On The Water
Boats that are great for beginners and old hands alike
Paddling your boat silently through the softly rippling waters of a small tarn or large lake is top of most visitors’ wish list.
Our Canadian Canoes are designed for journeying, our Sit On Top kayaks are good, clean fun! Both types of boat are great for beginners and old hands alike.
For younger guests and those that haven’t paddled much before we use our own private tarn (that’s a little lake!).
Just a hop, skip and a jump from the Centre, yet it feels remote and immersed in nature. Groups have spotted herons, buzzards, otters and crayfish whilst exploring our wildlife haven, as well as many rubber ducks!
Sessions often end up with a spot of jetty jumping for the brave, or paddling in the shallows for those who prefer something a little calmer. A great introduction to the craze of wild swimming!
Build rafts from canoes or barrels, lake orienteering races, capsize or jump in, and journeys on England’s largest lakes.
Ghyll Scrambling
Embrace the challenge – sit under a waterfall
Ghyll scrambling is a favourite. Make your way up a mountain stream, get a totally different perspective of the environment, and it’s great fun. A brilliant personal challenge where your team mates will need your help.
Dry ghylls where you try to avoid a dunking, or wet ghylls where you embrace the challenge and sit under a waterfall – roped climbs and plunge-pooling could be included.
This often takes place in the Great Langdale valley with some of the best views that the Lake District has to offer.
Caving
Yorkshire is riddled with caves and caverns and there’s one to suit every group
For our caving adventures (or pot holing!) we travel to the Yorkshire Dales to experience a totally different landscape. There’s nowhere better in the UK than Yorkshire for a bit of underground exploration.
Underlain with limestone, Yorkshire is riddled with caves and caverns and there’s one to suit every group. A full day activity, you’ll be back in time for a well-earned dinner. Don’t believe the Hollywood hype, this is a beautiful natural environment and an experience of a lifetime.
Dark Tunnels
The dark tunnels are otherwise known as Cathedral Cavern
Also out in Langdale, this is a great activity to couple with a ghyll scramble or a walk taking in the famous Slater’s Bridge.
The dark tunnels are otherwise known as Cathedral Cavern, a network of interlinked quarries above Little Langdale, with a huge main chamber that stands 40 feet high. Some tunnels require lighting, so we take torches or candles to explore
Fun fact: film aficionados might recognise Cathedral Cavern from the movie Snow White and the Huntsman, and the cavern once belonged to Beatrix Potter (for those fans of Peter Rabbit!)
Fell Walking
A superb perspective of the surrounding landscape
Here in the Lake District, hills are known as ‘fells’. Use this word and earn a few Brownie points! Standing on the top of a Lakeland Peak is an experience few will forget. A unique world-class environment provides a great place for real geography and true inspiration.
The good news is that you don’t need to scale the lofty heights of Scafell Pike or Helvellyn to say you’ve climbed a peak. We have a whole National Park at our fingertips and there are many smaller fells with views that are just as fabulous. Of course, if you want to conquer a mighty colossus then we can do that too. We might just set off a bit earlier, and pack extra cake to eat at the top.
Cool fact: 214 of the best Lakeland Fells are called Wainwrights.
Rock Climbing and Abseiling
The Lake District is the birth place of English rock climbing
We have a good variety of crags within half an hour drive of the Centre. With many of today’s climbers starting their careers on indoor walls, we can provide an opportunity to step onto real rock in some amazing environments.
For those who wish to abseil we have a purpose built abseil tree in the grounds – bigger cliffs are available elsewhere.
Cool fact: abseil is a German word. It translates as ‘down rope’.
Coastal Scrambling
An adventure on the rocks above Morecambe Bay
I bet when you think of the Lake District your first thought isn’t beaches! Challenges here include easy rock climbing, walls, caves, squeezes, ledges and jumps. Humphrey Head is tucked away on the coast to the south of the Lake District.
Peninsulas – we like to call it the ‘Riviera’ as it’s often warmer and sunny down there. Following a seaside trip ice cream can be an option on the way home.
Fun fact: peregrines can often be seen nesting here.
Unaccompanied Walk
The sense of achievement if they make it back is evident
What could be more exhilarating than being given your own map and having to find your way back to the Centre without any adults?!
The unaccompanied walk gives groups the chance to get to know the local area, and get their bearings. The sense of achievement if they make it back to the Centre is evident, and they can tuck into their dinner knowing they’ve earned it
Ropes Course
Test your balance on the see-saw, test your nerves on the Burma bridge
This is the first thing you’ll see as you come up the drive to the main building, and another of our most popular activities.
Test your balance on the see-saw, test your nerves on the Burma bridge, and test your teamwork skills helping your friends to navigate around the course without touching the ground. It can be done but it isn’t easy…
Revision
Learning is often enhanced by interspersing it with a bit of fun
Our popular ‘Grades Booster Stress Buster’ weekends are great for focussed revision before exams. Learning is often enhanced by interspersing it with a bit of fun, and we’re good at both here at High Borrans.
All our programmes are bespoke. We are happy to consult with teachers to ensure these revision weekends contain the right balance between revision and adventure.
Schools have used this before SATs, GCSEs and A-levels to great effect. Give us a call on 015394 42816 to discuss your ideas!
Night-line
This one is all about trust
In pairs, participants navigate our on-site woodland course, one being blindfolded whilst the other directs. Some are more successful than others but it’s always lots of fun for everyone involved, and a great activity to improve communication and teamwork.
Environment and Fieldwork
Learning more about the landscape, wildlife and how humans live, work and visit
Learning more about the landscape, wildlife and how humans live, work and visit this part of the world is something that can be incorporated in a general course, or be the specific focus of a formal field study supporting examination subjects.
At High Borrans we have specialist Geography staff who design and lead fieldwork courses which explore the particularly good case studies in the region. These studies can be combined with the more adventurous environments of the Lake District fells or the Yorkshire Dales caves for an exciting and memorable learning experience.
Orienteering
Cunning running!
Running, independently, map in hand, away from your teacher? That’s cunning running. Several courses around the grounds and surrounding farmland, perfect for a morning of exploration and teamwork.
Or for something a little different, try our unique canoe orienteering over on High Borrans tarn!
Mountain Biking
As exhilarating or as sedate as you wish
For those looking for adventure on 2 wheels we offer mountain biking for Year 8 groups and above. Exploring the bridleways around the local fells or over in Coniston, this can be as exhilarating or as sedate as you wish.
Note: available only by prior arrangement, and with a supplementary cost
Evenings
Hopefully you will have had plenty of adventure during the day
The following activities are suggested for evenings.
Indoor: disco, shop, movie night, table tennis, table football, arts & crafts (please bring your own resources), diary writing or writing a postcard home, indoor orienteering, games and problem solving
Outdoor: games on the front lawn (we have a selection of bats and balls), hide and seek, camp fire and night-line.
Outdoor Education Centre
Windermere ǀ Cumbria ǀ LA23 1JS ǀ 015394 42816
