Opening Times

24hrs - 7 Days a week

What makes this a great venue for School group Fun or Educational Visits?

Deneholme is a truly “green” venue, with solar panels, sheep wool insulation, a ground source heat pump and a large wood burning stove, stocked with wood from our own grounds. Toilets are flushed with rainwater and water heated through our solar panels.
It presents a fantastic opportunity to educate young people about the importance of renewable energy and impacts of global warming.

We only provide home cooked meals, using locally sourced ingredients, which again minimized our impact on the environment and supports local farmers, butchers and other small businesses as well as educating young people about healthy meal choices and the importance of a well balanced diet.

Deneholme sits in 5 acres of woodland, beautiful grounds lending themselves for outdoor games and activities on site. Allendale, a friendly small town, having won the “Best English Village Award” in 2008, is perfect to introduce young people from a town background to village life and the surrounding countryside:
• The North Pennines are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, offering beautiful fell walks “mini expeditions” and mountain biking.
• Hadrian’s Wall with all its mile castles, ruins and fantastic scenery is only 15 minutes drive away.

Considering we are in the UK – the weather isn’t always on it best behaviour and not all outdoor activities are doable in gale force winds and heavy rain: we have 4 conference areas, the library, the ball room, the dining room/drawing room and the sun room, where a number of indoor tasks can be run.
But if the weather is anything less than horrendous, we will be out there, have the children kitted out in decent Sprayway waterproof tops and bottoms and brave the elements to come home to a nice hot shower, lovely meal, a log burning fire and nice cup of tea.

What are the Curriculum Topics or Benefit to the students from a visit?

There are several qualifications, awards and certificates, students can gain during their stay at Deneholme:

• British Canoeing Union Paddle Power awards
• Youth Achievement Awards (UK Youth/ASDAN)
• John Muir Award
• Certificate from the “Adventure service Challenge Scheme”
• Others upon request…
We also see fantastic improvements in leadership and team work skills and our work builds up young people's confidence.

What are the activities?

We always tailor our programmes to the specific needs of each individual group coming to visit Deneholme. Some groups have their own “class room based work” to do and just use a few team building, problem solving and initiative tasks to add variety to their stay, whilst some groups book a full “9 till 9” adventurous outdoor activity programme and evening entertainment, including climbing & abseiling, Ghyll scrambling, mountain biking, mining, canoeing, raft building, high ropes course, archery, kayaking and fell walking – to name but a few.
Evening entertainment can be anything from child-friendly “murder mysteries” to fox & hound games in the grounds, night line, search & rescue scenarios, bush craft skills in the forest or a simply an outdoor fire with marshmallows sizzling on a stick with a hot cup of juice.

What is the age range of the activities?

Age range would be a minimum of 5yrs up 99yrs!

Sample programme of the activities:

Ghyll Scramble
10am Depart Deneholme after Breakfast
110.30 Arrive at Ash Gyll - put on kit
11am Briefing on safety and team intro to waterfall!
11.30am - 3.30pm Water fall jumping, warm ups and exploration of the south tyne tributary, including a stop for packed lunch
4.30pm Back to Deneholme for hot juice and hot showers
7pm Dinner and evening work and or games

What materials to you provide or suggest groups bring to support the visit?

Cameras, fancy dress, diaries and any workshop packs can be delieverd in our conference room with use of white boards and audio visual equipment.

What are the minimum and maximum group sizes and the free Teacher Ratio?

We can sleep up to 22 students and 3 teachers. There would need to be at least 1 member of teaching staff for every 10 students, depending on the nature of the group and activity. For a day event we can deliever acitivities for upwards of 100 young people.

Do you have or how do you arrange risk assessment?

We provide teachers and youth workers with our full Operational Procedures, incl. Child Protection and Health & Safety Policies. We also forward copies of our AALA license, insurance documentation and Deneholme as well as activity risk assessments – generic and venue specific.
Insurance details and our Deneholme risk assessment can be found on our website on www.deneholme.com under “Youth and School”.
All our on site staff are CRB checked and qualified for the service they provide / activities they run. Please get in touch to obtain copies of all paperwork.

Do you offer Teacher familiarisation days?

Teachers are welcome to come and meet with us to discuss the needs of their group, view the venue and grounds and get to know our team. Alternatively, gerography allowing, we can come to you to discuss the best programme for your pupils.

What facilities are there for school groups for food and drink, shop etc?

Deneholme caters for all groups, providing hearty or healthy breakfasts, home cooked meals, tea/coffe and juice facilities and home made cakes. Breakfast, Lunch (or packed lunch) and Dinner will be provided at the time of your choice. It is also only a 5 minute walk into Allendale viallge where there is a Post Office, Co-op and cafes.

Is specific clothing required?

All guests are encouraged to bring warm and comfortable clothing, waterproofs, if they have them, depending on activities: spare trainers, boots.
For your own comfort, why not bring your favorite slippers to relax in at a night-time.

Do you have first aid on site?

All Becks Training (oudoor advenure) staff are First Aid trained and CRB checked.

Are there any restrictions on photos, copyright etc?

No restrictions in place – as long as child protection is adhered to and ensured by teaching staff.