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!

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

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!”

It’s a good time for the Scouts! The August prize draw winner was a member of a Scout group, & the name out of the hat at the end of September, Stuart Hamilton, was also part of a Scout group from Fife that stayed in the bunkhouse & went gorge walking in mid-September. So congratulations go to Stuart. He wins a £25 activity voucher to use on the activity of his choice on his next visit.

The monthly prize draw takes place from all the customer feedback forms that are received from people that spend time at Craggan Outdoors. All that complete the forms are asked to rate their various experiences with us on a scale of 1-to-10, 1 being terrible & 10 being fantastic. These scores are aggregated at the end of the month & an average rating is achieved, which for September worked out at a very strong 8.9 out of a 10.

With the season now almost at an end there will be one last monthyl draw at the end of October, & we will then move to quarterly draws over the quieter winter period.

Congratulations to Bruce Grant of Grantown-on-Spey who was the lucky person to have his name pulled out of the proverbial hat for the latest in our end-of-month prize draws. Bruce receives a £25 activity voucher to use on his next visit to Craggan Outdoors.

Bruce had the chance to be a winner having completed a customer feedback form following a quad trek that he did on 11th August. All customer feedback forms go into the monthly prize draw. Customers are asked to rate their experiences at Craggan Outdoors from 1 as the lowest & most unsatisfactory, to 10 as fantastic & loved it! The average rating throughout the year to date has been in excess of 9 ut of 10, with August being no different, with an average experience rating of 9.24 out of 10, equating to a 92.4% customer satisfaction rating for the month.

A further month of great performances from our staff team, which shines through in the service & experiences that Craggan Outdoors consistently delivers to our visitors. We love what we do! Our customers love what we do! Get in touch to find out more & come along for some great experiences of your own!

With the summer season now in full swing, customers continue to deliver high ratings for their experiences at Craggan Outdoors. Eighty-five responses during July gave an average rating of 9.07 out a maximum 10 marks.

July prize draw winner Alastair Hoey - congratulations Alastair! - who brought a group of Scouts to the centre for a day of clay pigeon shooting, and a second day of gorge walking, summed up the experience of his group: “Friendly, enthusiastic staff; great activities and very accommodating to the needs of the group.”

They had a great time at Craggan Outdoors. Will you / your group be next? Give us a call - 01479 873283 - or drop us an email - info@cragganoutdoors.co.uk - to start planning your day, weekend, or week of fantastic experiences!