Runways End Outdoor Activity Centre near Aldershot Hampshire

Runway’s End Outdoor Centre offers residential and day activity opportunities for school groups, uniform groups, youth groups and other community groups.

Our centre is a quiet haven in a sub-urban setting for groups to enjoy which can accommodate up to 111 people with 71 people in Forge Lodge (indoor building) and 40 people in our Camping Pods. Groups staying in either accommodation block will be given exclusive use of that facility.

We deliver a wide range of adventurous activities on-site as well as utilising our proximity to Basingstoke Canal for our watersport activities. The activities we offer include; archery, climbing, high ropes, low ropes, indoor caving, air rifle shooting, canoeing, kayaking, raft building and more!

We offer flexibility in our programmes to work within all budgets. There are options to lead your own activities and self-cater to help keeps costs down. Equally, we also offer our more inclusive packages with full catering and all activities delivered by our staff.

residential centre Aldershot

outdoor centre Aldershot

adventure activity centre Aldershot

As part of a wider service with four centres, called Hampshire Outdoor Centres, we have been delivering our outdoor educational programmes for a long time and know what it takes to make a good residential a GREAT residential. We focus on delivering high quality outdoor activities and our staff are trained and monitored not only on their ability to deliver safe sessions, but also on their ability to fully embed your learning objectives into every session.

We will work closely with you to understand the aims for your visit and ensure that your programme addresses these. We also have the luxury of being a small(-ish) centre with normally only ever a maximum of 2 schools on site at once, which allows us to be reactive and the feedback we receive is that this generates a lovely community feel of the site.

We are monitored and assessed by various outdoor industry bodies to ensure we deliver safe and educational activities. These include:

• The Learning Outside the Classroom quality badge (LOTC)
• Institute of Outdoor Learning membership (IOL)
• AdventureMark award

We deliver a wide range of adventurous activities on-site as well as utilising our proximity to Basingstoke Canal for our watersport activities. The activities we offer include; archery, climbing, high ropes, low ropes, indoor caving, air rifle shooting, canoeing, kayaking, raft building and more!

There is also a games field for groups to use as well as plenty of green space for other games/activities.

We can accommodate up to 111 people with 71 people in Forge Lodge (indoor building) and 40 people in our Camping Pods. Groups staying in either accommodation block will be given exclusive use of that facility.

Forge Lodge is a self-contained building which has 12 bedrooms with adjoining bathrooms, a large dining hall, fully equipped kitchen, drying rooms and a central courtyard.

There are 10 Camping Pods in total which can sleep 4 per pod. They have underfloor heating, electrical charging points, a small veranda and are located a short walk from the toilet/shower/washing up facilities.

We do not take any photos for our promotional purposes. However, groups are welcome to take their own pictures and to tag us on social media @RunwaysEndOC to share their amazing experiences!

Our risk assessing processes are rigorously checked by external providers and internally through Hampshire County Council departments. As we are an approved supplier through the Evolve system you can rest assured that our procedures and policies are thoroughly analysed.

Taking guidance from the Outdoor Education Advisors Panel and other industry boards – we provide a risk summary instead of activity specific risk assessments.

However, if you do have any queries our bookings team will be on hand to answer any questions that you may have.

The prices vary per visit based on your requirements and the time of year that you’re looking to visit – with significant reductions during the Winter Months.

Get in touch on bookings.hoc@hants.gov.uk or 02380 884 930 to discuss your requirements and we will be happy to give you a price.

All our instructional staff are first aid trained.

You will find on our centre:

• Forge Lodge accommodation,
• Camping Pods accommodation,
• A climbing/abseil tower,
• Artificial caving system,
• Archery range,
• Air rifle shooting range,
• High ropes course,
• Low ropes course,
• Campfire amphitheater

Our site is accessible with all area located on ground floor linked with well managed flat paths. Forge Lodge has a bathroom that includes an electric changing hoist for groups with limited mobility. We can adapt most of our activities to suit those with limited mobility and have experienced staff that are trained to delivered adaptive sessions.

The site is open year-round, and our opening times are suited to whichever groups we have on-site.

If you want a guided tour get in touch on bookings.hoc@hants.gov.uk or on 02380 884 930.

Here are a couple of our favorite comments from groups:

“Runways End has a lovely community feel to it, with excellent facilities. The staff were kind, they challenged but supported all our pupils with the activities. We will certainly return!” – Winnall Primary School.

“Instructors were brilliant – they built a strong relationship with the children, had an excellent work ethic and really gauged the sessions well to ensure all children were challenged and supported.” – Mytchett Primary School.

Runway’s End Outdoor Centre is located 10 minutes from the M3 between Farnborough and Aldershot.

Forge Lodge is a self-contained building which has 12 bedrooms sleeping 6 per room with adjoining bathrooms, a large dining hall, fully equipped kitchen, drying rooms and a central courtyard.

There are 10 Camping Pods in total which can sleep 4 per pod. They have underfloor heating, electrical charging points, a small veranda and are located a short walk from the toilet/shower/washing up facilities.

To book, contact us at bookings.hoc@hants.gov.uk or on 02380 884 930.

We look forward to hearing from you.