Duke of Edinburgh
DofE Expeditions & Gold Residential
We run expeditions for Bronze, Silver and Gold participants plus Gold DofE Residentials. We are an Approved Activity Provider (AAP) and can put together a tailored package for your group. We have trained DofE supervisors and assessors and run courses not just in North Wales but Scotland, Lake District and abroad.
Gold Residential
for Gold DofE
Come and complete your Gold DofE Residential at Arete Outdoor Centre. We offer 5-day activity courses, where you can join other Gold participants for a week of fun. There are a three course options to choose from, as listed below. Each day we will be out around the Mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia) or on the coastline of Anglesey, making the most of the great venue options we have in North Wales.
Accommodation: All course options are fully catered and based in Arete Outdoor Centre, North Wales.
Cost: £310 per person
Dates: For all options;
- 30th October – 3rd November 2023
- 22nd-26th July 2024
- 29th July-2nd August 2024
- 19th-23rd August 2024
Sunday night arrival or Saturday morning departure possible at £15 extra per night.
Transport: Pickups and drop offs are available to and from Bangor train station. Car park available for those self driving.
Booking: Please contact us with your preferred dates and activity opt
Multi-Activity Week: Participate in popular activities such as coasteering, gorge scrambling, rock climbing and kayaking. Choose your preferred activities as the week progresses, with all the options we offer being a possibility.
Water Activity Week: Concentrate on all those activities that involve getting wet. Explore the coastline of Anglesey via coasteering or sea kayaking and rivers and gorges of Eryri (Snowdonia) on foot or in a boat. Great way of spending a summer week in North Wales
Rock Activity Week: Based either in the mountains or on the rock of North Wales. Land based to concentrate on rock climbing, scrambling and mountaineering.
There is also a 2 day multi pitch climbing option for an extra £120 per person. This is for those keen to pursue rock climbing, allowing longer and more committing routes to be climbed. There are many classic multi pitch routes around North Wales in the mountains or on the sea cliffs. why
“We run all our Gold DofE expeditions through Arete, and have done for many years. Some great kayaking assessments in Scotland, Sweeden, Croatia and Crete to name a few destinations.“
Royal Grammar School Worcester, June 2017
Canoe Expeditions
for Bronze, Silver & Gold DofE
We use two man open canoes which offer plenty of space to carry and transport kit while on expedition. Multi-day trips can be done down inland rivers and sheltered coastlines. For open canoes there can be up to 8, rather than the usual 7, per DofE team. We can supply boats, safety kit, tents, stoves and clothing.
We initially run canoe coaching and training days for the group to improve their boat handling skills. We make sure they have a mixture of British Canoe Union (BCU) two and three star skills so that they can safely and efficiently handle the canoes while on expedition. The number of extra training days will depend on the participants previous experience.
Bronze Canoe Expedition
At Bronze the expedition is over two days and one night. Venues in North Wales include the River Dee and Mawddach, Conwy or Drwyd Estuary with coastal sections. All of these provide varied and beautiful sections travelling out of the mountains and onto the sea.
Silver Canoe Expedition
The Silver expedition is over three days and two nights. The River Wye in South Wales provides an ideal multi-day river. There are various estuary’s in North Wales that can be combined with coastal sections too. There needs to be 7 hours of activity per day including project time for Silver expeditions. Being on water provides new opportunities for unique and interesting project topics.
Gold Canoe Expeditions
The Gold offers great opportunities to explore wilderness areas of the UK. The Gold DofE expedition is over four days with three nights. We often run the initial coaching and practice expedition around North Wales. The River Wye can be used for practice or assessment, with enough river for four days of paddling and plenty of camping options along its banks. For the Gold assessment, Scotland offers the best expedition opportunities. Rivers Tay or Spey are popular choices with wild camping options for both.
Sea Kayak Expeditions
for Bronze, Silver & Gold DofE
We have a fleet of sea kayaks, that are fast through the water and can hold plenty of kit. Depending on participants skills, we run initial training days to cover British Canoe Union (BCU) 2 star skills and rescue skills. As they develop sea awareness and boat handling skills they can become more independent on their assessment.
We can supply boats, safety kit, tents, stoves and clothing.
Bronze Sea Kayak Expedition
North Wales has many two day expedition options, the required length for Bronze. There are friendly and sheltered sections of coastline that allow for easy access to the water and campsite options for an overnight stay. Typical locations would be around Barmouth and Pwllheli.
Silver Sea Kayak Expedition
The Silver expedition is over three days, with the longer expedition allowing us to explore more varied coastline around North Wales. The south west or south east corners of Anglesey can be used or the sandy venues on the southern side of the Llyn peninsular.
Gold Sea Kayak Expedition
The Gold expedition is over four days and three nights. Over this period most of Anglesey can be circumnavigated, teaching the groups to calculate the tides around the island. The estuaries offer bad weather options with sheltered sections of coastline in the Menai Straits, south of the Llyn and Cymran Straits. The qualifying assessment expedition can be done in North Wales or Scotland. On the West Coast of Scotland there are many islands, open sea and lochs to explore. The Scottish terrain lends itself to wild camping with many remote and wilderness ares for a truly memorable trip.
Walking Expeditions
for Bronze, Silver & Gold DofE
We can train, supervise paractice and assess on their final expedition. We have camping and walking kit that can be supplied so all the teams are fully prepared.
Bronze DofE Expedition
The Bronze expedition is over two days and one night. We mainly use the lowland areas around Llyn Brenig, the Clwyd Hills or open land along the beautiful Anglesey coastline. These areas can be used for training, practice or assessment expeditions.
Our training uses ML qualified instructors to impart essential navigation skills, emergency procedures and camp craft. We allocate one instructor per group so that they receive specific training for their needs.
We monitor the groups closely when they are on their unsupervised expedition, while allowing them the feeling of independence.
Silver DofE Expedition
The walking expedition at Silver is over three days and two nights with 7 hours activity on each day. We have a variety of areas we use including the Conwy Valley, Northern foothills of Eryri (Snowdonia), Valley areas around Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park. All of these can be used for training, practices or qualifying expeditions.
We train groups up using ML qualified staff to be self sufficient in the hills and remoter terrain. We encourage them to explore the foothills around Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park, making sure they have all the skills to look after themselves in this terrain.
On assessment we supply our own assessors and can organise all the logistics for you.
Gold DofE Expedition
At Gold we encourage the groups to discover the mountain areas across Eryri (Snowdonia), possibly summiting some of the tops if they so wish, and the Rhinogs. The expeditions are over 4 days with 3 nights which includes 8 hours of activity time.
In the mountain terrain we make sure they have a higher level of navigation and understanding of the weather plus procedures should there be an emergency. It is also encouraged for the participants to experience wild camping, something they always keep treasured memories of. Our highly experienced and qualified instructors ensure they can look after themselves enabling a more enjoyable expedition.
Simple steps of how you can secure a date for your school on their next residential.
