Rock sports : Nationally qualified rock climbing tuition and instruction facilities for groups of novices & individuals in the Peak District National Park, Hope Valley, Derbyshire, England.

"To all the team at Rock Lea,

Thank you for a fantastic weekend

out rock climbing & abseiling.

We has a wonderful time & we can't

wait to come back again.

We'll be returning soon !

A very big thank you !

..... Lots of love from Marie & John H. "

............

All year round Peak Activities' SPSA & MIA & MIC* nationally qualified. AALA licensed climbing instructors can run safe half-day & full day, weekend and longer rock climbing tuition sessions for complete beginners & enthusiasts on the many famous & popular crags overlooking our base in Hathersage in the Peak National Park's lovely Hope Valley. ........ maps We can also run scrambling and abseiling sessions for individuals using our guiding services and for groups wanting activities for corporate entertainment or training and development programmes. Phone us on 01433-650345 to discuss your specific requirements. Click here to see the dates and prices of our weekends designed for complete beginners coming here on their own or with friends. BOOKING IS EASY - JUST CALL US ON 01433-650345 ! These really low cost , easy to book weekends are just for complete beginners wanting to learn to climb and abseil. We also have listed some special follow up events for people who want to do some harder climbs. Our latest "Open" event is our LEADING EDGE weekend for people who want to learn to lead their own climbs safely out of doors. We have been arranging corporate rock climbing events as part of training events, team builds and corporate hospitality functions for over 25 years - so please call us if you would like to include a session of abseiling or rock climbing as part of your next corporate event in Derbyshire, Snowdonia, the Lake District or in the Austrian Tyrol. We promise we won't let you down - well, except on the end of a safety rope ! OPEN COURSES - WEEKENDS LEARNING TO CLIMB & ABSEIL ( for INDIVIDUALS - COMPLETE NOVICES ) LEARN HOW TO LEAD SAFELY ON OUTDOOR ROCK - SPECIAL FOLLOW UP TRAINING WEEKEND.

SPA = single pitch award - supervisors rock climbing qualification. ( formerly the SPSA ) MIA = Mountaineering Instructors Association qualification. MIC = Mountaineering Instructors Certificate ( a high level award )

As featured on BBC and ITV television ! Rock climbing with Peak Activities is lots of fun... we have over 25 years experience ...it's very safe & it's an ideal way of keeping fit and having fun ! At our accessible base in the Peak District we offer events for individuals as well as private bookings for corporate training groups and corporate hospitality parties. We specialise in top quality sessions with plenty of qualified staff- ideal for mixed -age, mixed ability groups of first-time men & women ! No special fitness, no special equipment & no prior experience or equipment is needed to enjoy this popular & rapidly expanding sport activity. If you haven't tried it before - you'll be surprised how easy it is under the aegis of our friendly and very skilled mature instructors and instructresses. Peak Activities also offers some of our senior staff for private 1:1 and exclusive small group tuition sessions. Great for people who are shy - or those who have very specific training needs such as learning to lead safely or to help push your grades.

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You can choose to come on your own for 1:1 private guiding, join an "open course" or bring a group & have private, exclusive tuition sessions for your party. Climbing and abseiling is also used here as a popular vehicle for learning on various team-building and management process skills development courses. We also arrange first aid courses here and carefully managed & planned mountain rescue & first aid scenarios can be arranged at quiet local crags. All our climbing and other instructed activities - including our LEARNING TO LEAD weekends are fully insured. Our fleet of minibuses is used to take our customers up to the local crags - which are just five minutes' drive from our centre Rock Lea in the centre of Hathersage.

Photo: Tony Kendall - one of our company's directors instructing on an informal, fun multisports team building weekend we arranged staff from for W.S. Atkins Consultants. Easy rock climbing here is often combined with other activities such as mountain biking, treasure hunts, nordic walking, caving and orienteering to produce some really exciting and memorable weekends for our guests. Abseiling is another very popular activity run by our qualified tutors. Click to see a full list of all the activities offered by our sports division.

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BOOKING EVENTS WITH US IS REALLY EASY ! Full details of NOVICES' Introductory Climbing Weekends in the Peak District which are run here once every month and are open to any adults aged 18+. MORE ROCK CLIMBING INFORMATION, PHOTOS & LINKS...

Above : Rock climbers on part of Stanage Edge, the 5 km long huge Millstone Grit crag which overlooks our centre....( actually it's a crystalline massive felspathic sandstone...not a true grit ! )

Few centres in the UK have so much outstanding novice's rock climbing & scrambling routes right in view from their doorstep ! From our popular accessible base - Rock Lea in the village of Hathersage you can see the 5 km long crags of Stanage Edge (above), plus Millstone Edge, & Bole Hill Quarry. Nearby (5 mins drive) are Burbage Edge and Froggatt Edge. The rock here is classic Millstone Grit which makes this group of nearby crags a mecca for climbing enthusiasts from all over the world. There are loads of routes for beginners & advanced climbers alike. We also have Stoney Middleton's high crags nearby for Limestone epics and the swiss-cheese-like Magnesian Limestone just to the south of here can offer longer stay visitors even more variety & fun ! Below is what one of our corporate clients wrote after an evening session on the crags overlooking our base in hathersage where they were staying for a mini sales team conference. There were 16 in the party plus a team of five of own staff looking after them to make the most of the limited time they had to spend together : - " Hi Iain, It was excellent. When I stood back and watched even the people who were worried about trying the climbing there they were all enjoying it. I was also impressed with the number of routes you put up so we were all getting the most out of the session... As a field based group of people we have to be quite insular sometimes so its great to see them all working together like that. Thanks Sheldon Davies Customer Technical Support Manager Johnson & Johnson More thank you's from other happy customers Getting here is really easy from all parts of the UK and overseas.

MORE CLIMBING INFO, PHOTOS & LINKS...Go to our other climbing web page. In addition to the actual rock climbing there's a lot to learn and do when you're at the crags. For example, there are the safety ropes to hold for other people ( we'll teach you how to belay each other and keep a watchful eye on you ! ), plus tea to be poured, photographs to take and other people to encourage and talk to ! Giving help and encouragement is an important part of climbing when you're at the foot of the crag taking a break between rock climbs.

If you're out with us for several sessions, to avoid getting bored we can easily arrange other places to climb, other activities to do ( e.g. caving, abseiling, sailing, walks, high ropes challenges, orienteering, etc.)

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS & ANSWERS : ------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: What if I can't do it and get bored or look stupid ? A: Our non-macho staff carefully match customer's abilities with climbs which they should all be able to scramble up, - starting with v. easy stuff for novices - so this question really doesn't arise very often on the day. It's our job to see you succeeed and enjoy yourselves.

Q: What if it rains ? A: Our staff are happy to carry on if it rains whilst you're climbing ...or if you prefer we can return to Rock Lea (our base) and go and do something else...like a session of orienteering caving or mountain biking or abseiling. See also our page " what if it rains ? " Q: During 25 years of operations have you had any bad accidents or injuries rock climbing ? A: No - except from the odd broken finger nail or bruise ! Q: What if I fall off ? Will I hurt myself ? A: You'll be held safely by a reliable 11mm safety rope at all times. People don't fly through the air...they just feel themselves sitting onto the rope. Your weight is distributed against your safety harness's leg loops as well as around your waistband, so it's quite comfortable. The rope feels quite springy. Have a rest & then carry on climbing up or down your route or we can easily lower you off gently in complete control. Q: Are the staff qualified - and they very macho ?

The National Governing Body for Rock Climbing is the British Mountaineering Council. SPA = single pitch award - supervisors rock climbing qualification. MIA = Mountaineering Instructors Association qualification. MIC = Mountaineering Instructors Certificate ( a high level award ) The author of this web site wouldn't get into a plane flown by a cheap unqualified pilot - and neither would he expect you to trust yourselves to unqualified or inexperienced climbing or abseiling instructors ...even if it was a lot cheaper !

Q: Are there nice places to stay near your centre in Hathersage ? A: Yes..click here please to see more information about the local youth hostels, inns, camp sites, B&B's, camping barns, inns, farmhouses and conference centres which we can arrange for our customers to stay in when they are attending our centre's climbing courses & other events. Accommodation information Q: Is it easy to get to your base in the Peak District ? A: YES ( very ) just click here please for lots more information about getting quickly to Rock Lea in Hathersage by road or rail or to see location maps. Q: What about insurance ? A: Click here for insurance information. We carry £5 million Public and Third Party Liability Cover plus extensive Employer Liability Cover .... as good as it gets ! Q: You seem to be more expensive than some other firms. Why ? A: You tend to get what you pay for in life ! If you want the best staff and be a firm with an impressive 25 years track record for safety and service you have to pay the best wages and offer first class training. If you want to see what can happen when you employ staff who have shortcomings in, say, their communications or coaching skills click here.

Please click here to see more photographs of rock-climbing with Peak Activities during team builds, training programmes and corporate hospitality events. Check out details of a multisports holiday for individuals & multiactivity weekends which both include sessions of climbing....and abseiling. Check out our High ropes team challenge.