Skern Adventure Activity Centre Abbotsham North Devon

Skern Adventure Activity Centre Abbotsham offers high-quality residential and day experiences designed to inspire and engage young people through outdoor learning.

We provide comfortable accommodation, nutritious meals, and professionally delivered activity programmes that combine adventure with personal development.

Working with primary, secondary and further education groups, we tailor each visit to your aims — whether that’s building confidence, strengthening teamwork, or supporting curriculum-based outcomes.

Set in the beautiful North Devon countryside and just a 10-minute drive from the coast, our centre offers the best of both environments. Students can challenge themselves, learn through real experiences, and develop skills that last well beyond their visit

Skern Adventure Abbotsham is trusted by schools and youth organisations nationwide for the quality of our programmes, our experienced team, and the lasting impact of our learning experiences.

• Great location: Set in the North Devon countryside and just a 10-minute drive from the coast, offering easy access to a wide range of outdoor environments.
• Proven expertise: 50 years’ experience delivering safe, high-quality and impactful outdoor programmes.
• Fully accredited: LOtC, AALA and AdventureMark approved, giving you complete confidence in everything we deliver.
• Tailored programmes: Every visit is designed around your group’s age, objectives and learning goals.
• Seamless experience: Accommodation, catering, activities and support — all managed by one experienced team.

Schools return to Skern Adventure Abbotsham because we combine adventure with meaningful learning, helping young people build confidence, develop key life skills, and create lasting memories.

Yes, Skern Adventure holds multiple nationally recognised accreditations:

• LOtC Quality Badge (Learning Outside the Classroom)
• AALA Licence (Adventure Activities Licensing Authority)
• AdventureMark Accreditation
• Approved Paddle UK and Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Training Centre

These demonstrate our commitment to safety, quality, and learning outcomes.

Our day-visit programmes are mapped to a broad range of Key Stages and curriculum topics — and we will tailor exactly to your group’s age, ability and focus. Some typical options include:

• KS1 & KS2: Adventure & team-challenges, outdoor story-writing (English), myths/legends with a coastal twist, basic orienteering, problem-solving tasks.
• KS2 & KS3: Physical Education – climbing, archery, kayaking; PSHE/team‐work/resilience; Geography & environmental studies – sand dunes, habitat zonation, coastal processes.
• KS3, KS4 & A-Level: Field‐study days: investigating geomorphology, long-shore drift, habitat changes; hypothesis setting, data collection, presentation; linked with your exam requirements or independent investigation (NEA) tasks.
• Specialist topics: Vikings & local history, geology of the North Devon coast, citizenship and personal development days.

We provide teachers with pre-visit information and can adapt the day to reflect the current theme your school is working on.

We cater for a wide range of group sizes for day trips — from smaller class groups to larger cohorts. We regularly work with groups up to around 450 pupils with ease.

Age ranges span from 5 through to University students– activities are adjusted accordingly (for example water-based sessions will have age/ability appropriate instruction).

Absolutely. Skern Adventure offers learning materials and teacher-resources aligned to curriculum topics and key stages. Our staff have developed these in conjunction with subject specialists, and they cover everything from field-study outlines to outdoor problem-solving tasks, myths & legend modules and transition/teamwork activities. We can provide sample resources to teachers ahead of the visit.

With parental permission, you’re welcome to take photos, video and audio recordings during your visit. If you capture a great moment, please feel free to share and tag us on social media.

Facebook: Skern Adventure Abbotsham

Instagram: @skernadventureabbotsham

X: @skern_abbotsham

LinkedIn: Skern Adventure

Comprehensive risk assessments are available for all activities and facilities. As an AALA-licensed and LOtC-accredited centre, we are regularly inspected and uphold strict safety standards.

All staff are trained in risk management and group supervision.

Teachers and organisers can access downloadable risk assessment documents upon booking.

For day-visit enquiries and educational programme planning, please contact our bookings team:

hello@skernadventure.co.uk 

01237 475 992

www.skernadventure.co.uk

Primary/Secondary – From £180pp +vat

Field Studies – From £186pp +vat

Youth Groups – From £181pp +vat

Further Education Group – From £181pp +vat

Day Visits – From £25pp +vat

For outdoor activity days at Skern Adventure, we ask schools to bring:

• Outdoor clothing suitable for being active in all weathers (warm layers, waterproof outerwear)
• Sturdy shoes or trainers that can get muddy and wet
• If water-based activities form part of the programme: old trainers or wet shoes, extra socks and change of clothes. We supply specialist equipment such as harnesses, helmets and wetsuits as required.

Please be assured that you will be provided with a packing list upon bookin

All instructors and staff at Skern Adventure are first-aid trained, and for day-visits, groups benefit from our on-site first-aid provision and trained staff. Schools may still bring their own designated first-aider as per their standard policy.

For day-visits we provide a well-equipped base and support facilities:

• On-site changing rooms and wet rooms for water/active sessions
• Toilets and accessible toilets throughout the centre
• Indoor classrooms or meeting/briefing rooms for group work and reflection sessions
• Outdoor activity areas including high-ropes, climbing walls, water-based assault course and archery
• Water-access close by for a range of water sports including kayaking, surfing, body boarding and rafting
• On-site café/snack provision or space for packed lunch (schools can bring packed lunch and eat on-site)
• Free car-parking
• We recommend schools bring a small amount of pocket money if they’d like students to purchase light snacks or souvenirs (amount optional as per school’s discretion).

Skern Adventure Abbotsham offers accessible facilities. The centre includes wheelchair-accessible routes, wet-room showers and toilets, and they are experienced supporting groups with SEN and physical access requirements. If your group has specific access needs please discuss these in advance so we can ensure full support.

We are open March to November, including weekends and bank holidays. Typical day-visit programme times are from around 9:00 or 9:30 through to late afternoon (exact times vary by session), and we will agree arrival/departure times with each school on booking.

“Absolutely amazing place! A lot of activities, including a high rope course, archery, mountain boarding and so on. Lodges are clean and nice with great dorms. Tidy bathrooms and a nice hot shower space just outside the lodges. We were amazed by our staff… all the staff are great fun! Overall, we had an unforgettable experience.”

“Every session is hands-on and designed to build confidence in a safe, supportive environment led by qualified instructors… combining outdoor adventure with meaningful personal development.”

“Some of our group struggled on the high ropes, but our instructor offered the students great reassurance and encouragement. As teachers, it was great to see this support, thank you for the brilliant activities and lots of fun!”

Here are a few additional highlights:

• We can bring our programme to your school grounds if travel is difficult — outreach visits are available.
• We are located near the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, giving your pupils access to some of the finest natural learning environments in the UK.
• Our day visits can be combined with optional add-ons (coastal explorations, field study modules) depending on your aims and budget.
• Because we are an all-day activity centre with full instructor support, the logistics for schools are simplified and we deliver a ready-to-go educational day out that complements classroom teaching.