Craggan Outdoors News

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.

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!

Following on from the 93% rating given by customers during April, analysis of feedback forms submitted during May shows an increase to an even better 95%!

On an ongoing basis customers are asked to rate their experience(s) at Craggan Outdoors out of 10, with an average mark - 9.5 out of 10 for May’s feedback - then being calculated at the end of the month & converted into the corresponding percentage score.

Commenting on the impressive figures, Managing Director Keith Ballam said: “We have a fantastic team that have been recruited as much for their high level people skills as for their technical abilities, & we all concentrate on delivering great experiences to our customers, be it on activity sessions, at our accommodation, or in the Clubhouse Cafe.” He continued: “This shines out in the feedback that we receive. Typical are the comments from the May prize draw winner Jillian Geddes - congratulations Jillian who receives a £25 activity voucher - who brought a hen party of 34 to us on the weekend of 23rd/24th May.”

Jillian’s comments were as follows: “I was really impressed with the organisation of our day. Everything ran very smoothly. Everybody really enjoyed all the activities, & the bunkhouse & bothy were an ideal setting for our evening activities. I had a great hen weekend, so thank you all!”

Don’t just take our word for it though…have a look at our reviews on TripAdvisor - click through from our homepage - to see what others have said about their time at Craggan Outdoors. Hopefully we’ll then look forward to welcoming your group for a similarly great time!

Craggan Outdoors is pleased to announce the recent appointment of a new Senior Instructor, Graham McCullough. Graham brings a wealth of knowledge & experience to the centre, both from the perspective of his abilities & qualifications in various outdoor activities - canoeing being his great love! - & through his prior background of working with a range of young people in different environments, from mainstream primary & secondary school age children, through to young offenders in secure units. Graham’s particular talent is in developing & delivering social & personal development programmes for young people through the medium of outdoor activities.

Speaking about the appointment, Craggan Outdoors Managing Director Keith Ballam said: “Graham has been with us a week & already feels like part of the furniture. He is going to be a fantastic asset for the centre; somebody from whom our junior staff will learn a lot, & from the compliments that I’ve aready had from the groups with which he has been involved, somebody that is going to consistently deliver sessions of the highest quality for our clients.”

Complementing Graham will be a new team of junior instructors, all young, keen & highly capable, that begin their induction & training programme in mid-March. Commenting on finalising recruitment for the 2009 season, Keith added: “I’m really excited about the quality of the team that we have put together. With 2009 promising to be a year when many more people than usual will choose to take breaks & holiday in the UK as opposed to going overseas, the team at Craggan Outdoors is looking forward to a very busy season & look forward to welcoming customers old & new to experience the great range of experiences that we have to offer!”

Four months after taking over Craggan Outdoors, owners Keith & Jill Ballam are pleased to announce that the renovation & redecoration of the 27-bed bunkhouse & 6-bed bothy accommodation is now complete.

The bunkhouse, originally converted from its former life as a farmhouse in 2007, has benefited from a top-to-bottom paint job, along with an upgrade of lighting, & the addition of storage units in the bedrooms, a drying area, & finishing touches such as curtains & blinds & an increased range of appliances & utensils in the kitchen. A growing library of magazines, books & games is also available.

The bothy, previously a typical bare stone walled building throughout, has quite literally been transformed inside. Now dry-lined & fully insulated throughout, a luxury bathroom fitted, lighting upgraded, & a finished off with light, bright paint-job like the bunkhouse, the bothy is now a fantastic little bolt-hole for small groups, or an extension of the bunkhouse for larger groups. Take a look at the accommodation pages of the website to check out the photo galleries of both properties.

Commenting on the achievement Keith said: “We are really pleased to be able to add what is effectively a new bunkhouse & a superb little bothy to the choice of accommodation in the Aviemore-Grantown area of the National Park.” He continued: “We’ve already been pleasantly surprised at the levels of enquiries & bookings that we’ve had since New Year, so now that we’ve officially ‘launched’ the accommodation as open, we are looking forward to an ever increasing quantity of enquiries. Sitting atop the Glenbeg Estate, yet only 5 minutes outside Grantown, & with golf, fishing & outdoor activities ‘on tap’, there really can’t be many better places to stay in Speyside, or indeed the whole Highlands!”

Love your whisky? The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival (http://www.spiritofspeyside.com) takes place from 1st-10th May 2009. Located beside the River Spey, just minutes outside Grantown-on-Spey, Craggan Outdoors is the perfect spot at which to come & soak up the whisky-related atmosphere.

The newly renovated Craggan Bothy provides a lovely little bolt-hole for a few days of relaxation. The golf course, fishery & activity centre offer plenty of opportunity for things to do to complement the whisky. Just across the road from the centre is The Craggan Mill Restaurant (http://www.cragganmill.co.uk), home of the award-winning ‘Whisky Kitchen’ cookbook. Plus of course all the distilleries & festival events that are all within easy reach.

So if you fancy a whisky-centric break, get in touch & we’ll sort out the perfect package!

Following the recent addition of indoor climbing, massage and yoga - all available now! - Craggan Outdoors is pleased to announce that pony trekking will be a new activity for summer 2009. The pony trekking season begins at the start of May and runs through to October. Bookings are now being taken for a choice of 1 and 2-hour treks. For more details, click on the pony trekking page under the ‘Activities’ drop-down menu.

Why not make a day of it, and combine pony trekking with one or more other activities, along with a nice freshly prepared lunch in our Clubhouse Cafe?! Or even a ’stay and play’ break - overnight, for the weekend, or longer - that combines a stay in our recently renovated bunkhouse and bothy accommodation with your choice of activities. Tell us what you fancy and we’ll tailor a break specifically to meet your requirements.

Watch this space for further additions to Craggan Outdoors’ already wide range of exciting activities, with mini-quads (for 6-11 year olds) and grass sledging expected to follow in the spring.

You probably spotted the logos on the home page, but confirmation that Craggan Outdoors can now be found on both Facebook & Tripadvisor. If you’ve been to Craggan Outdoors, then you can use both sites to let others know what you thought. Tripadvisor is a more serious site where you can read others’ reviews (none yet there at time of writing this….who’s going to be first?) of their time at Craggan Outdoors, & also add your own reviews. You can have a bit more fun on Facebook. If you like what we do then become a fan, post your photos & videos, & interact with other fans.

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!”