The Accommodation Base & Facilities

Both the training & assessment courses take place over 5/6 day periods and  will operate from a base in The Lake District. For this year the base all courses bar two will be Holly How YHA in Coniston.

YHA Coniston Holly How is a large Victorian slate country house, dating from the 1870s. It was built using slate from nearby Bannishead Quarry, just off the Walna Scar pass. The house was later extended to provide five bedrooms, a drawing room, dining room and library. The building is now a Visit Britain three-star 60-bed youth hostel run by YHA England & Wales Ltd., offering comfortable and reasonably priced accommodation and locally sourced food and drink.

Most guests choose Holly How as a base to climb Coniston Old Man or Wetherlam, or perhaps to climb on Dow Crag, or to explore further afield towards Langdale and the Central Fells. Other activities include watersports on Coniston Water and mountain biking on Walna Scar or Grizedale Forest. 

It has the benefit of being on the doorstep of the Coniston fells and therefore we are able to maximise training and assessment time. Less time spent in minibuses!! It has a number of dormitories and showering facilities, an efficient drying room, dining room, lounge/lecture room with an open fire and a games room/lectureroom. 

All courses, wherever the location include accommodation and all food. Courses based at Holly How provide all meals including breakfast, lunch and a three course evening meal. On courses away from Holly How external caterers will provide an evening meal on each of the evenings we are based in accommodation and a variety of options will also be provided for "help-yourself" breakfasts and packed lunches.

Please note that the full board facilities only coverYHA/other accommodation based training/assessment days. Course participants are required to provide for their own feeding arrangements when on overnight camps. This applies for one overnight on the training course & two overnights on the assessment course.

Comments from students on courses at Holly How 

• YHA Holly How a perfect venue. Phil and Chris do a superb job with the food
• Amazing food provided all week - great to have at the end of a hard day + good breakfasts to set us up for day ahead - couldn't have been better really.
• Really good. Catered extremely well for vegetarians
• Fantastic food! more than enough.
• Holly How very good location and grub top!