Staff changes (24/1/10)
Joe Herbert has moved from the position of apprentice tutor to one of assistant tutor.  He will now be running groups by himself & taking the place of freelance instructors at weekends.  Well done. 

New build (24/1/10)
Work on the new build stopped almost as soon as it started!  The November floods meant that the contractors working on our project were pulled off to do restorative work on flood damaged properties in the S.Lakes.  Hopefully we will start building work in the Spring.

Building maintenance (24/1/10)
The Christmas closedown allowed us to do catch upon maintenance.  The floor in the shower room by room 10 was lifted, replaced & new flooring put down.  The painters were in for two weeks.  The main hall floor was sanded down & revarnished.  A number of carpets were steam cleaned.  The building now looks fresh & tidy after a busy years use.

New apprentice tutors (24/1/10)
Two new apprentice tutors joined us on 11th January.  Alex Stothert & Rosie Green will be with us until December this year.  Both are keen outdoor people & have already had a three day staff training trip to Scotland white water paddling.  Alex is a very keen & accomplished windsurfer and has taught sailing & windsurfing before.  Rosie also happens to be a keen windsurfer & has spent a couple of seasons teaching sailing & windsurfing.

Staff changes (13/1/10)
Scarlet Trevett completed her apprenticeship at the end of 2009.  She has moved down to a centre on Dartmoor to undertake another apprenticeship.  We would all like to thank her for her efforts throughout 2009.

New build (15/11/09)
Building work on the workshop has begun!!!

Family Adventure Weekend (31/10/09)
Back by popular demand.  The weekend of 27 - 29 August is chance to bring your family for a weekend of adventurous challenges.  Join other families for a weekend of great food, company & outdoor activities.  Go to the newsletter section of documnet downloads for more details of simply click HERE.

New build (31/10/09)
Building work will start on the 11th November for a new workshop on the back of the coach house.  The workshop will give Jimmy (grounds manager) a proper home, rather than the shed he has operated out of for the last ten years.
Building of the new water side classroom & sailing equipment store will commence early in the New Year.

Staff changes (31/10/09)
Louise Holmes joined us in September as one of our new Apprentice Tutors.  Louise, who is already an RYA dinghy instructor has  settled in well & is looking forward to working her way through her qualifications.

Qualification courses (31/10/09)
The qualification season is almost at an end.  After the success of this years courses we have a vast range of National Governing Body awards on offer for 2010 ranging from RYA beginner sailing awards to summer mountain leader assessments to RYA advanced instructor courses.

Staff changes (31/10/09)
LIsa Taylor (house keeper) left us this month after 5 years service.  Lisa is moving on to work for a holiday cottage cleaning company.  Our thanks go to her for all her efforts over the last 5 years.

John Muir Award (22/9/09)
We have recently been involved with our first John Muir Award.  Students from Highfield Community College spent a weekend exploring, gathering information & taking pictures of various plants & wildlife whilst particiting in canoe journeys & ghyll trips.  Once back at school the group intend to pass on their findings to other students.  A big thank you to all students & staff involved in making this weekend successful

Qualification courses (9/8/09)
Our qualification courses have proved very popular this year.  We have run SPA training & assessment courses, ML training & assessment courses, RYA dinghy instructor course,  4 power boat courses and 2 BCU UKCC L2 assessments.  Our performance sailing courses & advanced instructor courses are almost full.  For full details look in the course section of the website.

Building maintenance (9/8/09)
Various areas of exterior woodwork will be repainted over the next few weeks.  Windows and doors will be painted during a dry period! 

Apprentice Tutor positions (9/8/09)
We are now looking for two new apprentice tutors to join us on a one placement starting in January 2010.  Full details can be found in the document download section. 

Staff changes - house keeping (9/8/09)
Patricia Williamson is leaving us after 3 years of hoovering, dusting & ironing.  She has been one of the dedicated housekeeping team that keep Water Park as clean & tidy as you have come to expect.  We would all like to thank Trish for her efforts. 
Emma Warrener will join us in mid August as a replacement for Trish.

Staff changes - apprentice tutors (9/8/09)
Hannah & Katy both come to the end of their apprenticeships in early September.  Katy is off to university & Hannah has a job with the Calvert Trust, Keswick.  Both of them have been very valuable & popular members of staff & we wish them well in their new careers.

Staff changes - apprentice tutors (27/7/09)
Richard Sterling has left us for personal reasons & gone back to working in telecommunications.
Joe Herbert has re-started his apprenticeship after badly beaking his leg in a climbing accident in September 2008.

New Recognition (31/5/09)
We have recently been accepted as a provider of quality training & assessment courses for the National Skills Academy.  This is a Government funded agency involved in offering quality vocational training in all areas of sport & recreation.  Visit their website at www.sportactivensa.co.uk.

New courses (31/5/09)
We have added a whole range of qualification and fun/skills courses to our website.  As well as the usual Mountain Leader & BCU courses we are now offering "Performance" sailing courses.  Go to the "Courses" tab on the home page for more details.

Staff development (9/5/09)
Adrian & Hannah have recently gained their RYA Dinghy Instructor awards.  Garry & Annie are currently working their way through the quagmire that is British Canoe Union system for delivering the new UKCC awards.  Richard has recently gained his 2 day emergency first aid qualification.  Jenny & Jane are undertaking NVQ level 2's in their relevant areas. 

Money saving matters (4/4/09)
In order to be able to continue offering contributions to those groups that require them, we have been looking at ways to reduce our expenditure whilst still maintaining standards.  Some of the measures that affect clients are the following:

• We no longer provide biscuits at bed time
• Clients are asked to turn lights off when they leave a room & the housekeeping team check bedrooms for lights & running taps every morning.
• We have removed the juice machines from the brew room - this was initiated by the collapse of the company who provided the juice.
• Some of the more extravagant puddings have been removed from the website & the chefs will occasionally choose their own puddings depending on produce available.
• Clients can now only have a cooked breakfast on two days per week.

In addition we have made various other changes in our working practice that will save money that we can pass onto our clients.

John Muir Award (26/3/09)
We are now able to offer the John Muir Award.  This environmental award aims to encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to discover, explore & conserve wild places.  The scheme can be set up as a project on its own or can be run alongside your weeks activities.  Contact us if you think it would be a suitable award to incorporate into your course.

New Apprentice Tutors (20/1/09)
Scarlet Trevett joins us from an outdoor centre in Scotland where she has been working as a trainee instructor since Nov 2007.  She already holds a number of trained & assessed NGB awards.  She enjoys all outdoor activities & is also a 1st degree black belt in Tae Kwon-Do & Kung Fu.
Richard Sterling is a PE graduate.  He is relatively new to the outdoors, but is very keen to learn & has already proved his skills in a kayak. He is a very keen footballer, both as a supporter & player.

10th Anniversary (20/1/09)
On Saturday 17th January we held our 10th Anniversary party.  120 guests arrived for the evening.  We laid on a buffet, celidh band & cover version singer.  The evening was a great success & it was good to see so many ex-staff & clients turn up for the party.  The next Anniversary will be our 25th in 2024.

Xmas Maintenance period (20/1/09)
During the Xmas closedown we undertook a massive amount of maintenance work to keep the building in the style to which you have become used to.  We placed a number of carpets in bedrooms, repainted a number of areas, replaced severl door-frames & doors in bedrooms, tiled the floors in the drying rooms & wet stores, replaced a vast nember of ceiling tiles, steam cleaned all of the drawing room furniture & had a blitz on the kitchen.  The building now looks as good as new.

Apprentice Tutors (8/11/08)
We have now appointed two new Apprentice Tutors to join us in January 2009.  Scarlet & Richard will join two of our existing Apprentice Tutors who are staying on as volunteer Tutors for a futher 6 - 8 months.  Further details on Richard & Scralet will appear in the new Year. 

Staff training (4/10/08)
There is a lot of staff training going on over the next few months.  Rachael is off to do her RYA Senior Instructor award, Sarah is doing her BCU level 3 award, the apprentice tutors are doing their BCU level 2 training, Jane & Tash are off to renew their food hygiene certificate.

Windsurfing (18/9/08)
This has been the first year we have offered windsurfing to Primary school children & it has proved to be very popular.  We purchased a number of junior sized rigs at the start of the season & they have made all the difference.  Unfortunately we are coming to the end of the windsurfing season for groups as the lake begins to cool down from now on.

Apprentice Tutors (18/9/08)
The closing date for applications has now gone. We have received almost fourty applications & will be shortlisting for interviews very soon.

Housekeeper (18/9/08)
Due to a career change Helen Ellison one of our part time housekeeping team has decided to move on.  Helen was a popular & hard working member of staff & will be missed by all of us.  Our thanks go to Helen for all her efforts over the year.

NGB courses (29/8/08)
Our NGB week was a great success.  Twelve people completed their Mountain Leader training with us & 4 completed their Mountain Leader assessment.  In addition we had 4 people who completed their RYA Dinghy Instructor course.  The weather was kind to us during the week with enough wind for the sailors & only a small number of showers for the walkers.  We have already put the week of the 17th August 2009 aside as our main NGB week next year.  We are able to run a number of sailing, kayak/canoe, climbing, hill walking courses on demand, so please contact us even if your course is not advertised.

NGB courses (17/8/08)
Both our Mountain Leader training & assessment courses and our Dinghy Instructor course are full.  A report on the courses will follow once they have finished.

Apprentice Tutor positions (17/8/08)
We are now advertising for Apprentice Tutors to join us in January 2009.  Details are in the document download section.  Closing date is 12th September. 

Statutory tests (26/7/08)
As part of our H & S risk management we have recently had our 5 year electrical check of the building completed.  A few minor points were raised & these are currently being dealt with.  At a similar time we also had our Legionella procedures reassessed & these were found to be working effectively.

Apprentice Tutor positions (26/7/08)
We will be advertising at the end of August for a number of new Apprentice Tutors to join us in January 2009.  Details will be placed on our website & the IOL website. 

New housekeeper (26/7/08)
Helen Ellison joined us several months ago as a stand in housekeeper.  Recently she has become a permanent member of staff.  She has a young family & is yet another horse owner & rider.  Now almost a quarter of the staff are horse owners.

Bedroom improvements (26/7/08)
The bedrooms have all had new pictures recently.  Each room now has a selection of photgraphs of clients participating in activities - you may find a picture of you on the wall!  All of the towel rails & toothbrush holders have also been replaced.

Climbing wall upgrade (26/7/08)
The old climbing wall has been fully upgraded by Jo, Adrian & Chris.  There is now a challenging overhanging section & a host of new problems to try.  Luckily with the weather being so good we have not used it much lately. 

Newsletter (15/7/08)
The summer newsletter has now been sent out to all of the clients on our database.  If you havent received one you can see a copy in the documents download section.

Staff changes (31/5/08)
Kirsty Errington has left us after several years as one of our housekeeping team.  She has recently had her first child & decided to spend more time at home.  We wish her well in her future.

Menu additions (31/5/08)
We are now able to offer Halal chicken dishes on our menu.  We have sourced a reputable provider of Halal chicken goods including, breasts, nuggets & burgers. 

New climbing wall (17/5/08)
We are currently upgrading our on site climbing wall.  Adrian, Chris & Jo are building a new overhanging area & repainting the wall to make it brighter & fresher.  The project should be completed by the end of May.

Qualifications gained (4/5/08)
Our four Apprentice Tutors have all recently passed their two day first aid course & gained their UKCC level one canoe/kayak award.  Well done to all of you.

Greenhouses (4/5/08)
The two greenhouses are now fully operational.  They have been planted out with tomatoes, chillis, & a variety of other veg.  Hopefully we will have a successful crop to show everyone later this year.

Greenhouses (1/3/08)
Jimmy will be laying the foundations for our new greenhouse over the next few weeks.  The greenhouses are being erected by the path to the kennels & will be used to grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, salad, etc.  The aim is to be able to show our clients where some of the food they eat really comes from & to supply our own kitchen with home grown produce.  Hopefully the greenhouses will be in operation by mid April.

Tree planting (1/3/08)
Over the last few weeks Jimmy & the Apprentice Tutors have been busy making a number of enclosures around the ground & planting native tree species within these enclosures.  We have planted around 150 trees including oak, ash, wild cherry and birch.

Calendar (1/3/08)
The website calendar has now ben updated to show availability until the end of 2012!  We aim to keep it updated on a regular basis.

Another staff wedding (28/1/08)
Rachael & Garry tied the knot in Austria last week. They combined their wedding with a weeks skiing.  We wish them all the best for their future.

Menu changes (19/1/08)
The online menu has had a few changes of late.  Some items have been dropped and others added.  Look out for our meat & potato pie, or try our mexican enchiladas.  Have a look on the "menu choices" section.

Staff training (19/1/08)
All staff renewed their first aid certificates in December.  A number of staff are currently re-doing their CRB checks; we re-do them on a three year basis.  Chris is currently on a four day HSE first aid course.

2008/9 bookings (19/1/08)
This is looking like another very busy year.  The only real availability this year is weekends in the Autumn.  Even if the date syou require are not available it is still worth being put on our cancellation list for the rare occasion that we have a last minute cancellation.  2009 is looking equally busy, although at the moment their are more weekends available.

Licence changes (19/1/08)
Following our AALS inspection in November last year, we have been granted another two year licence.  AALS identified our strengths as being our staff & our well maintained equipment, no weaknesses were identified.  Our BCU & RYA centre inspections have also been re-newed for another year.

Xmas re-decoration (19/1/08)
During the Xmas closedown the building underwent a massive re-decoration programme.  The drawing room was completely stripped & re-wallpapered, a number of bedrooms were re-painted and several rooms had new carpets.  The building now looks as good as new.

New Apprentice Tutors (19/1/08)
Four new apprentice tutors joined us on the 8th January for their first day of their year long placement.  Jo, Hannah, Katy & Steve have spent the last two weeks undergoing various staff training sessions.  They have been out learning how to drive our powerboats, how to navigate & various canoeing skills.  They have also spent some time with groups.  Over the next few months they will undertake more training & spend more time out on session with the full time tutors.  Details on the new Apprentice tutors can be found in the "Our Staff" section of the website.

New Apprentice Tutors appointed (14/11/07)
After a week of interviews we have now appointed three new Apprentice Tutors to join us in January. 
Further details will appear in January.

Xmas newsletter & card (14/11/07)
The Xmas 07 newsletter has been written & will be sent out with our Xmas card at the begginning of December.  The Xmas card was designed by a child from one of our regular schools.  The lucky winner of the Xmas card competition has not been informed yet, so watch this space.

National Governing Body Award courses 2008 (14/11/07)
Next August we are running a Mountain Leader training & assessment course, a Single pitch Award training & assessment course, and a Dinghy Instructor course.  Go to the NGB course section of our website for further details.

New high ropes elements(3/10/07)
Over the year Chris has been developing a couple of new high ropes elements.  We now have a higher Peter Pan & an Inclined Log challenge.  Both are perfect for enhancing teamwork between group members.

New orienteering courses(3/10/07)
The woods over the road now contain five new orienteering courses.  We will use the courses with groups who have done some orienteering before as the area is considerably more challenging than the courses around the main grounds.

New Staff(3/10/07)
Adrian Hooper has been with us for 2 months now & has settled in very well.  He is responsible for developing the rock climbing side of things & has some great ideas for re-developing our climbing wall - watch this space.  Since joining us Adrian has done his BCU L2 canoe training with a view to taking his assessment early next year.  He is an accomplished climber, mountaineer & caver & has already taken clients on some challenging walks & climbs.