Learn outdoors

• Team challenges
• Gorge walking
• Rock climbing.
• Moutain walking.
• Orienteering.
• Paddle sports.
• Board surfing.
• Mine exploration.

View more information about activities.

Food and accommodation

Arthog is a purpose built outdoor education centre with capacity for 100 people. The buildings have benefited from a recent investment programme which has extended and upgraded the facilities. The sleeping accommodation is designed to enable segregation of boys and girls and each bedroom area has adjacent staff accommodation enabling close monitoring over night. Communal areas like the lounge, dining room and tutor rooms are multifunctional and available for use throughout your stay.

The Centre's private grounds overlook the sea and estuary and provide space and opportunity for evening activities and watching the sun go down.

We recognise that when people are engaged in physically demanding activities in the outdoors, they need good quality food and plenty of it!

All of your meals are included in the package.

Breakfast

Comprises a choice of cereal, toast, cooked course and tea or coffee.

Lunch

Packed lunches are provided on your first full day and comprise of baguettes with various fillings, crisps, fruit and a homemade tray bake.

Evening meals

Includes a choice of main course plus selection from the salad bar followed with a choice of dessert.

*Special dietary requirements can be met provided we receive advance notification.

View information on booking and the course organiser packs.

• Download the fee information for Telford and Wrekin Schools.
• Download the fee information for out of borough schools.

If you are reading this, you probably have an interest in the benefits to young people of an outdoor education experience. You may well have received promotional materials from other outdoor 'activity' centres. To help you decide which is for you, I would like to explain the philosophy and ethos which underpin our work at Arthog.

Activities at Arthog are a means to an end, not an end in themselves.

Our experienced team of outdoor practitioners are not only highly qualified in adventure activity leadership, but are also very skilful at using the outdoor experience to promote personal and social development and learning.

Facing appropriate levels of challenge and experiencing success, raises self confidence, self esteem and self reliance. Sharing experiences with others in the outdoors leads to a greater understanding of self, other people and the environment.

Because our staff team are highly qualified and experienced across a broad spectrum of outdoor adventure activities, we are able to provide continuity of instructor and group. Each instructor has 'ownership' of their group and they work closely with visiting staff to ensure that the aims of the school and needs of the young people are met. They have the autonomy to make decisions about which venues they use for their activities and how they manage the programme to ensure suitability and successful outcomes.

Environmental education and fieldwork

Environmental awareness and understanding underpins all of our work. When we take you into the outdoors for adventure you can expect our infectious enthusiasm for the natural world to emerge along the way.

Many schools visiting us choose to incorporate the John Muir Award into their adventure programmes. This is an environmental award which requires people to engage in a conservation project - an opportunity to make a positive impact and do something for the environment. Arthog is currently the largest provider of John Muir Awards in Wales.

We have a long tradition of providing fieldwork for visiting schools and colleges. The quality and diversity of environments on our doorstep combined with the resources in the field laboratory and library make the centre an ideal base. Close by we have access to glaciated valleys and uplands; freshwater, estuarine and marine habitats; spits, sand dunes, salt marsh and rocky shores; ancient deciduous woodlands and coniferous plantations; tourism and recreation; wind farms, hydro schemes, the Alternative Technology Centre and even a decommissioned nuclear power station.

Each fieldwork programme is designed to meet the specific requirements of your syllabus. If you want to 'pick and mix' you can incorporate some adventure activities in your programme too.

Arthog midweek package

The 5 day programme for Telford and Wrekin and Shropshire schools is an 'all inclusive package'. This relieves school staff of the burden of course organisation, responsibility for checking the quality of provision and carrying out risk assessments. You can be reassured that as a Local Authority provision which is also inspected annually by the Adventure Activity Licensing Service you will be in receipt of a high quality of service that conforms to Local Authority Health and Safety policies and is subject to rigorous inspection.

The package includes:

• All accommodation and food costs
• Your choice from our range of activities, all activity instruction and use of equipment
• All risk assessments - barring that for the journey to and from Arthog, self-led activities and off programme supervision. Schools must risk assess these particular aspects of their visit.

A split week programme, Monday to Wednesday or Wednesday to Friday is chosen by some schools and is particularly suited to younger children experiencing their first trip away from home.

The same opportunities are available to schools and youth groups from outside of our local authority.

Arthog weekend package

A weekend stay at Arthog typically starts late afternoon on a Friday and finishes mid-afternoon on Sunday. Some schools choose to extend their weekend by incorporating a self-managed activity earlier on the Friday - a beach walk or visit to Barmouth for example. We try to be flexible and meet your requirements.

A weekend package is similar to a midweek visit in every respect.

Food and accommodation

Arthog is a purpose built outdoor education centre with capacity for 100 people. The buildings have benefited from a recent investment programme which has extended and upgraded the facilities. The sleeping accommodation is designed to enable segregation of boys and girls and each bedroom area has adjacent staff accommodation enabling close monitoring over night. Communal areas like the lounge, dining room and tutor rooms are multifunctional and available for use throughout your stay.

The Centre's private grounds overlook the sea and estuary and provide space and opportunity for evening activities and watching the sun go down.

We recognise that when people are engaged in physically demanding activities in the outdoors, they need good quality food and plenty of it!

All of your meals are included in the package.

Breakfast

Comprises a choice of cereal, toast, cooked course and tea or coffee.

Lunch

Comprises soup and roll, cheese, cake and fruit on arrival and packed lunches thereafter.

Evening meals

Includes a choice of main course plus selection from the salad bar followed with a choice of dessert.

*Special dietary requirements can be met provided we receive advance notification.

Plan your stay

Your visit to us is preceded by an opportunity to discuss your requirements and select your activities. We have a very flexible approach to programme planning and are always open to new ideas. Visit the adventure activities section of this site to find out more about your options. Adventure activities are either half or full day sessions, but with secondary age students we encourage full day activities where possible to enable skills progression, greater challenge and journeys.

Environmental awareness and understanding underpin all of our work. When we take you into the outdoors for adventure you can expect our infectious enthusiasm for the natural world to emerge along the way. We are also able to develop themes alongside the adventure activity programme to help support your work in school. Why not capitalise on your mountain walk and incorporate a river study, or visit the beach to see evidence of coastal erosion, explore rock pools - and then do some art work. We want to help you capitalise on these wonderful opportunities while you are with us.

Many schools visiting us choose to incorporate the John Muir Award into their adventure programmes. This is an environmental award which requires people to engage in a conservation project - an opportunity to make a positive impact and do something for the environment. Arthog is currently the largest provider of John Muir Awards in Wales.

• Download the fee documents.
• Download the Arthog Wales course organiser pack.

Hi,

Just a quick email to say thank you so so much. The week was perfect from start to finish. The children have absolutely loved it. All of the staff were amazing and couldn't do enough to make us feel welcome. The instructors were fantastic, the kitchen staff were amazing and all of the other staff we met were unbelievable.

Thank you so much.

Kind regards

Sir Alexander Fleming Primary

Dear Arthog,

I would like to add my thanks to those of Helen. Arthog is a truly inspirational place and this is due not only to its stunning location but, in no less part, to the incredible dedication and professionalism of all your staff.

Over the years I have enjoyed many memorable experiences and witnessed first hand the effect Arthog has on the development of young people. Staff have a passion for ensuring that each and every visitor gets the maximum achievement from their visit, through challenge and a widening of their life experience. All this is done with safety at the centre of each activity.

Kind regards to All

Harry Pickavance

Chair of Governors, Morda CofE Primary School

Hi,

Just wanted to say a huge thank you to you and all the team at Arthog for making the past few days such an incredible experience for all. Lots of memories! 

Our young people have benefited so much as always.

Please pass on our thanks from all of us at the VST to Arthog staff.

We look forward to our next visit! 

Virtual Schools

Please pass my thanks on to all of the team at Arthog. All of my staff and students really enjoyed it and came home having felt they had been fully challenged as well supported to overcome these challenges , so well done to the instructors and the rest of the Arthog staff for making the week so enjoyable. 

Holy Trinty Academy

Just a short email asking you to pass on our thanks to yourselves and the staff at Arthog for yet another wonderful stay with you due to the expertise, friendliness and most importantly care shown by every one of your staff.

The feedback from the children and our staff was as positive as ever- they had a great time experiencing things that hopefully will stay with them for a long time.

St Anthony’s Primary

‘I just wanted to say a massive thank you. My son came to Arthog in September and he had the time of his life. J has Cerebral Palsy and I've always dreaded Arthog coming around as I thought he would be left out a lot and really struggle which then would affect him emotionally but I worried over nothing. It was so inclusive and the staff were absolutely amazing with him and made sure he could participate in everything but didn't make him feel any different from anybody else. The week after he came back he had a week of inpatient physiotherapy in hospital and being able to tell the staff all his stories about Arthog got him through a tough week and kept a smile on his face. I really can't thank the staff enough for giving him the best time and making him feel like he can now do anything.

Thank you so, so much’

Hi, 

Just a quick email to thank you and all the staff for an incredible week at Arthog. The children ( and staff) learned so much about the environment and themselves. We loved all the work on teamwork and values, and how skilfully the Arthog team helped children develop their 'bounce back ability'. 

Thanks to the kitchen staff for feeding us so well. The food was delicious and plentiful ( I'm sure we all gained a few pounds during the stay!)   

Kindest Regards

Morda Primary