Opening Times

Open all year for educational visits, between 9.30am and 5pm. Visits must be pre-booked with the Environmental Education Ranger. The Visitor Centre is open to the public from mid-March until early November from 10am until 5.30pm.

What makes this a great venue for School group Fun or Educational Visits?

The Elan Valley Estate comprises over 70 square miles of spectacular scenery including woodland, moorland, rivers and dams and reservoirs, which have been used as a water supply for the last century. We were the first place in Wales to be awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge, in February 2009. All visits are free of charge!

What are the Curriculum Topics or Benefit to the students from a visit?

All of the activities have been designed with the aim of fulfilling National Curriculum requirements and allow pupils to experience, investigate and discover in a practical hands-on way.

What are the activities?

Activities are led by a full-time Environmental Education Ranger and could include pond dipping, minibeast hunts, river studies, looking at the dams and reservoirs (with a chance to visit inside a dam!) or quizzes at the Visitor Centre.The large Visitor Centre is open all year for pre-booked school groups, with an exhibition hall containing information about the history of the building of the dams, water supply and natural history. Other activities can be designed on request.

What is the age range of the activities?

it depends on the activities chosen, we receive around 100 visits a year from Nursery/Reception age children right up to University groups.

Sample programme of the activities:

www.elanvalley.org.uk/userfiles/docs/education-programmes-2010.pdf

Other programmes can be designed on request.

What materials to you provide or suggest groups bring to support the visit?

All equipment will be provided (clipboards, pond nets, identification guides, worksheets, etc)

What are the minimum and maximum group sizes and the free Teacher Ratio?

It depends on the activity, for some activities it is 1:8 and for some it is 1:10. Please enquire when booking about maximum group sizes as it varies according to the activity chosen.

Do you have or how do you arrange risk assessment?

Risk assessments are available for all activities, these are regularly reviewed and available on request. We also have a Health and Safety document titled 'Safety Information for Educational Groups' which is downloadable.

Do you offer Teacher familiarisation days?

Teacher previsits are welcomed.

What facilities are there for school groups for food and drink, shop etc?

The Visitor Centre shop is open all year for pre-booked educational parties, with a maximum of 15 pupils allowed in the shop at any one time. The cafe facilities are available during the times the Visitor Centre is open to the public (mid-March until early November) and educational parties must book beforehand if they wish to use the cafe.

Is specific clothing required?

Warm and waterproof clothing is essential as most activities take place outside. Sunhat, sun protection and insect repellent may be needed on summer days. Trousers should be worn rather than shorts or skirts.

Do you have first aid on site?

All Ranger staff are First Aid trained and carry First Aid kits with them when leading an educational visit. First Aid kits are also located at the Visitor Centre.

Additional information.

All educational visits are free of charge!