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We'd like to wish all our valued customers & web site visitors a very enjoyable, safe and active New Year ! Iain writes.... "We're pleased that January 2010 has got off to quite a lively start. All that extra snow was a tad tricky - with the first part of January being very peaceful - with hardly anything moving on the roads running along the Hope Valley. We simply extended our holiday period and enjoyed huge log fires every day & made lots of comments about how poorly prepared and resourced we are in the UK for snow compared with our friends over in Austria and Germany. However, we did only have to cancel one course (fortunately, the clients were pleased to rearrange their dates because they were stuck in their snow too ! ) Things picked up quickly once the snow melted. We've already enjoyed visits from several social clubs & a memorable visit from Birmingham Univ. Mountaineering Club ( who came here for some qualified caving instruction). Sadly, lots of Universities who used to have caving clubs have to use centres like us now to provide caving insurance cover. We try to give them good deals when we can to try to encourage caving amongst students...otherwise we fear that caving could become an "endangered species" sport." Dates of 2010 Open Courses : Click here for dates & prices of Days and Weekends on offer in 2010. We are again offering weekend courses such as "Beginners Caving & Potholing", "Abseiling & Rock Climbing", and our very popular "Multisports" multi-activity weekends for individual adults, couples and small parties. In addition there are now some mid-week dates on offer, which if demand is sufficient, will be run throughout 2010 and 2011. We have a great set of deals on offer in 2010 with firms supplying local accommodation. For example for many dates in 2010 a couple can share a four star en suite Twin Room at the Kenwood Hall Hotel for as little as £25 per night each for 2 night stays...including lavish full English Breakfasts designed for outdoor appetites ! Hen Party Members Stag Groups and Hen Group Visits in 2010 : We already have a large number of private groups bookings for 2010 & 2011, including a number of hen parties and stag groups coming to our outdoor base in Hathersage for half days, full days and two & three -day programmes of outdoor sports and outdoor pursuits in the lovely Peak National Park. Prices of sessions for groups of 12 or more people vary from £69 to £169 per person, including VAT. Please call our office on 01433-650345 for more informastion or to firm up a booking. We take Visa, Maestro, Solo and MasterCard payments over the phone. Free places can be arranged for the group organisers sometimes. Click here for lots more information for Stag Group Organisers. Click here for lots more information for Hen Group Organisers. We can cater for groups large or small, fit or unfit ! Enjoy a choice of half day activities such as rock climbing, abseiling, orienteering, easy caving, tough potholing or treasure hunts on foot or on bikes or in minibuses. Talk to us to see what combination of activities at Rock Lea will suit your budget, mood and group size. Click to see wide range of more activities available to private groups. Call Iain on 01433-650345 to discuss your needs & interests. Tom's jolly Stag Party prior to setting off on a caving trip ! Charity Fund Raising Events in 2010 : Our company directors have renewed their commitment to helping people who want to have fun raising funds for good causes - and we are particularly keen to help folks who are wanting to organise sponsored abseiling or caving events to support the work of charities working on disaster relief in Haiti such as Medecins Sans Frontieres, Oxfam, UNICEF, Save the Children Fund and the DEC. Click here for more info. on how we can help you have fun charity fund raising on your own or with friends. Corporate Bookings for 2010 : Not at all surprisingly our MD recently reported that last year he saw a marked dip in the number of people spending corporate money on team builds and company training. Sadly, training always gets a good kicking into touch when money is in tight supply - even though wise firms sometime protect the investments they make in keeping up staff morale and in the training & development of their young people - such as apprentices training. In 2010 we have already seen a welcome upturn in the numbers of companies booking corporate training events and socials once again . That's a big relief because it is a sign that the promised green shoots of long awaited economic recovery are emerging once again. We're just a little worried that everyone is going to want to book the same dates at very short notice and we won't necessarily be able to look after new clients whilst we are assigning staff and other resources to looking after our regular customers. The people who book well in advance will get the best deals and prices.... for both accommodation and for training services. News from Austria : Our dear friend and associate Ingrid is having a great season over in Tyrol. However, she has been affected by the UK£ : Euro exchange rate this year and for once she is not fully booked up - so she has some rooms free if anyone wants to book skiing or snowboarding over there this season. For last minute bargain ski holidays e-mail Ingrid and please mention Iain & Caroline at Rock Lea. www.hotel-hochfilzer.com/en/contact-us.html Click here to explore skiing possibilities with Ingrid's team... Employment opportunities with Peak Activities Ltd. :-( We regret that we do not have any paid employment vacancies at the present time, so please do not sent us any unsolicited CV's or job application letters or e-mails. A lot of other centres must have made their staff redundant recently - we seem to be getting loads of employment requests which we haven't asked for and all too often the people who have been working elsewhere don't even have the basic qualifications and experience that our volunteers working here at Rock Lea have achieved.
We'd like to wish all our valued customers & web site visitors a very enjoyable, safe and active New Year ! Iain writes.... "We're pleased that January 2010 has got off to quite a lively start. All that extra snow was a tad tricky - with the first part of January being very peaceful - with hardly anything moving on the roads running along the Hope Valley. We simply extended our holiday period and enjoyed huge log fires every day & made lots of comments about how poorly prepared and resourced we are in the UK for snow compared with our friends over in Austria and Germany. However, we did only have to cancel one course (fortunately, the clients were pleased to rearrange their dates because they were stuck in their snow too ! ) Things picked up quickly once the snow melted. We've already enjoyed visits from several social clubs & a memorable visit from Birmingham Univ. Mountaineering Club ( who came here for some qualified caving instruction). Sadly, lots of Universities who used to have caving clubs have to use centres like us now to provide caving insurance cover. We try to give them good deals when we can to try to encourage caving amongst students...otherwise we fear that caving could become an "endangered species" sport." Dates of 2010 Open Courses : Click here for dates & prices of Days and Weekends on offer in 2010. We are again offering weekend courses such as "Beginners Caving & Potholing", "Abseiling & Rock Climbing", and our very popular "Multisports" multi-activity weekends for individual adults, couples and small parties. In addition there are now some mid-week dates on offer, which if demand is sufficient, will be run throughout 2010 and 2011. We have a great set of deals on offer in 2010 with firms supplying local accommodation. For example for many dates in 2010 a couple can share a four star en suite Twin Room at the Kenwood Hall Hotel for as little as £25 per night each for 2 night stays...including lavish full English Breakfasts designed for outdoor appetites ! Hen Party Members Stag Groups and Hen Group Visits in 2010 : We already have a large number of private groups bookings for 2010 & 2011, including a number of hen parties and stag groups coming to our outdoor base in Hathersage for half days, full days and two & three -day programmes of outdoor sports and outdoor pursuits in the lovely Peak National Park. Prices of sessions for groups of 12 or more people vary from £69 to £169 per person, including VAT. Please call our office on 01433-650345 for more informastion or to firm up a booking. We take Visa, Maestro, Solo and MasterCard payments over the phone. Free places can be arranged for the group organisers sometimes.
Click here for lots more information for Stag Group Organisers. Click here for lots more information for Hen Group Organisers. We can cater for groups large or small, fit or unfit ! Enjoy a choice of half day activities such as rock climbing, abseiling, orienteering, easy caving, tough potholing or treasure hunts on foot or on bikes or in minibuses. Talk to us to see what combination of activities at Rock Lea will suit your budget, mood and group size. Click to see wide range of more activities available to private groups. Call Iain on 01433-650345 to discuss your needs & interests.
Tom's jolly Stag Party prior to setting off on a caving trip ! Charity Fund Raising Events in 2010 : Our company directors have renewed their commitment to helping people who want to have fun raising funds for good causes - and we are particularly keen to help folks who are wanting to organise sponsored abseiling or caving events to support the work of charities working on disaster relief in Haiti such as Medecins Sans Frontieres, Oxfam, UNICEF, Save the Children Fund and the DEC. Click here for more info. on how we can help you have fun charity fund raising on your own or with friends. Corporate Bookings for 2010 : Not at all surprisingly our MD recently reported that last year he saw a marked dip in the number of people spending corporate money on team builds and company training. Sadly, training always gets a good kicking into touch when money is in tight supply - even though wise firms sometime protect the investments they make in keeping up staff morale and in the training & development of their young people - such as apprentices training. In 2010 we have already seen a welcome upturn in the numbers of companies booking corporate training events and socials once again . That's a big relief because it is a sign that the promised green shoots of long awaited economic recovery are emerging once again. We're just a little worried that everyone is going to want to book the same dates at very short notice and we won't necessarily be able to look after new clients whilst we are assigning staff and other resources to looking after our regular customers. The people who book well in advance will get the best deals and prices.... for both accommodation and for training services. News from Austria : Our dear friend and associate Ingrid is having a great season over in Tyrol. However, she has been affected by the UK£ : Euro exchange rate this year and for once she is not fully booked up - so she has some rooms free if anyone wants to book skiing or snowboarding over there this season. For last minute bargain ski holidays e-mail Ingrid and please mention Iain & Caroline at Rock Lea. www.hotel-hochfilzer.com/en/contact-us.html Click here to explore skiing possibilities with Ingrid's team... Employment opportunities with Peak Activities Ltd. :-( We regret that we do not have any paid employment vacancies at the present time, so please do not sent us any unsolicited CV's or job application letters or e-mails. A lot of other centres must have made their staff redundant recently - we seem to be getting loads of employment requests which we haven't asked for and all too often the people who have been working elsewhere don't even have the basic qualifications and experience that our volunteers working here at Rock Lea have achieved.
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OTHER NEWS STORIES FROM ROCK LEA | Dutch Firefighters get into some tight spots ! | King of the Air ! | | Visitors from Switzerland fill their lungs with fresh Derbyshire Air | | Low cost four star hotel rooms for Rock Lea's groups | | Booking Weekends & Days | Back in the National Travel News again ! |
DUTCH FIREFIGHTERS GET THEMSELVES INTO A PARTICULARLY TIGHT SPOT... Members of Frigwillige Brandweer, Gemeente Baarle-Nassau, Netherlands caving during their team building event and social gathering in Derbyshire with caving staff from Peak Activities Ltd. Recently we enjoyed running a busy weekend looking after a very jolly party of 28 men and women Volunteer Firefighters from the Dutch Fire Service ( Frigwillige Brandweer ) who are stationed close to the Belgian-Netherlands border. They came across to Hathersage with a coach on the excellent overnight ferry from Zeebrugges to Hull. They then spent a full day caving and potholing in three working syndicates of 9 or 10 people under the aegis of three of our Sports Division's experienced caving leaders & several caving safety assistants. The gathering followed a pre-trip planning meeting at our offices at Rock Lea held a couple of months before with their Brandweer Kommandant, Heer Jac Haagen. Iain Jennings our centre manager said " Although this assignment could have been arranged over the phone, it was great to meet Jac and show him the many options on offer using video and other resources." Iain added " I think it was useful for Jac to come and visit us for a pre-event meeting to put faces and names together and for reassurance that we could handle his specific needs in a bespoke manner. We often say that time invested on such visits is seldom wasted." The Diutch Firefighters approaching the entrance of one of the three caves being explored. This the deepest in England - but sadly the group did not have time to get all the way around. Maybe next time ? A lady firefighter showing the boys how to wriggle out of a tight spot ! Don't forget they'd asked for some really tough tight bits..and to be fair they seemed to really enjoy this trip ! It takes all sorts ! The Dutch group came here to have some fun and expressed a keen interest when booking to get used to working in tight, very confined spaces. The women in the party were extremely fit and agile & our staff reported they had a job keeping up with some of them when exploring some fairly low passages in caves such as Giants, Carlswark and Devonshire Cavern. Where the tough get going ! Having fun and working as a team exploring the secrets of the Derbyshire underworld... The firefighters climb up the electron ladder up the waterfall in Garland's Pot, with our experienced Caving Director Tony Kendall looking after the safety line. This is a pothole with a strong vertical element. You are glad when you have a tight safety line on this section of the trip. Iain Jennings added "A lot of people from the Netherlands are coming tosee us in the Peak District at the moment - making the most of the very favourable Euro - Pound exchange rate." Several of the firefighters said it was their first time in England - but said they hoped they'd be back soon. We hope they enjoyed themselves sampling the delights deep beneath this lovely upland area. We even managed to arrange for one our friends in the village's fire fighting team to kindly show some of the firefighters around our retained ( volunteer ) fire station in Hathersage. They were very intrigued to learn that most English fire engines are called "Dennis" ! Danke Welle ! Bedankt !
DUTCH FIREFIGHTERS GET THEMSELVES INTO A PARTICULARLY TIGHT SPOT...
Members of Frigwillige Brandweer, Gemeente Baarle-Nassau, Netherlands caving during their team building event and social gathering in Derbyshire with caving staff from Peak Activities Ltd.
Recently we enjoyed running a busy weekend looking after a very jolly party of 28 men and women Volunteer Firefighters from the Dutch Fire Service ( Frigwillige Brandweer ) who are stationed close to the Belgian-Netherlands border. They came across to Hathersage with a coach on the excellent overnight ferry from Zeebrugges to Hull. They then spent a full day caving and potholing in three working syndicates of 9 or 10 people under the aegis of three of our Sports Division's experienced caving leaders & several caving safety assistants. The gathering followed a pre-trip planning meeting at our offices at Rock Lea held a couple of months before with their Brandweer Kommandant, Heer Jac Haagen. Iain Jennings our centre manager said " Although this assignment could have been arranged over the phone, it was great to meet Jac and show him the many options on offer using video and other resources." Iain added " I think it was useful for Jac to come and visit us for a pre-event meeting to put faces and names together and for reassurance that we could handle his specific needs in a bespoke manner. We often say that time invested on such visits is seldom wasted." The Diutch Firefighters approaching the entrance of one of the three caves being explored. This the deepest in England - but sadly the group did not have time to get all the way around. Maybe next time ? A lady firefighter showing the boys how to wriggle out of a tight spot ! Don't forget they'd asked for some really tough tight bits..and to be fair they seemed to really enjoy this trip ! It takes all sorts ! The Dutch group came here to have some fun and expressed a keen interest when booking to get used to working in tight, very confined spaces. The women in the party were extremely fit and agile & our staff reported they had a job keeping up with some of them when exploring some fairly low passages in caves such as Giants, Carlswark and Devonshire Cavern. Where the tough get going ! Having fun and working as a team exploring the secrets of the Derbyshire underworld... The firefighters climb up the electron ladder up the waterfall in Garland's Pot, with our experienced Caving Director Tony Kendall looking after the safety line. This is a pothole with a strong vertical element. You are glad when you have a tight safety line on this section of the trip. Iain Jennings added "A lot of people from the Netherlands are coming tosee us in the Peak District at the moment - making the most of the very favourable Euro - Pound exchange rate." Several of the firefighters said it was their first time in England - but said they hoped they'd be back soon. We hope they enjoyed themselves sampling the delights deep beneath this lovely upland area. We even managed to arrange for one our friends in the village's fire fighting team to kindly show some of the firefighters around our retained ( volunteer ) fire station in Hathersage. They were very intrigued to learn that most English fire engines are called "Dennis" ! Danke Welle ! Bedankt !
Photos in this article were kindly provided by Frigwillige Branweer, Gemeente Baarle-Nassau, Netherlands. Sign up for our e-mail news-letter Back in the Nation's Travel News again Bella & Sebastion : Picture by Offical Telegraph Photographer RII SCHROER
Our guiding service and the activities which we organise at Rock Lea for families from time to time such as caving and climbing and abseiling were highly acclaimed in the Sunday Telegraph earlier this season. The newspaper sent us a very young family and a reporter and accompanying photographer who went off for a day of various activities under the safe aegis of senior instructor Dr. Andy McLean. They seemed to enjoy a good time - we certainly enjoyed a good write up by Gary King, who concluded that even young children can enjoy caving if sensitively led. We were one of the very first firms in the Peak District to offer our guiding services for small groups - largely because we only had several small 6-passenger minibuses in our fleet at the time - which lended themselves to such a service. Nowadays all sorts of firms that have just arrived on the local scene are claiming to be the innovators of guiding. We're not bothered as long as people who write for the Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Times keep writing that we're the best ! See www.telegraph.co.uk/outdoors Sign up for our e-mail news-letter
Our own king of the Air !
We're delighted to report that James Jennings (19) our youngest instructor at Rock Lea has just passed his final flying skills exam & his emergency procedures tests at Leicester Aero Club and has now been awarded his JAA European pilots licence for a single engined piston aircraft flying under VFR. James is pictured with one of the eight Cessna 152 aircraft that he has been flying in recent weeks to hone and practise his cross country flying skills. James started to fly in a 152 at the age of 10 as a birthday present... and later went on to log many hours flying larger and more powerful Piper Cherokees out of Llandwrog at the seaside near Caernarfon, where he flew solo at the age of 16. Sadly, numerous sessions of waiting for weather to clear at Caernarfon and the long driving distances involved in getting to Wales meant that getting sufficient hours at Caernarfon became a slow, long term project. Accordingly James and his dad joined Leicester Aero Club a few weeks ago in the hope the weather there would be more chances to fly there ...and they were right. Under the aegis of two qualified flying instructresses Joe and Jessa, James has made rapid progress. We're very grateful to Joe and Jessa and their senior colleagues Paul and John for getting James through his training & skills tests. James said "The sky's your limit ! " "It's simply amazing what you can achieve with just a bit of the right sort of help and encouragement ! " Above, left : About 15 years ago a very keen little four year old James explored the controls of the helicopter his dad had just been flying around in during a R-22 helicopter flying experience Caroline had purchased for Iain. James' keen interest in aereoplanes and things that fly meant that it was no surprise that within a few years, James first flew solo at Caernarfon Airfield in Piper Cherokees "Hotel Mike" ( pictured ) and "Charlie Alpha". James' cross country solo flights included trips from Leicester to visit aerodromes as far away as Nottingham, Cambridge, Peterborough, Marwell and Northampton. His next target is to have some fun enjoying more basic flying and then to study for an instrument flight rating and also to learn to fly a larger Cessna 172 high lift "Skyhawk" so he can fly off with his dad. Fellow instructors Tony, Glenn, John and Peter Daughtrey have all said they'd love to get airborne with James as soon as possible for him to fly with passengers. We wish James a long, safe and successful career flying. If anybody fancies learning to fly we strongly recommend Leicester Aero Club. Their staff are excellent. It 's a really friendly and professional, long established & well equipped flying centre. James is a student studying for an MSc in Aeronautical Engineering at the Department of Aerospace and Motor Engineering at the University of Loughborough. He worked at Rock Lea again all through the Summer months now he has passed his PPL exams. James is a Black Belt Second Dan in Tae Kwon Do and his growing string of qualifications includes a Wilderness Outdoor Pursuits Instructors First Aid Certificate. James is currently looking for one or more sponsors who may wish to help him fund his further training in the air. He wants to learn to fly fast multi-engined aircrsaft using avionics instruments. Please
call Iain on 01433-650345 if you can assist James.
OTHER NEWS STORIES.... Sign up for our e-mail news-letter
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 Open Weekend Beginners' Caving Group Safety Briefing at Rock Lea 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 £75 mid week and for as little as £65 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 Open Weekend Beginners' Caving Group Safety Briefing at Rock Lea 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 £75 mid week and for as little as £65 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 ! Some weekends offer two days of tuition for as little as just £89 and £99 per person. Prices range from £89 to £199 per person per weekend. Click for detailed dates and prices of events open to the public...
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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....
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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. ).....
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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