High in the Ashdown Forest, set in 300 acres of woodland and wilderness, just over an hour from London, Hindleap Warren Outdoor Education Centre creates opportunities for personal and social development that are second to none, working with more than 9,000 young people a year. For many young people, Hindleap is their first meaningful experience of the great outdoors. Many are growing up in difficult circumstances – many in poverty, many with special needs.

Outdoor education challenges young people, encouraging and enabling them to reach out beyond that which is familiar and comfortable. The sense of adventure it instills and the team-work it inspires, help young people come together, win new confidence and gain invaluable education for life. 

Hindleap provides bespoke residential courses for young people from youth clubs, schools, special schools, local authority youth services, social services and specialist units working with young people and families in difficulty. We also deliver day courses for young people with special needs or at risk for whom a residential stay may not be possible. 

Activities are accessible all year round and have been designed to stretch young people of all ages. On-site, there is archery, orienteering, pool canoeing, a climbing wall, high ropes, zip-wires, an abseiling tree, tunnels, an obstacle course and team challenges. We also take groups off-site to do canoeing, mountain biking, mine and cave exploration, rock climbing and bouldering. 

We know from careful evaluation and speaking directly to the youth leaders, teachers, volunteers and carers that the benefits derived from a stay at Hindleap are both wide-ranging and long-lasting.  Specifically, outdoor education at Hindleap improves physical and emotional well-being and enriches personal and social development, helping young people to:

• develop greater self-confidence and independence
• learn new practical skills
• accept personal responsibility for working within a group through co-operation and respecting the needs of others
• become more positive about undertaking physical activity
• acquire a deeper appreciation of nature
• widen personal horizons, through the exposure to different environments
• understand concerns relating to environmental issues
• gain more from formal and non-formal learning

Get in touch!

If you would like to find out more about what Hindleap can offer, please contact Tony Smith, Hindleap Warren's Head of Centre, on 01342 822625 or email him at tony@hindleap.com.