July 2008
Unfortunately the FREE Family Fun Days have proved to be a great success, within 4 days of being advertised the 150 places
had been snapped up!
We hope to put a few more dates in place, though we obviously have our limitations. Remember, you can book your
own activities for your family or group. Prices are very reasonable. See our price lists on the
Useful Links page. Alternatively Adults
can join an Evening or Weekend course or session and there's a variety of adventurous options for young people throughout
the
Summer Holidays or October Half Term.
Any further FREE dates will be advertised here on our site. These will hopefully
fall within August.
May 2008
FREE Family Fun Sessions - Contact us now. Places going quickly
Planning has been taking place
for Family Fun Days. It has been decided to run a sequence of FREE Family Activity Sessions, for families to get a taste of what to
expect from these fun sessions before a programme is designed and advertised.
Booking can be made for sessions by completing a
Booking Form & returning it to the Centre. Please also specify the number of people attending and the ages of the children.
Dates
& Activities
30th May 6pm -8pm Climbing Wall
30th May 6pm -8pm Canoeing
15th June Canoe 10am-12pm
15th June Sailing on the River Exe
1pm-3pm
17th July Kayaking & Canoeing 6pm-8pm
20th August Kayaking & Canoeing 6pm-8pm
Restrictions:
- Participants must be
aged at least 8 years old
- Children must be accompanied by an adult and adults accompanied by a child!
- Places on each activity are
limited
- The Centre reserves the right to change or cancel the activity session.
- In order that sessions are distributed fairly,
participants may only book onto one of the provided sessions. Should they wish to attend other activities, they will be placed on
a waiting list.
NEW - Family Fun Days. Plans are coming together for Family Activity Sessions & Activity Days.
Not just for Children & not just for Adults. Parents will now be able to participate with their children in a variety of fun based activities
and activitiy days. These will be available at weekends, as well as during School Holiday Periods.
Is this of interest to you?
Please
let us know by
contacting us, and as soon as more information is available we will send it through to you.
Canal Basin Development
As
some of you may be aware the Exeter Canal Basin and close by surrounding areas are soon to be developed.
Haven Banks Outdoor Education
Centre will hopefully be part of this development project. Our dream would be to see a brand new, state of the art, purpose built
facility, helping the Centre move forward and develop, as well as making it a far more desirable facility to visit.
However, the Centre
has 4-5 years remaining on its present lease and it has not yet been confirmed within plans that there is a definite provision for
the rebuild of the Centre. Therefore, to ensure Haven Banks continues to operate, it may be that we will require your support in the
very near future.
New for 2008/09 -Mountain & Moorland Walking & Expeditions – Plans are in place and we are now delivering
Mountain & Moorland Walking & Mountain & Moorland Navigation, as well as Expeditioning. Please contact us for further
information or to make a booking.
Mountain Biking – although we have offered limited mountain biking in the past, this is an
area we are really looking to develop in 2008/09. With such natural beauty on our doorstep, what better way to experience it that
on a bike. Courses and sessions are available now, with more detail to follow shortly. Venues include: Haldon, Dartmoor, Exmoor &
Woodbury Common.
Kayaking & Sailing Clubs for 8-16 year Olds due to restart! Click HERE for Information on Kayakaing
Club & HERE for the Sailing Club
Competition Page HERE! – we have continued to award prizes for both for sending us feedback
via the website and for the prize draw which takes place each month for sending through your activity photographs. Please be aware
that the website software may display a warning notice, firstly about your email address and also about viruses. The submission of
this form can be trusted and this message ignored. It is just I have not found a way of removing this warning when people submit aFeedback Form!
Equipment for Sale – (Listed & soon to be listed) See HERE!
The Centre has replaced & updated a lot of
equipment this year, as you will see below. This means we are able to sell our used equipment. Equipment varies in condition, though
much of which, despite being in a used condition will give many years of pleasure.
Equipment listed and to be listed soon includes:
Kayaks
– Dancer XT’s & Eskimo General Purpose
Rigiflex – Plastic Safety / Motor boat (excluding the motor)!
Windsurfers – F2 Pheonix
Topper
Sailing Dinghies Hulls (only)
Topper Sailing Dinghies (complete)
Zephyr Sailing Dinghies
Grumman Alloy Open Canoes
March 2008 -
Sybil returns from her journey around the World.
We are please to see Sybil back following her 4 week trip to the other side of the
world. We would like to thank Suzy for standing in for her and doing such a fantastic job. We would also to thank you, our customers
for your patience during this time, as we are aware there has been some disruption with enquiries and bookings during this time.
January 2008
- May Half Term Brochure available now!
The May Half Term Brochure is available for
download now. The week will consist of a variety
of 1/2, full day and week long activities. NEW for 2008. We are running separate full days of both Caving & Rock-Climbing
as we realise children tend to have a favourite!
Sybil Flys off to Oz!
Sybil has flown out to Oz for a well earnt holiday. She
will be away from 28th January - 3rd March. During this time we will endeavour to answer calls, deal with emails and process bookings
as efficiently as Sybil, though this won't be an easy job. During Sybils absence Suzie will replace Sybil, to deal with all admin
related issues. We wish her luck! Please use all the usual contacts on this site.
December 2007 - Shobrooke Park
Due to increasing
costs, the Centre has decided not to renew its lease for 2008. However, with advanced enquiries and bookings, arrangements can
be made for its use. Please contact us for further information or to make a booking.
November 2007 - New Senior Instructor to
joins the Team.
We have a new Senior Instructor on the team. A highly qualified outdoor educator with many years experience.
Full story here soon!.
Multi Activity Instructor Training Course
Selection for the 2008 Instructor Training Course is now complete.
Trainees will commence their 7 month full time Instructor Training in February. Upon completion of the course, trainees will
hold a variety of National Governing Body coaching qualifications, enabling them to gain employment within the outdoor industry.
Modern
Apprenticeship
Selection for our 2008 Modern Apprenticeship in Outdoor Leisure is now complete. We have selected 3 Trainees who will
train with us to further their National Governing Body Awards. These Trainees are dynamic and passionate, not only about the
outdoors & the activities, but also about seeing others develop through experiences in the outdoor classroom. Keep an eye
on the
Staff page for more information.
November 2007 - Annual equipment & kit replacement
Our annual kit & equipment
replacement takes places throughout these winter months. This year we anticipate:
- New modern kayak & canoe paddles have been
purchased. These will be beneficial for those looking to achieve the new BCU Performance Star Awards. Information on which can be
found here
- Updating our kayak fleet, progressively phasing out our general purpose kayaks for modern shorter boats.
Yes our old kayaks are FOR SALE
- Replacing our older canoes. Yes, again our old ones are FOR SALE
- Two new Ford
Transit 9 seater shuttle buses have been ordered, with expected delivery in late May This will have an affect on maximum group
sizes for holiday off-site activities, so remember to book early for our Holiday Activities for Young People to avoid dissapointment!
