farmer’s field at Cwmcynwyn, both of which are open at present).
We have received the following message from Natural Resources Wales: “In line with new Covid 19 local lockdown restrictions affecting Rhondda Cynon Taff, and bridge maintenance works scheduled to start on 28 September, Dinas Rock car park will be closed to vehicles for the foreseeable future, starting from 24th September”. Any groups using the Sychryd … Read more
The local lockdowns announced recently in Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Merthyr, Newport and Rhondda Cynon Taff will all affect outdoor activity to some extent, since the general guidance for visitors is that “you can drive through these Counties without stopping but cannot visit them without reasonable excuse”. Our understanding is that no-one may visit these … Read more
We have received the following update from Powys County Council: Powys County Council have now appointed a contractor (Kaymac) who will undertake a portion of the works at Dinas Bridge, Pontneddfechan. Our intention now is to undertake only the Emergency works rather than including the less urgent parapet repairs. The works will begin on the … Read more
The lockdown in RCT that takes effect from 6pm on Thu 17 Sep will affect outdoor activity taking place in the County, including Dinas Rock and Sychryd Gorge (which are both entirely within the County); the River Hepste (inc. Sgwd yr Eira) and the Mellte Gorge south of the Hepste confluence (since both rivers form … Read more
Bookings are now open – with ‘Early Bird’ discounts for SWOAPG Members – for: Gorge-Walking and Covid-19: A Practical Workshop for Providers and Instructors to Share Good Practice, Tue 15 Sep 1-4pm at Dinas Rock – £10 for one person per business / organisation if booked by midday Mon 14 Sep (£20 each for additional … Read more
Our online workshop last week, for Providers and Instructors to Share Good Practice around operating with Covid-19 precautions, was well-attended and generated some useful discussion and ideas, including: Clients are often very relaxed about Covid, so we need to remind them that others (including the public & other groups) might not be so relaxed Younger … Read more
Attending SWOAPG workshops can form a valuable part of instructors’ ongoing personal and professional development. We will now be issuing formal Certificates of Attendance for all our online and practical workshops, so you can use them as evidence in your CPD portfolios.
SWOAPG wants you to contact us whenever you need to! However, our Coordinator only works part-time for around 4 hours a week (although he has been donating a lot of extra time during the Covid crisis!) – and every enquiry he deals with costs approx. 10% of one annual Membership fee. So if you do … Read more