Brynbach was a National Campsite of the

Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was for ...

, situated near Saron in

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

. The 200-acre site had its heyday between the 1930s and the late 1950s. It had naturalistic wooden entrance gates designed by

Lord Baden Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the worl ...

, the founder of

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

. The camp had a summer-house (later moved to

Gilwell Park Gilwell Park is a camp site and activity centre in East London located in the Sewardstonebury area of Waltham Abbey, within Epping Forest, near the border with Chingford. The site is owned by The Scout Association, is used by Scouting and Gu ...

), a deep boating lake, and a

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

-filled swimming pool. An outline of the ''

Fleur de Lys The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

'', the Scouting emblem, was created by planting

Golden Larch ''Pseudolarix amabilis'' is a species of coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. The species is commonly known as golden larch, but being more closely related to ''Keteleeria'', ''Abies'' and ''Cedrus'', is not a true larch (''Larix''). ''P ...

trees in the surrounding woods.

Demise

The original owner of Brynbach camp died in the early 1960s. Although the continued use of the camp by the

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

Scouting Association was a provision in her will, her beneficiaries withdrew from that agreement. Occasional troops were permitted to use the site but access was strictly limited. The last camps were held in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

References

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External links

Boy Scouts Camp in 193016th Royal Eltham Scout Troop at Brynbach Scout Camp August 1936Brynbach Boy Scouts Camp c.19381946 Cheshire Rally at Brynbach
with Chief Scout Lord Rowallan in attendance
Brynbach's Swimming Pool
Campsites of The Scout Association Buildings and structures in Denbighshire