What are the minimum qualifications needed to be a Walk Leaders

Q. Hello,

Could you please tell what qualifications as a minimum is required to take young people 16-19 on day hikes.

The group would be about 20/25 young people. The distance about 20 miles, there would be other adults present.

Samsudin Abdulhusein, Sheffield

A. Probably the Walking Group Leader course, this enables you to lead to a height of 600m and no point any further than 1.5mls from a main road. (There are not many places in England where this criteria is not satisfied.)

These courses can be sourced at the Plas-y-brenin centre in N. Wales, they may be done elsewhere, but that's where I took mine 10yrs ago.

The courses are not cheap £350, including 5 nights accommodation,with, as you can imagine, map reading skills both day and night being the main subjects covered, and then if successful, a further cost of £350 to take the First Aid course. This is done over a week and includes accommodation. Then and only then can you apply to the Mountain Leadership Board for your ticket.

So you can see it's not cheap but the courses are excellently run by the team there. If you feel the need to avoid possible litigation and maybe "hire yourself out" then this ticket is the minimum expected of a Group leader. Schools, Scout groups, etc. should demand this as an absolute priority.

If you want to lead higher than 600m, then the Mountain group leader is for you. Much harder to pass and more expensive.

It could help if an organisation like a School or Scout group could offer you some sort of sponsorship. When I was there several of the group worked for their local authority as voluntary Social Group leaders and had the fees paid. Maybe this could be done by yourself, try it, put some feelers out with your local councillors etc. you could get lucky.

Try ringing Plas-y-brenin and have a chat.

Cheers, Joe

PS.Let me know how you get on

Joe Lyman, Featherstone West Yorks

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