- Ogwen Cottage
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Ogwen Cottage Outdoor Pursuits Centre is part of Birmingham City Council's Outdoor Learning Service. It provides outdoor education and has links to the climbing community.
Ogwen Cottage from across Llyn Ogwen
View of Pen yr Ole Wen with Ogwen Cottage at the bottom coming down from Cmw Idwal
Ogwen Cottage from Bethesda with Tryfan in the background c1920
Ogwen Cottage from Bethesda with Tryfan in the background c2005Contents
Thomas Telford
Located on the London to Holyhead A5 road (Great Britain), Ogwen developed as a stage coach inn and the present stores building was once stabling for horses. The nearby Tin Can Alley was a source of honing stones used to sharpen tools during the construction of the A5 by Thomas Telford. This mammoth project started in 1815 and it was 1836 by the time the first mail coach crossed the Menai Straits via Telford’s innovative bridge. Telford designed the distinctive milestones and the hexagonal toll houses every five miles. Toll houses survive in Capel Curig and Bethesda, Wales whilst in the middle stands Ogwen.
Climbers
Situated beside Llyn Ogwen, the centre is informally referred to as “The Cott” and has been used as a base for climbers since the nineteenth century. During the 1890s climbers stayed at Ogwen or the Pen-y-Gwryd and early accounts make mention of Mrs Jones of Ogwen Cottage; “ Mrs Jones at Ogwen Cottage always most good naturedly received and fed us if we turned up, no matter at what hour.”
In 1895 Archer Thompson ascended The Devil’s Kitchen, climbing the ice with an unusual tool; “According to tradition Thor was armed with a hammer for his battle with the Frost Giants, and with such a weapon, we too, were luckily provided in the form of a hatchet, surreptitiously removed from Mrs Jones’ coal cellar at Ogwen.”
The 1894 Climbers’ Club Journal contained an advert for The Cott citing it as “the chief centre for climbers visiting Snowdonia….the cottage is on the high road and conveyances meet visitors at Bethesda Station if so desired.”
Geoffrey Winthrop Young, a noted alpinist with many first ascents to his credit, stayed at Ogwen in between visits to the Alps in the early 1900s.
Mountaineering School
1956 saw Ron James, Trevor Jones and Tony Mason-Hornby purchasing The Cott from Mrs Williams and opening it as a dedicated mountaineering school. By this stage Ogwen was a well known climbing base and Mrs Williams gave the new owners some advice on mounting rescues; ”Fire a red flare in the car park – get the climbers together and put the one with the cleanest boots in charge.”
With increasing leisure time and improved transport links, Ogwen grew as a climbing mecca and The Cott's instructors regularly became involved in rescuing climbers in trouble and gradually a specialist mountain rescue team evolved into what is now the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation.
Birmingham City Council
Ron James remained chief instructor for another 5 years after Birmingham City Council purchased The Cott in 1964.
Over the next 45 years thousands of Brummies were introduced to all that Ogwen could offer. Until the 1980s courses were for a fortnight but economic considerations and the need to take more students meant a reduction to six days.
The early years saw a very traditional mountain centre. Students lit coal fires for warmth and icy water was taken from the stream in harsh winters when pipes froze. The staff room was full off the instructors smoking pipes, their dogs curled up at their feet.
Nowadays everything is ruled by stringent health and safety considerations, so no smoking or dogs. The Adventurous Activities Licensing Service (AALLS) pays regular visits and while the activities may not be as extreme as they once were, Ogwen is probably the only centre in the UK to regularly programme multi pitch climbing for secondary school students.
Activities
The traditional core of mountaineering activities remains with an emphasis on mountain walking and climbing but the programme has expanded to include kayaking, gorge walking, canoeing, ski trips, orienteering, expeditions. The centre has developed to make the most of its unique location and where possible local venues are used. So a student might ascend Hope on the Idwal Slabs as their first ever climb, before descending Suicide Wall by abseil. An evening of orienteering and then the next day might see a kayak descent of the Afon Llugwy or a walk up Tryfan.
Although the activities may appear daunting to the students, all the challenges are designed to be achievable and students leave with a new belief in themselves.
Residential experience
The Cott is open all the year and as with many centres it is seeking to diversify to survive the post-2008 financial climate. It now offers self catering bunkhouse style accommodation and runs National Governing Body Awards and adventure courses for adults.
Much emphasis is placed on the residential experience and educating the whole student as a stark contrast to the exam driven, results centred ethos of today’s schools. Students look after themselves, help serve meals, wash and tidy up. This team work and an emphasis that with rights come responsibilities helps prepare students for the real world outside of school. Such core values tie in with national Every Child Matters and SEAL Agendas and mean that the Ogwen experience is as relevant now as it was in the 1950s.
Mountain Leader Trainees from Ogwen Cottage
A Birmingham School group on a Sea Level Traverse on Anglesey
Current Principal (2010) Stan Lowe above Ogwen
A student from Ogwen Cottage on kayaking activity dayExternal links
Categories:- Buildings and structures in Gwynedd
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