| About Adventure Okehampton |
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About Adventure Okehampton As the southern-most YHA Adventure Activity centre, we meet YHA standards for accommodation provision, as well as catering. We are inspected by English Tourist Board each year, to maintain our ETB 3 Star rating. Each winter we work on updating some part of the centre. This year we have improved the dining facilities at YHA Bracken Tor and are in the process of upgrading 4 Bedrooms at YHA Okehampton, adding more en-suite rooms. Our aims:
The Adventure Activity Team has a range of instructors with skills in different adventure activities. Many of the senior instructors have been with the team for several years, and we have an active Modern Apprentice scheme run in conjunction with Duchy College, Cornwall, allowing our young instructors to obtain qualifications on the job and progress to senior instructor positions. All of our adventure activities are reviewed on a regular basis by our own advisors as well as AALA inspectors. One of our senior instructors, Phil Bond, is responsible for the management of all the risk assessments and these are also reviewed on a regular basis. Our activity team was reviewed by the Council of Learning Outside the Classroom in 2010 and obtained their Quality Badge for the centre, meeting their standards as a recognized provider in Outdoor Learning experiences. Staff you may come in contact with whilst arranging your stay
Centre Director: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . John is a qualified MLTB instructor, as well as the Centre Director for the last 15 years. Formerly the Leader of North Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team, he is very familiar with the area of North Dartmoor. John is a keen walker, whose recent treks have included the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal and the GR10 in France. He manages the two centres, and in the past has served on various committees including Dartmoor National Park Authority. Operation Manager: Paul Elson. Paul is the operations manager at Adventure Okehampton. In the past he served as an activity instructor, having a SPA in climbing as well as being a keen mountain biker. He is also a qualified electrician. A Ten Tor veteran in the past, he also knows Dartmoor well, and but today he is more generally found managing the Hostel catering departments and building projects. Activity Manager: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Michelle has worked at Adventure Okehampton for 6 years and is an experienced canoeist, who has represented the UK in canoe polo competitions. She manages a team of up to 40 instructors, with the assistance of Anna Lucking, our friendly activity co-ordinator and two senior instructors, Phil Bond and Nicky Chadwick. Accounts Department: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and Libby Curtis Web and Marketing Manager: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Mary works part-time at the hostel managing the web-site for Adventure Okehampton. In the past she worked as a teacher (MPG i/c geology) in Cheltenham before moving onto National Museum of Wales, where she was a curator 18 years. Now she has taken early retirement, she can help advise teachers on the development of field-study based projects for biology, geology and geography around Okehampton, for example with river studies, periglacial landscapes, woodland and moorland management, shopping surveys, farmland surveys etc.. Adventure Okehampton runs an adventure activity centre which is approved by: Adventure Activity Licensing Authority: AALA number L9842 Council for Learning Outside the Classrooom: Quality Badge Youth Hostel Association (England and Wales) We are registered providers for many county and city councils including: We provide training courses for awards under: British Canoe Union Approved training centre : What does it mean? A BCU approved centre is your assurance of high standards of safety and qualified instruction. Equipment and facilities are approved annually and Approved Centre status is only awarded when the approval officers are satisified that all aspects of the canoeing activity at the centre are up to standard. We also have their Paddleability status NNAS Navigation Training Courses The scheme was launched in 1994 at the Royal Institute of Navigation in London, and since then over 35,000 people of all ages have gained an award. The NNAS scheme was devised as a non-competitive, personal performance scheme for all ages, to encourage people to be confident in their navigation in the countryside. NNAS courses do not provide leadership qualifications. See the Walking Group Leader Awards from We are listed as an Extreme Adventure centre by Visit England and we hold a 3 star hostel status.
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