...News... http://www.iain.co.uk/fixtures.htm
Rock Lea Activity Centre News
Visitors from as far afield as Sheffield and Switzerland come to Hathersage to enjoy getting fresh air into their lungs ! Message from our Centre Manager... Iain Jennings NAVIGATING A PATHWAY OF HOPE THROUGH THE CREDIT CRUNCH'S SEA OF DESPAIR.... ... some thoughts from Iain Well, Spring has sprung and we're now looking forward to the 22nd summer season here at Rock Lea. In company with so many other small firms, we're a little unsure about how quickly the economy is going to take to pick up again... especially when the IMF and governments figures after the budget had so much variance. They say that " when the going gets tough, the tough get going" - so here at Rock Lea we're trying to view the muddy unclear waters of the recession as a problem-solving task or strategic evaluation exercise that some teams will cope with better than others ! We trust our team can come out of the recession with our heads above water ! Traditionally "training" is one of the very first areas to be affected in many companies when there's an economic downturn. It is an easy target and unless senior staff are totally committed to the development of their people, poor old training takes a direct hit in most opening salvos aimed at costs cutting. Even our politicians play the same game - so there will be lots of disappointed people who can't get into university next year one suspects. We know too that recruitment of apprentices and their retention is worryingly low this year. It is debatable whether dropping investments in training is such a clever thing when it is clear that skilled staff will be needed to get out of any global recession and get companies back up to speed again ...but in the battle between short term cash flow expediency and long term needs, cash flow is often favoured over the longer term view because survival depends in the short term on cash flow being tightly and properly managed. We know that first hand. Hopefully, because we know too that many of the management tips we teach people actually do work - then we should be laughing ( or at least coping ) if we can all just practise what we teach - with good leadership, teamwork, creativity, good decision-making, good communications and a passion for customer care and safety which are all part and parcel of perceived good value for money ! It's at time like these I like to dust down our aims and objectives... "to have fun and make some money" and " to be viewed by our customers and potential clients as a safe, reliable and good value for money small centre" and "Through the excellence of our people, products and service levels to be seen as a leading provider in our field" are phrases from our mission statements over two decades ago which seem robust enough to stand up well even today. Well, that's the theory - we should be working effectively together anyway ! A positive attitude and keeping calm seem to be key requirements to surviving this credit crunch...as does having the ability to see what you can affect and influence and those things which are way beyond our influence...like the size of my last gas bill or the devastating impact of the Euro and the Pound approaching parity which has hit hard anybody wanting to go skiing to say, Austria this year ! Our weddings business in Austria was badly hit this year by the exchange rate being so hostile for UK couples...although unlike training which has been very badly hit, at least people are getting married still ! Running one lot of jolly stag groups after another has helped keep up all our spirits over the winter... so thank goodness folks are still wanting hen and stag weekends. We also feel that keeping everyone informed of what's happening in an open and honest way is a key requirement for success when times are tough...and we have greatly valued those clients who have come to us this year who have said things are on ice for at least two quarters and are likely to be booked for the end of the year with us if we don't charge them too much ! That at least saves us the energy of futilely chasing non- feasible bookings and has allowed us to do at least a litle more forward planning. Clients who are placing bureau orders or call off contracts on that sort of basis are keeping their options wide open and are also getting very good prices for events booked for start dates before next Christmas. Life seems to be a series of hurdles which we all have to learn to enjoy climbing or jumping over and it's how we face up to different hurdles that's defining peoples' attitudes and moods right now. Hopefully in years to come we will look back on current times and say we had some problems back then but overcame them better than we'd initially imagined by being constructive and upbeat. It's not that long ago we were picking our brains here thinking how can we run an outdoor centre in the UK when the whole countryside was closed up because of Foot & Mouth Disease restrictions ? The end was nowhere in sight for a long time and it felt a bit like being at war...The answer to the F&M Challenge was not immediately obvious for us - but it involved a temporary office move and doing consultancy work abroad. However, at the end of that year we finished up nonetheless with record sales increased profits and some nice memories of working in Switzerland for kind clients who looked after us - especially Bill Roberts et alia. over in Geneva. You really do find out who your true friends are when times are hard ! Open Weekend Beginners' Caving Group Safety Briefing at Rock Lea So, if corporate events are being affected by cut backs what is happening at Rock Lea right now ? Well, very fortunately not all our customers are cutting back on their training - but most are looking to get the most from what training budgets and time slots they feel they can afford... and this means our team is looking hard to see ways and means of working more efficiently than our competitors and we are looking at ways of keeping down costs so that events can still go ahead for corporate clients. If you are looking for a great bargain which won't break the bank - now really is the perfect time to be booking group and individual events with us if you can afford it. You'll be warmly welcomed and you should be in line for some generous offers. Our friends and suppliers such as The Kenwood Hall, for example, are currently offering our customers some great exclusive deals. We can arrange Bed & Breakfast rates in an executive 4 star hotel room at the Kenwood Hall ( complete with gymn and a swimming pool ) for just £79 mid week and for as little as £69 per person for Friday to Sunday stays. Two or three years ago clients staying at the Kenwood Hall would be paying £150 each per overnight stay....so we feel we are offering our customers some really good reliable deals at the moment. Click for a pdf file on the services offered by the Kenwood Hall Click for pdf file on what sort of outdoor activities we can offer Kenwood Hall's visitors. Some of the stag groups we have been looking after recently have been staying at places such as the Kenwood Hall at very low prices. This is how I see we can work smartly during what is a recession to actually improve our brand and our reputation for offering good deals. However, it requires close working relationship with partner organisations and we're lucky we've built up such good offices over the years.
Visitors from as far afield as Sheffield and Switzerland come to Hathersage to enjoy getting fresh air into their lungs ! Message from our Centre Manager...
Iain Jennings NAVIGATING A PATHWAY OF HOPE THROUGH THE CREDIT CRUNCH'S SEA OF DESPAIR.... ... some thoughts from Iain Well, Spring has sprung and we're now looking forward to the 22nd summer season here at Rock Lea. In company with so many other small firms, we're a little unsure about how quickly the economy is going to take to pick up again... especially when the IMF and governments figures after the budget had so much variance. They say that " when the going gets tough, the tough get going" - so here at Rock Lea we're trying to view the muddy unclear waters of the recession as a problem-solving task or strategic evaluation exercise that some teams will cope with better than others ! We trust our team can come out of the recession with our heads above water ! Traditionally "training" is one of the very first areas to be affected in many companies when there's an economic downturn. It is an easy target and unless senior staff are totally committed to the development of their people, poor old training takes a direct hit in most opening salvos aimed at costs cutting. Even our politicians play the same game - so there will be lots of disappointed people who can't get into university next year one suspects. We know too that recruitment of apprentices and their retention is worryingly low this year. It is debatable whether dropping investments in training is such a clever thing when it is clear that skilled staff will be needed to get out of any global recession and get companies back up to speed again ...but in the battle between short term cash flow expediency and long term needs, cash flow is often favoured over the longer term view because survival depends in the short term on cash flow being tightly and properly managed. We know that first hand. Hopefully, because we know too that many of the management tips we teach people actually do work - then we should be laughing ( or at least coping ) if we can all just practise what we teach - with good leadership, teamwork, creativity, good decision-making, good communications and a passion for customer care and safety which are all part and parcel of perceived good value for money ! It's at time like these I like to dust down our aims and objectives... "to have fun and make some money" and " to be viewed by our customers and potential clients as a safe, reliable and good value for money small centre" and "Through the excellence of our people, products and service levels to be seen as a leading provider in our field" are phrases from our mission statements over two decades ago which seem robust enough to stand up well even today. Well, that's the theory - we should be working effectively together anyway ! A positive attitude and keeping calm seem to be key requirements to surviving this credit crunch...as does having the ability to see what you can affect and influence and those things which are way beyond our influence...like the size of my last gas bill or the devastating impact of the Euro and the Pound approaching parity which has hit hard anybody wanting to go skiing to say, Austria this year ! Our weddings business in Austria was badly hit this year by the exchange rate being so hostile for UK couples...although unlike training which has been very badly hit, at least people are getting married still ! Running one lot of jolly stag groups after another has helped keep up all our spirits over the winter... so thank goodness folks are still wanting hen and stag weekends. We also feel that keeping everyone informed of what's happening in an open and honest way is a key requirement for success when times are tough...and we have greatly valued those clients who have come to us this year who have said things are on ice for at least two quarters and are likely to be booked for the end of the year with us if we don't charge them too much ! That at least saves us the energy of futilely chasing non- feasible bookings and has allowed us to do at least a litle more forward planning. Clients who are placing bureau orders or call off contracts on that sort of basis are keeping their options wide open and are also getting very good prices for events booked for start dates before next Christmas. Life seems to be a series of hurdles which we all have to learn to enjoy climbing or jumping over and it's how we face up to different hurdles that's defining peoples' attitudes and moods right now. Hopefully in years to come we will look back on current times and say we had some problems back then but overcame them better than we'd initially imagined by being constructive and upbeat. It's not that long ago we were picking our brains here thinking how can we run an outdoor centre in the UK when the whole countryside was closed up because of Foot & Mouth Disease restrictions ? The end was nowhere in sight for a long time and it felt a bit like being at war...The answer to the F&M Challenge was not immediately obvious for us - but it involved a temporary office move and doing consultancy work abroad. However, at the end of that year we finished up nonetheless with record sales increased profits and some nice memories of working in Switzerland for kind clients who looked after us - especially Bill Roberts et alia. over in Geneva. You really do find out who your true friends are when times are hard ! Open Weekend Beginners' Caving Group Safety Briefing at Rock Lea So, if corporate events are being affected by cut backs what is happening at Rock Lea right now ? Well, very fortunately not all our customers are cutting back on their training - but most are looking to get the most from what training budgets and time slots they feel they can afford... and this means our team is looking hard to see ways and means of working more efficiently than our competitors and we are looking at ways of keeping down costs so that events can still go ahead for corporate clients. If you are looking for a great bargain which won't break the bank - now really is the perfect time to be booking group and individual events with us if you can afford it. You'll be warmly welcomed and you should be in line for some generous offers. Our friends and suppliers such as The Kenwood Hall, for example, are currently offering our customers some great exclusive deals. We can arrange Bed & Breakfast rates in an executive 4 star hotel room at the Kenwood Hall ( complete with gymn and a swimming pool ) for just £79 mid week and for as little as £69 per person for Friday to Sunday stays. Two or three years ago clients staying at the Kenwood Hall would be paying £150 each per overnight stay....so we feel we are offering our customers some really good reliable deals at the moment. Click for a pdf file on the services offered by the Kenwood Hall Click for pdf file on what sort of outdoor activities we can offer Kenwood Hall's visitors. Some of the stag groups we have been looking after recently have been staying at places such as the Kenwood Hall at very low prices. This is how I see we can work smartly during what is a recession to actually improve our brand and our reputation for offering good deals. However, it requires close working relationship with partner organisations and we're lucky we've built up such good offices over the years.
Kenwood Hall Hotel
Why not try one of our popular open weekends such as caving weekends for beginners ....or maybe book an abseiling & roped scrambling weekend ? Typically these groups comprise 12 people who have come alone or with a friend or partner. No special gear or experience is needed !
If you've been to Rock Lea before - ask about our follow up weekends including intermediate and advanced skills weekend courses. Having fun cimbing up a potholing ladder with safety rope during one of our popular Beginners' Open Caving Weekends at Rock Lea.
OPEN EVENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS & COUPLES WANTING REALLY SAFE, RELIABLE & ENJOYABLE OUTDOOR EXPERIENCES IN THE ACCESSIBLE PEAK DISTRICT NATIONAL PARK ! The dates of Peak Activities popular "open courses " for 2009 are published elsewhere on our website and these weekends are open to individuals and couples. Please click here to go to our dates and prices page and grab yourselves some bargains ! Group leaders wanting other dates or group deals on the weekends or mid week dates of their choice should call us on 01433-650345 please to check group prices and dates availability.
OPEN EVENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS & COUPLES WANTING REALLY SAFE, RELIABLE & ENJOYABLE OUTDOOR EXPERIENCES IN THE ACCESSIBLE PEAK DISTRICT NATIONAL PARK ! The dates of Peak Activities popular "open courses " for 2009 are published elsewhere on our website and these weekends are open to individuals and couples. Please click here to go to our dates and prices page and grab yourselves some bargains !
Group leaders wanting other dates or group deals on the weekends or mid week dates of their choice should call us on 01433-650345 please to check group prices and dates availability.
Adventure Racing Page now open on www.iain.co.uk A team from Robert Bosch GmbH. We have often run Adventure Racing events in the past few years as part of tailored, made to measure events for Charity Fund Raising Purposes. However, for 2009 we have decided to widen the scope of these increasingly popular events to include two day events with overnight camps and much more. You can choose to arrange your adventure race in the Peak District or in the Wilderkaisergebirge Mountains of the Austrian Alps. Group Organisers wanting a more challenging and strenuous team building event for fairly fit and motivated people may well find our Adventure Racing possibilities interesting ! Please click here for more details of Adventure Racing organised by Peak Activities in the Peak District. Not for the faint hearted ! Combine an orienteering competition, a night hike, a high level moorland trek, a kayaking race, problem- -solving experiences, freefall abseiling experience and a potholing challenge with an overnight camp and lots more ! Prices on application.
Our massive 13-page 20th Anniversary newsletter is still popular ! Embedded below is a .pdf copy of our 13 page newsletter ( added Aug. 2007 ) for the late Summer 2007. Although the New Year is well under way now if you haven't read this newsletter we do hope you enjoy reading it. Please feel free to copy this .pdf file and e-mail it to any friends or colleagues who may be interested in our people & services . We know there are clients who use us for training who know nothing about our public events - whilst peoplke who use us to book weddings at our base in the alps have no idea we have loads of corporate customers in the UK who use us for staff development. There are other news stories below if you scroll right down this web page.
If you can't see the newsletter above download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader plu in or call and ask us to e-mail one over top you.
Carry on Camping : Union Pub Story : Open Course Dates for 2008 : Older Stories : Pudsey Bear's Sponsored Abseiling Visit : Tae Kwon Do Black Belt for James :
CHARITY FUND RAISING EVENTS AT ROCK LEA The staff at Rock Lea are committed to raising even more money for worthy charities in 2009. Below are examples of previous charity events we have been involved with planning and running for two registered charities. ALZHEIMER'S SOCIETY SPONSORED ABSEILING EVENT...
.... Three plucky ladies Debbie, Debbie and Helen pictured above raised lots of money for the Alzheimer's Society during Alzheimers Awareness Week. They'd asked us to arrange a sponsored abseiling session with James and Andy ( right ) from Rock Lea Centre. Alzheimer’s Awareness Week aimed to reach out and make contact with all those thousands of carers and people with dementia who need our support and who are not in touch with the Alzheimer's Society. Please click on the Alzheimer's Logo ( above ) to and learn more about this charity's excellent work. For more information about organising charity events with Peak Activities please click here or visit www.iain.co.uk/charity.htm PUDSEY BEAR ABSEILS IN FOR CHARITY... .. PUDSEY BEAR DROPS IN TO ROCK LEA TO SUPPORT HIS CHARITY ABSEIL !
Staff from our clients Castle Estates pictured above at Rock Lea with BBC Children in Need's "Pudsey" - all working together on a team project to raise funds for Pudsey's Charity. If you are interested in working with our staff to raise funds for your organisation's chosen good cause please see our special charity fund raising page. We can run charity fund raising events for groups or for individuals.
..
This year we've had lots more bookings for our"Open Events" than we'd expected.
WEEKENDS for INDIVIDUAL ... Click here to see dates and prices of our wide choice of weekend events open to the public in 2008. There are some great bargains to be had including 2 full days of qualified friendly instruction for under £100 eachin the low season ! These are our adults events that have often been featured on national radio and TV and much higher prices, so grab a bargain while they're still on offer.
Phone Iain or Caroline on 01433-650345 for details !
...... BBC Sports Presenter Damion Johnson abseiling with Peak Activities Ltd's staff during one of our "Breakaway" open weekend featured on Damion's BBC2 television's "Breakout" holiday programme.
......
BBC Sports Presenter Damion Johnson abseiling with Peak Activities Ltd's staff during one of our "Breakaway" open weekend featured on Damion's BBC2 television's "Breakout" holiday programme.
Congratulations to James on flying solo ! Those of you who have been following his progress in learning to fly will be pleased to read that our junior instructor James Jennings (above) very successfully flew solo at Caernarfon Air Parc in early August in his favourite Piper Cherokee aircraft G-CGHM "Hotel Mike" ( left ) after approx. 11 hours flying tuition from his excellent flying instructor Paul. James now has lots more flying practise hours to do in "Hotel Mike" and "Charlie Alpha" ( right ). In July James took two weeks over at Caernarfon and passed no less than 6 PPL exams. These included the JAA Air Navigation, Air Law, Human Factors in Flight Safety, Engine & Power Management Systems plus Navigation and "Meteorology" which are all needed to gain a PPL licence. James is paying for his lessons by working at Rock Lea doing all sorts of jobs including washing helmets and cleaning up minibuses & caving suits and helping out as a qualified first aider on events such as our charity abseils. He is now looking around for sponsors and cadetships. If you would like more information on flying as part of a small group experience in North Wales ( with more qualified pilots like Kristina who has over 25,000 hours in her log book - please click here or call Iain on 01433-650345. Here at our outdoor activities & training centre in Hathersage we're looking forward to another busy Winter Season. Right now's an ideal time for you to be talking to Caroline in our bookings office if you want to book events for individuals or groups of people for 2009. We are offering past customers and new clients some very good deals for return trips in 2009. Check out dates of our 2008 open weekends.
We offer our instruction clients a complete hire service which supplies everything you & your colleagues and friends need for a safe enjoyable night camping.
UNION PUBS MANAGERS' VISIT
A very jolly party of managers from The Union Pub Company pictured having a very good time at our base in Hathersage Rock Lea recently. They were out enjoying an "Away Day" team building event including easy caving and orienteering with our instructors Caroline, John and Andy. This year Peak Activities Ltd. have welcomed more groups than ever before enjoying the excellent weather for such informal and enjoyable opportunities to relax and chill out together in a fun-filled way. RELIABLE, TOP QUALITY EVENTS for QUALITY CONSCIOUS CLIENTS..... Group Organisers considering events based in the Peak District National Park and who want the BEST rather than second best should please call us today on 01433-650345 to discuss their specific needs and requirements. If you would like to organise a safe, reliable low cost, fun-filled away day for your own private group we'll be pleased to hear from you. Individuals should look our open fixtures listed on our special "deals" page. This details events ( mainly weekends ) which we hold for individuals and couples. NEW - MOVIE CLIPS INTRODUCED TO WEBSITE Click here to see a short movie clip with commentary... ( it's a 5 megabyte file - sorry ! ...suitable for broadband users only ). P...... NEW GROUP OFFERS ON OUR NEW WEB SITE FROM OUR SPORTS DIVISION... The New Year saw the launch of a new web site at www.peak-activities.co.uk with special offers listed there for people who have brought groups of people here before. See http://www.peak-activities.co.uk/g_offers.html This web site is under development with Eclipse but is expected to have lots of cine films and interesting movies and lots more when it's developed. ......
A very jolly party of managers from The Union Pub Company pictured having a very good time at our base in Hathersage Rock Lea recently. They were out enjoying an "Away Day" team building event including easy caving and orienteering with our instructors Caroline, John and Andy. This year Peak Activities Ltd. have welcomed more groups than ever before enjoying the excellent weather for such informal and enjoyable opportunities to relax and chill out together in a fun-filled way. RELIABLE, TOP QUALITY EVENTS for QUALITY CONSCIOUS CLIENTS..... Group Organisers considering events based in the Peak District National Park and who want the BEST rather than second best should please call us today on 01433-650345 to discuss their specific needs and requirements. If you would like to organise a safe, reliable low cost, fun-filled away day for your own private group we'll be pleased to hear from you. Individuals should look our open fixtures listed on our special "deals" page. This details events ( mainly weekends ) which we hold for individuals and couples.
NEW - MOVIE CLIPS INTRODUCED TO WEBSITE Click here to see a short movie clip with commentary... ( it's a 5 megabyte file - sorry ! ...suitable for broadband users only ). P......
NEW GROUP OFFERS ON OUR NEW WEB SITE FROM OUR SPORTS DIVISION... The New Year saw the launch of a new web site at www.peak-activities.co.uk with special offers listed there for people who have brought groups of people here before. See http://www.peak-activities.co.uk/g_offers.html This web site is under development with Eclipse but is expected to have lots of cine films and interesting movies and lots more when it's developed.
NEW Fun Mixed Ability Corporate Challenges... .. New for this year we're offering to visiting groups some exciting new mixed-ability trailquests involving ligh hearted physical and mental challenges. If you are up to the challenge & want to book something that's a bit different, sporty and packed with fun for all ages & all abilities - then please call us on 01433-650345 for more details. Everybody's a winner but there's champagne & chocolates all round for the winning team too ! Poles travel all the way over to Rock Lea for a weekend of exciting activities with us ! Lucasz, Ewa, Tom, Stephen, Neil and Hania get ready to go caving with Andy. People often travel a very long way to enjoy our activities and events in the Peak National Park but by anybody's standards flying in from Garwolin near Warsaw for the weekend to visit Peak Activities Ltd's base in Hathersage is a pretty impressive journey ! Pictured above are procurement experts from Avon Cosmetics - three of whom travelled all the way from their new manufacturing plant in Poland just for a fun filled 3-day weekend of informal team building with their UK colleagues from Northampton. The party enjoyed some abseiling and orienteering and some scrambling and some pretty impressive pub games and some serious socialising ! This jolly group stayed in a traditional local inn on the edge of Hathersage sharing the delights of top quality Peak District food and hospitality. The visitors also entertained us with their excellent guitar, accordian & concertina music.
NEW Fun Mixed Ability Corporate Challenges... ..
New for this year we're offering to visiting groups some exciting new mixed-ability trailquests involving ligh hearted physical and mental challenges. If you are up to the challenge & want to book something that's a bit different, sporty and packed with fun for all ages & all abilities - then please call us on 01433-650345 for more details. Everybody's a winner but there's champagne & chocolates all round for the winning team too !
Poles travel all the way over to Rock Lea for a weekend of exciting activities with us !
Lucasz, Ewa, Tom, Stephen, Neil and Hania get ready to go caving with Andy. People often travel a very long way to enjoy our activities and events in the Peak National Park but by anybody's standards flying in from Garwolin near Warsaw for the weekend to visit Peak Activities Ltd's base in Hathersage is a pretty impressive journey ! Pictured above are procurement experts from Avon Cosmetics - three of whom travelled all the way from their new manufacturing plant in Poland just for a fun filled 3-day weekend of informal team building with their UK colleagues from Northampton. The party enjoyed some abseiling and orienteering and some scrambling and some pretty impressive pub games and some serious socialising ! This jolly group stayed in a traditional local inn on the edge of Hathersage sharing the delights of top quality Peak District food and hospitality. The visitors also entertained us with their excellent guitar, accordian & concertina music.
....... A man destined for higher things...Lucasz scored 9.8 for this abseil attempt AND we now know he can sing perfectly all of the verses to "Auld Langs Syne" too !
Click here to see some kind endorsements from Tom and other team leaders from Avon who have been here over the years. Because the weather was fairly changeable during their three days we were glad Tom trusted our tutors to pick out activities on the day that would best make the most of the team's time out here with us. The other kind of walking where we supply the Poles for you is our new Nordic Walking activity option !
Click here to see some kind endorsements from Tom and other team leaders from Avon who have been here over the years. Because the weather was fairly changeable during their three days we were glad Tom trusted our tutors to pick out activities on the day that would best make the most of the team's time out here with us.
The other kind of walking where we supply the Poles for you is our new Nordic Walking activity option !
Peak Activities' director TONY KENDALL receives another award at the House of Commons for his work setting up & running an inclusive Cub Pack in inner city Leicester...
.. Tony working in our caving lamp store. Our busy Director Tony Kendall is the co-Founder of a Cub Scout Pack held on a Saturday so Muslim children can be included and attend has just received another prestigious award "Investors in the Community Award" held at a ceremony at the House of Commons recently. Tony's pack is part of the 12th/74th group in Mere Road, Leicester, was set up to help replace failing youth clubs in the inner city of Leicester a couple of years ago. They wanted to help provide the youngsters of the Highfields area with something worthwhile to do. The pack is run by Tony and Alam Navsa and Bill Trewick. A Scout Leader of many years standing, Tony said the group was mixed and set up to run on Saturdays rather than mid week to enable kids of all faiths to take part. Tony, who holds both the Scouts Medal of Merit and the Silver Acorn Awards said "This highlights the fact that Scouts welcome members of all faiths, colours and nationalities. We wanted our group to be as inclusive as possible."
Peak Activities Ltd's Company Directors Tony, Caroline and Iain have always been keen to help people of all ages, nationalities and creeds get out and about and enjoy the Great Outdoors. We have recently been working on a new range of activities for people of all ages and levels of fitnesses to enjoy activities with us in the Peak District ..and we now have a range of new activities which can be enjoyed by folks in wheelchairs and other people with limited mobility ... including some new "wheelchair friendly" mixed fitness, radio controlled orienteering sessions, caving trips, kite flying, treasure hunts, trail quests, quizzes & lots more.
..........
New dates for Rock Lea's "OPEN EVENTS" ( events for individuals ) are now available. Subject to availability we have some very good offers and deals for people making late bookings. Contact us on 01433-650345 for more details or see www.iain.co.uk/deals.htm
OTHER NEWS HEADLINES
UK STAFF TRY OUT OUR NEW AUSTRIAN OPERATION FOR THEMSELVES SUNDAY TIMES TRAVEL EDITOR SINGS OUR PRAISES (AGAIN ) ! POOLSIDE MAYHEM ! OUR TAILORED FIRST AID COURSES GET THE THUMBS UP FROM ELECTRICITY DE FRANCE BBC1 TV CREW & IAN WRIGHT FILM & BROADCAST AT ROCK LEA. SEASONAL OFFERS - ALL ENCOMPASSING ORIENTEERING SESSIONS ! LIABILITY INSURANCE PREMIUMS SKY-ROCKET & CAUSE PRICE INCREASES ! UK ASSOCIATES UNIFORMS ON THE TELLY ! SEASONAL TREASURE HUNTS FOR MIXED ABILITY GROUPS.
Ian Wright with Caroline during filming at our base in Hathersage - Rock Lea Centre. N W + E S N. E. W. S. STORIES FROM ALL AROUND THE COMPASS ! " Ein Prosit ein Prosit - der Gemutlichkeit ! " BLUE SKY STAFF DISCUSSIONS IN TYROL... Numerous directors, staff and volunteers and family members recently flew out to Salzberg and enjoyed a fabulous residential discussing and trying out some of our new products and experiencing first hand the delights of the Wilderkaisergebirge.... our new "home from home". It was tough out there slaving over all those new concepts but somebody had to do it ! We also took the opportunity whilst we were there in such glorious weather to start making our new promotional video. Pictured above are tutors John T., Tony Kendall, Caroline, Iain, Steve Charles and Elizabeth. Although she's our youngest apprentice ski instructor, Elizabeth is now skiing down black runs and leaving all the rest of us behind ! ....Pete Brookes Caroline, our Finance Director, over in our new base in Ellmau enjoying the scenery & apres ski. We will be publishing fairly soon some new itineries involving skiing, snow shoe walking (above ) and lots more in the fabulous mountain of Tirol ! DELEGATES' PRAISE ON THE SUCCESS OF PEAK ACTIVITIES LTD's BESPOKE RESCUE TRAINING TAILORED FOR EDF ( Electricitee de France ). Some very favourable feedback notes on the success of the decision making & leadership and teamwork training events Iain's team arranged for the Health & Safety experts at Cottam Power Station were published a while ago by EDF. One of their reports is reproduced in full below as two .jpg's below in the hope it may be of interest to anybody interested in the effectiveness of carefully designed and planned outdoor training exercises with Peak Activities Ltd's Development Training experts.
Ian Wright with Caroline during filming at our base in Hathersage - Rock Lea Centre.
N W + E S N. E. W. S. STORIES FROM ALL AROUND THE COMPASS !
" Ein Prosit ein Prosit - der Gemutlichkeit ! " BLUE SKY STAFF DISCUSSIONS IN TYROL... Numerous directors, staff and volunteers and family members recently flew out to Salzberg and enjoyed a fabulous residential discussing and trying out some of our new products and experiencing first hand the delights of the Wilderkaisergebirge.... our new "home from home". It was tough out there slaving over all those new concepts but somebody had to do it ! We also took the opportunity whilst we were there in such glorious weather to start making our new promotional video. Pictured above are tutors John T., Tony Kendall, Caroline, Iain, Steve Charles and Elizabeth. Although she's our youngest apprentice ski instructor, Elizabeth is now skiing down black runs and leaving all the rest of us behind ! ....Pete Brookes Caroline, our Finance Director, over in our new base in Ellmau enjoying the scenery & apres ski. We will be publishing fairly soon some new itineries involving skiing, snow shoe walking (above ) and lots more in the fabulous mountain of Tirol !
DELEGATES' PRAISE ON THE SUCCESS OF PEAK ACTIVITIES LTD's BESPOKE RESCUE TRAINING TAILORED FOR EDF ( Electricitee de France ). Some very favourable feedback notes on the success of the decision making & leadership and teamwork training events Iain's team arranged for the Health & Safety experts at Cottam Power Station were published a while ago by EDF. One of their reports is reproduced in full below as two .jpg's below in the hope it may be of interest to anybody interested in the effectiveness of carefully designed and planned outdoor training exercises with Peak Activities Ltd's Development Training experts.
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED STORIES AT FOOT OF THIS PAGE : - Tony now holds both the Medal of Merit & Silver Acorn. Training Case Study - TXU's CEO's Team & Management Development Event Heart of England Tourist Board's Chief Exec's Residential Team Build with Peak Activities Ltd.
........ ......................................................................
MORE NEWS BBC TV films at Rock Lea again... BBC Television Presenter & former England international footballer Ian Wright pictured with our centre's director Caroline during a BBC tv film shoot for first of Ian's series of top Saturday evening BBC1 television show "I'D DO ANYTHING ". This filming asignment was a special three day contract featuring our popular potholing & caving underground treasure hunt & challenge activities. NEWS + NEWS + NEWS + NEWS ..........
This latest of a series of successful filming projects with the BBC involved a large film crew working very closely in local caves with our senior instructors Caroline, John Thomas, Andy McLean and Iain Jennings. Peak Activities Ltd senior associates were all responsible for selection of suitable filming locations and the Health & Safety of the crew working in various tricky situations to get unusual points of view shots. Caroline and Andy also had special responsibility for looking after a rather nervous first-time novice lady who was undertaking the special trail quest we'd been asked to design underground in parts of England's deepest pothole. The programme was screened at 6-00 pm Saturday April 26th on BBC1 television and part of the filming was shown again a week later when the successful participant flew across to te USA to meet world champion boxer Mohammed Ali. Training and sports activities at Rock Lea have often been featured in the press and on a large number of television and radio programmes. Peak Activities Ltd welcomes enquiries from commercial film crews wanting professional help with safety assurance and filming in confined and difficult access areas. Click here for more information.
Click here to go back up to the top of this NEWS page. SUNDAY TIMES' TRAVEL MAGAZINE'S TRAVEL WRITER STEVE BLEACH ENJOYS AN ADVENTUROUS TRIP DOWN ENGLAND'S DEEPEST CAVE WITH PEAK ACTIVITIES' EXPERT INSTRUCTORS. MEDIA COVERAGE NEWS
... We have recently enjoyed another rave review in the Travel Section of the Sunday Times from their travel specialist Steve Bleach..who was out here enjoying one of our very popular "friendly-face" introductory caving weekends last month. The people who read Steve's excellent article all agreed that his writing had really captured the spirit of one of our popular "Friendly Face" weekends. These events are open to any member of the public aged 18 and over and are held monthly at our Hathersage base. In his article Steve's imagination seemed particularly taken with all the geology he'd learned about whilst he was here working alongside our enthusiastic leaders. Click here please for lots more details of these weekends (including prices and dates of our open events ) and to read Steve's very kind article including Steve's his comments on the fun of feeling like a piece of meat in a rock sandwich !tl aary enjoyr. To see lots of other kind press and media comments, including previous editorials about our caving and otrher outdoor activities in the Telegraph and Sunday Times and other media please click here. Click here to see details of other television and radio features on our events. We are always willing to offer facilities for press visits to bone fide reporters and journalists. Travel media writers should please contact our press and publicity officer via 01433-650345.
Click here to go back up to the top of this NEWS page....
C
BELOW ARE SOME HEADLINE STORIES PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED ON THIS WEB PAGE.
After a £4 million modernisation, rebuilding and refurbishment project, the former Swallow Hotel just across the hill on the edge of Sheffield is now owned by Whitbread and is trading as as a Marriott Hotel. This is proving very popular with our customers running training courses with us... and to add to their delight we've recently managed to negotiate some very attractive exclusive deals for groups staying there as part of packages organised by Peak Activities Ltd. Click here to see more photos and for further information.
TXU's Andrew Oldham from West Burton (pictured back row second from left on image taken above at Ipswich Town FC) recently stayed here on a training event we organised for his own team of management accountants and they were delighted with the new facilities at the Marriott. We've inspected this new hotel in great detail and the overwhelming impression we have is that whilst the Swallow was excellent, the Marriott hotel is even better yet ! It is anticipated we'll be seeing many groups staying there over the next few months. There are some great deals to be had there at present through our Seasonal Team Build Packages. These deals are for people booking through us rather than their own agencies. Call Iain on 07771-855105 for more details.
Marriott Dining Room
Just imagine ! You can now enjoy muddy caving with us and be back in your executive suite at the Marriott Hotel within 15 mins. of leaving Rock Lea in one of our minibuses. You can combine "roughing it" with being smooth and sophisticated ! The Marriott Hotel. ).....
..................
The activities we are offering groups over the coming months include : - Treasure Hunts ; Caving & Mine Exploration, Cycling, Abseiling, Gliding, Centre Based Problem Solving Tasks, High Ropes Course
The activities we are offering groups over the coming months include : -
Treasure Hunts ; Caving & Mine Exploration, Cycling, Abseiling, Gliding, Centre Based Problem Solving Tasks, High Ropes Course
............... Rock Lea, Station Road, Hathersage, Hope Valley, Peak District National Park, Derbyshire, United Kingdom, S32 1DD. Tel. 07771-855105 Fax. 01433-650342 This is one of numerous pages on our websites http://www.iain.co.uk & http://www.peakactivities.co.uk & www.peakactivities.com