Craggan Outdoors News

After a the record month in June & very busy July, August proved to be something of a steadier month, with numbers just about ahead of August ‘09. Looks like a lot of people took their summer (have we had one?) breaks earlier rather than later this year.

Performance by the Craggan Outdoors team remained strong, with an average customer rating for the month of 9.4-out-of-10, with this based on 97 post-visit feedback forms. As ever a monthly draw has been held from all the feedback forms submitted during the month of August. The lucky winner this time around is Key Community Support from Thurso, a group of adults with additional needs that visited Craggan Outdoors on 11th / 12th / 13th August to do archery, canoeing on the River Spey & pony trekking.

Gail Clark who organised the booking wrote the following on her feedback form: “The most memorable part for us was the professionalism of the staff & their friendliness. All our activities went very smoothly, & the staff dealt with our group with ease, something that we know from experience that all centres cannot do.” Working with this group was certainly one of the highlights of the season for the Craggan Outdoors team, & we hope to see them back again in 2011.

Other ’snapshot’ comments from August included: “Gorge walking….the most mazing experience”, “Excellent from start to finish”, “Fond memories to take home”, “All round great experience”, “Relaxed, friendly & supportive atmosphere”, “The challenge, the encouragement, the achievement”, & finally “I loved it all!”

September is traditionally the quietest month of the spring / summer / autumn season, so if you like what you see from the feedback of prior visitors & our website, then why not get in touch & see how you can get some great outdoor activity experiences at Craggan Outdoors?

Thanks to all that visited Craggan Outdoors during June, resulting in a new record month that saw over 1,400 people enjoy our activities & group accommodation. With most schools breaking up for the summer holidays at the end of this week, or indeed having already broken up, here’s hoping that June’s figures will herald a record summer aswell!

As a thankyou to all visitors that fill in one of our customer feedback forms following their time with us, all completed forms go into a monthly prize draw. The winner for June is Jeremy Harper who visited as part of a stag group on 19th June. Congratulations Jeremy, who wins a £25 activity voucher. The average customer experience score that was calculated from June’s feedback forms was 8.9 out of 10.

Comments from this month’s feedback forms included: “First experience of rock climbing….excellent!”, “They made it very easy for us. It was our first time gorge walking & were a bit scared, but had great fun!”, “Stunning way to see the Spey; informative guide”, “Gorge walking was brill! We love all the slides!”, & “Just a perfect experience!”

Fancy some similar top quality outdoor experiences?! Then just take a look around the site to see which activities you fancy, & then either give us a call on 01479 873283, or email info@cragganoutdoors.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.

Craggan Outdoors is pleased to announce a new link with a small charity called Water for Kids. The aim is to use the fact that we use water for leisure purposes, to raise awareness of the fact that more than 1 billion people lack access to safe water, & that an estimated 3.6 million people - more than half being children - die each year as a result.

But not just to raise awareness….also of course to raise money for this critical cause. Book any water-based activity such as gorge walking, kayaking, raft building, River Spey canoeing or white water rafting, & we donate to the charity. Click on the link at the bottom of any page on this site to find out more about what we are doing, & how you can help further.

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.

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!

Preparations for the 2009 season continue apace! As part of those preparations Craggan Outdoors is pleased to announce the addition of three new activities - indoor climbing, yoga and massage - that are all now available to book.

Indoor climbing now complements the outdoor rock climbing that the centre has long offered. The wall offers a great opportunity for those that are new to climbing to learn the basic techniques whilst away from the vagaries of the Scottish weather, and with the comfort of being just a few feet off the ground, with a padded floor for extra reassurance. Prices start at £25 per person for a 1 hour instructor-led session.

Yoga is renowned for promoting health & well-being, so we think that it’s a great fit (excuse the pun) with our more energetic activities.  Great for improving energy levels, muscle tone, joint mobility, suppleness and core body strength, yoga can be a perfect start or finish to a day, weekend or week of activities. Over the course of an hour, morning or afternoon, our qualified instructor will guide you through elements of a range of yoga styles, including Ashtanga, Iyengar and Shadow. Prices start at £20 for a 1-hour instructor-led session.

There can’t be a better way to recover from a day or weekend of outdoor exertion than with a massage. Our qualified masseuse can offer either a remedial and sports massage to aid recovery from the aches, pains and strains of activity, or a relaxing Swedish Ling massage to end your day in style. Indian head massage is also available. Prices start at £29 for a half-hour session.

Commenting on the new activities, owner and Managing Director Keith Ballam said: “We are really excited to have added these three new options to our already wide range of activities. We feel that they are an extremely complementary fit with what the centre already had on offer, and give enhanced quality and choice for new customers, whilst offering something new to try for repeat clients.” He concluded: “We expect to add another two or three activities by the start of the season at Easter, so watch this space for further announcements!”