10 Things To Look For In An Outdoor Provider

1) Safety and enjoyment

Your safety matters – it comes first in everything that we do. Our team are experts in structuring, planning and delivering safe activities from Summer DofE expeditions to ice climbing on Ben Nevis in Winter. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) recognise us as a safe provider through regular inspections from the Adventure Activities Licensing Service (AALS) and as outdoor experts, we act as technical advisors to a range of outdoor centres, schools and private companies to help them ensure that they deliver outstanding, safe activity provision. See our Safety and Quality Assurance information for full details.

2) Quality not quantity

We have often heard the term ‘sausage factory’ used to describe the way that some outdoor activities are run. You can be assured that you are not ‘just another face’ or simply an ‘eDofE number’ to your instructor and we do not want to operate our programmes on this quantity driven basis. Your specific needs,  aims and aspirations matter to us. We limit the number of large groups that we operate on any given date to ensure that you receive the attention that you deserve. In recognition of our approach, we are holders of the Learning Outside the Classroom, AAIAC Adventure Mark and AHOEC Gold Standard quality badges.

3) Learn from experience

It’s all about people. We are really proud of our instructor team and work only with highly experienced, qualified outdoor professionals who are friendly and welcoming. All instructors hold the appropriate National Governing Body (NGB) award appropriate to the terrain and activity they are working on.  The majority of our instructors hold higher awards – our Directors are highly experienced WMCIs (read more about qualifications here). Aside from outdoor qualifications, all instructors have enhanced DBS checks, outdoor first aid certificates, inclusion and diversity training, have completed AE induction and training and come with bags of experience. Each instructor brings a real depth to your programme – you can go away feeling inspired and motivated for more or ask them to tell you about some of their own adventures!

4) Stress-free: making things easy

Right from your first contact with us, our aim is to make all aspects of your adventure easy and stress-free. Whether you are organising a DofE expedition for 80 young people, joining us for a professional training course or want to organise an adventure for you and your friends or colleagues, we are here to help with a full-time office team at the end of the phone and by email. Whether you are unsure about which course or expedition you would like to book, would like some local knowledge or have a range of questions to fire at us, we’re always happy to have a chat. Our programmes are tailored to your needs and you have our full support throughout.

5) Value for money

All courses and expeditions that we run are competitively priced to make them as accessible as possible while retaining the highest standards of quality. We operate a fully transparent pricing policy – there are no ‘hidden extras’. All Adventure Expeditions programmes are run on a not-for-profit basis with all year-end profits applied to bursaries and grants that young people and their teachers/leaders can apply for. Our prices are higher than some but lower than others but we know that the level of expertise of our instructors and our commitment to quality throughout gives you real value in joining us.

6) Flexibility: tailor-made programmes

We know that everyone is different and each year we work with over 1000 young people and several hundred adults to deliver high quality programmes – a lot of different needs, aims and objectives to take into account. The only way that we can retain quality in what we do for each individual is by remaining flexible and ensuring that everything is tailor-made for you. We work hard to get things right.

7) Reputation matters

We love the work that we do and have worked hard to ensure that you go away feeling inspired in the outdoors. Adventure Expeditions enjoys great relationships with those that we work with, building relationships of confidence and trust that now stretch across lots of years and lots of adventures together.  We are a friendly, supportive, down to earth team who are committed to our core values and getting you out on fantastic adventures and experiences.

8) Investing in people

As above, it’s all about people! We invest in our instructor team and we want to invest in you as our client too: whether you want to complete a DofE expedition, develop your rock climbing skills or become a Lowland Leader, we want you to leave your course or expeditions with us feeling like we’ve gone beyond simply ‘ticking a box’. We aim to add value to programmes beyond the initial course aims wherever possible and welcome your thoughts on how we can add value specifically for you.

9) Attention to detail

The little things can be the most important and our experience in the outdoors and outdoor industry go a long way in making the little things shine. Our operating procedures, communications, logistics and programme delivery are packed full of attention to detail to give you the best possible experience.

10) Peace of mind

You may need evidence of our insurance cover and safety, licences or quality badges for your school, college, university or group, or just feel reassured knowing that everything is in place – let us therefore give you peace of mind: Adventure Expeditions holds a comprehensive and enhanced insurance policy (£10million cover) and are fully insured to provide programmes that include a ‘package’ of activities in the UK and overseas under the Package Travel Regulations. You can be sure that we are fully insured, that your money will be safe, all safety licences and inspections are complete and up to date and that our programme delivery has been inspected at the highest standards for both safety and quality.