Craggan Outdoors News

‘Britain: an insider’s holiday guide’ is the title of the 4-page feature in the 6th February issue of the Sunday Telegraph’s Travel section - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/7166558/Britain-an-insiders-holiday-guide.html.

Renowned travel journalist Sara Macefield listed the best of British according to those in the know, included amongst which was a nice little feature - subtitled ‘Sporty Breaks for Action Lovers’ - on Craggan Outdoors. So why not become one of those in the know by arranging your own visit. Take a look around the site to see what takes your fancy, & then get in touch. You won’t be dissappointed!

Looking for an original & thoughtful Christmas gift idea? Then look no further! An activity voucher from Craggan Outdoors is a gift with real “wow!” factor & will delight any lucky recipient.

There are two choices. Either give your chosen sum of money in the form of a voucher & leave the choice of activity, or activities, to the recipient. Or if you know what they’d want to do, or what you want to give, then pay for the specific activity/activities. With the first option a monetary value will appear on the voucher. With the latter the names of the chosen activity or activities will appear on the voucher. Click on the ‘Activities’ menu to check out one of the widest ranges of outdoor activities in Scotland.

It’s very easy! Either give us a call during office hours on 01479 873283, or drop us an email to info@cragganoutdoors.co.uk. Go on…there can’t be many gifts that are this easy to sort out, yet give will give such satisfaction & excitement!

Craggan Outdoors activity centre, based at Grantown-on-Spey in the Cairngorms National Park, is recruiting for its Volunteer Trainee Instructor programme for the 2010 season.

Craggan Outdoors is one of Scotland’s leading outdoor centres, ending the 2009 season as the TripAdvisor.com top-rated attraction in Scotland, & top 10 for the UK as a whole. The centre offers a wide range of activities, bunkhouse accommodation & a licensed cafe venue to a wide-ranging client base. Our website www.cragganoutdoors.co.uk will provide a full overview.

Volunteer Trainee Instructors will be immersed in the operation of a small-to-medium sized centre. This will include preparation & delivery of any activities in which you are qualified, assisting in others, maintenance & cleaning of kit, equipment & the centre itself, & assisting in the cafe & accommodation. An initial 4-week induction, followed by ongoing training & development, will ensure that you are able to play an integral part in the success of the 2010 season. This will be coupled with your commitment to gain necessary further knowledge & experience in your free time, & depending upon the level of your commitment, our further commitment to put you through a range of NGB qualifications. Participants in the 2009 programme secured GNAS Archery Leader, TCL training & assessment, BCU Star awards, SPA & SML training, as well as in-house accreditation in clay pigeon shooting, gorge walking, high ropes, quad biking, raft building & zip wire, & also other ’soft skills’ qualifications such as food hygiene & alcohol awareness.

We are looking for the best! A great attitude, good people skills, a strong work ethic, commitment, & a desire to learn & succeed are critical. You will also be able to demonstrate a current & ongoing passion & commitment to the outdoor activities environment. This is likely to be demonstrated by you already holding at least one NGB qualification, as well as a valid 2-day First Aid qualification, & a clearly apparent recent history of participation in a range of activities.

As well as the invaluable on-the-job training & experience that you will gain - the sort of ‘real world’ experience that it is impossible to achieve on paid-for courses - the qualifications that your commitment should ensure that you achieve, & a great team atmosphere with like-minded individuals, we also offer accommodation, some meals & a £90 per week living allowance.

If you are serious about building a career in the outdoor activities sector, & serious about committing to spending a minimum of five months gaining experience & qualifications at one of the UK’s leading outdoor centres, then we’d like to hear from you. Send your CV & covering letter outlining clearly how you meet the requirements for the role. Feel free to call centre owner Keith Ballam on 07866 698307 if you’d like to chat about things beforehand. Closing date is Friday 15th January 2010. You must be available to attend a selection weekend on 12th-14th February 2010. Start date will be mid-March 2010. Good luck! We look forward to hearing from you.

Hawick, Monday 16th November ‘09: ‘freeze’, a short film that was shot on location at Craggan Outdoors received its premiere. The film, shot in July at various locations around the Glenbeg Estate where Craggan Outdoors is based, portrays the life of a young carer coping with an alcohol dependant mother.

Eleven young filmmakers - all young carers themselves - from the Scottish Borders worked with BAFTA Scotland-winning writer & director Robert Rae to create a story that highlights the often challenging situations experienced by young carers, & how these situations are viewed by wider society. With impressive performances from the novice cast & crew, a great look, & a soundtrack from Thom Yorke of Radiohead, ‘freeze’ is a compelling & memorable exploration of the cost of caring.

‘freeze’ was produced by VOMO, in partnership with the Princes Royal Trust Borders Young Carers Project, as part of the Creative Identities programme. Creative Indentities is funded by the Scottish Government’s Cashback for Communities initiative, using the recovered proceeds of crime, managed in partnership with Scottish Screen & the Scottish Arts Council. For more information see http://www.vomo.org.uk/49923

Craggan Outdoors is pleased to have played our part in this extremely worthwhile project, providing not only the location for the film, but also accommodation for the group at a significantly reduced cost, for what essentially was a respite break for the young carers. We are always open to involvement in any such charitable initiatives, & will help as much as we can whenever we can. If you have something in mind where we could help, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch & have a chat.

Needing to get your archery qualification? Then you’ve come to the right place! Craggan Outdoors, Scotland’s TripAdvisor.com top-rated outdoor activity centre, will be running a GNAS Archery Leader course from Monday 26th-Thursday 29th April 2010.

Course cost will be £249, with this to include GNAS registration, along with course fee, materials, equipment, & tuition from the man that wrote the text book…..GNAS Senior Coach Philip van Buren (www.archeryleaders.co.uk).

A residential option is also available. The course plus four nights self-catering bunkhouse accommodation costs £299. Additional nights are also available at £15.

Craggan Outdoors is located at Grantown-on-Spey in the central Highlands, & is easily accessible from anywhere in the UK. We are minutes off the main north-south A9, 3 hours from Glasgow & Edinburgh, & 30 minutes from Inverness, as well as being on the main road from Aberdeen across the Highlands. Mainline rail services come to nearby Aviemore, & Inverness Airport - offering services to many UK airports - is just 45 minutes away.

Interested? Then don’t delay as these courses always book up quickly. Call 01479 873283 or email info@cragganoutdoors.co.uk to find out more &/or to book your place.

Craggan Outdoors innovative collaboration with Edinburgh & Aviemore-based Imagination Workshop is featured in a double-page spread in the November issue of ‘Executive’ magazine.

The link-up sees Craggan Outdoors traditional outdoor activities & the Imagination Workshop’s art & creativity based teambuilding approach being combined to offer a fresh ‘all in one’ option for corporates in the search for new ways of developing their staff & entertaining their clients.

Copy this link into your browser to read the article on pages 54 & 55 of the November issue - http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/Launch.aspx?referral=other&refresh=o03H4J1np17D&PBID=4dfa2caf-6e6c-4d7b-8cef-df4828b96159&skip=

As the 2009 season formally drew to a close at end-October, Craggan Outdoors is delighted to see that we are sitting proudly at the top of the ‘things to do’ list of over 1,200 attractions in Scotland. We wait with baited breath to see if we will end up topping this achievement by winning the Highlands & Islands Awards ‘Best Visitor Experience’ category when winners are announced on 20th November.

Looking at our own customer ratings & related prize draws, congratulations go to Moira Johnston & Nigel Neill who are the winners of our October prize draw. Moira & Nigel win a £25 activity voucher.

The 2009 season definitely ended on a high, with our customer rating for the month - averaged from the ratings given by visitors after their various indvidual experiences with us - hitting an exceptional 9.5 out of 10. This was the same rating achieved in April, & demonstrates the consistency of service excellence across a full 7 month season.

Looking at customer ratings across this full period, the average achieved was an extremely pleasing 9.2 out of the maximum 10, again testament to the attitude & fantastic efforts of the superb team at Craggan Outdoors. Preparations for the 2010 season are already well under way, when we will aim to build on what’s been a great 2009. We look forward to seeing you!

Craggan Outdoors has teamed up with the nearby Grant Arms Hotel to offer a bit of winter luxury in combination with our fantastic activities.

The Grant Arms is Grantown’s most historic hotel, & boasts a visit from Queen Victoria amongst their previous guests. Completely refurbished & upgraded in early 2009, The Grant Arms offers a combination of modern luxury & tradition. Located just five minutes drive from Craggan Outdoors, it is the ideal base for those that fancy a break away from it all, treating themselves to a few days to sample the autumn/winter delights of Grantown & the wider Strathspey/Cairngorms area, & expending a bit of energy on an outdoor activity or two with Craggan Outdoors.

For further details & to book, click on http://www.grantarmshotel.com/promo-detail.php?PromoID=12

The week of 23rd-29th November ‘09 will see Imogen Cain, one of Craggan Outdoors’ 2009 season trainee instructors, make the fantastic effort of paddling down the River Spey, followed immediately by unicycling - yes, you read it right….unicycling! - back up. I hasten to add that the pedal part of this will be on land, not along the river bed!

Imogen finishes her summer season with Craggan Outdoors at the end of October, & is then staying in the area for a couple of months before returning home to Sussex for Christmas. She will be spending time enjoying putting many of the skills that she has learned & honed over the summer into practice, including her charity ‘peddle’.

The cause that Imogen is supporting is Frank Water Projects, a small charity that funds provision of safe drinking water to over 30 villages in Andhra Pradesh, India. Over 4,000 children still die each day because of waterborne disease. With people in Britain taking their drinking water supply for granted, & with many using water for recreation such as canoeing, Imogen’s ‘peddle’ will raise a little awareness & hopefully lots of money for a critical cause. Please click through to http://www.justgiving.co.uk/imogen-peddle/ & show your support by donating. The kids of Andhra Pradesh will thank you for it, & every little bit of support will help make Imogen’s efforts all the more worthwhile.

STOP PRESS: The Highlands & Islands Tourism Awards judging panel has announced that Craggan Outdoors has been shortlisted in their ‘Best Visitor Experience’ category for the 2009 season awards. Craggan Outdoors is one of just three attractions that have made the shortlist, from which the winner will be chosen at the prestigious Highlands & Islands Tourism Awards dinner on 20th November.

Commenting on the nomination, Craggan Outdoors owner & Managing Director Keith Ballam said: “We are incredibly excited to have our efforts recognised in this way, particularly given that it is our first year since taking over the business in October last year.”

He continued: “The nomination reflects the fantastic efforts & performance that have been delivered consistently by our whole team across a long season. With TripAdvisor currently ranking us their top-rated ‘thing to do’ in Scotland, we are quietly confident that we can take the next step in this awards process & hear our name announced as the winner on the night. Fingers crossed!”