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Wednesday, 6 June 2012

Dalby Activity Centre - Now On Facebook!

     Dalby Activity Centre is now on Facebook!


You can find us here :


     Become a friend of Dalby Activity Centre and we will keep you updated with special offers, promotions and events some of which will only be available to our Facebook followers!

Rainy Day Blues

Remedy your rainy day blues with a visit to Dalby Activity Centre this week.
If your in the area and looking for something to do when it's raining come and have a go at archery, a great  under-cover activity for kids and adults.


Have a competition or play just for fun!
We promise a warm welcome, cups of tea on request.
Open every day during the half-term holiday, just follow the signs from Adderstone car park or visit http://www.abilityoutdoors.co.uk/find_us.php for directions.

Tuesday, 5 June 2012

Monday, 4 June 2012

Paintball Target Range - Half Term Opening


Our Paintball Target Range will be open every day during the half-term holiday.
11am Until 5pm EveryDay!
We are located next to the play area at the Visitors Centre in Dalby Forest.  
Fun for all ages and only £2.50 for 50 paintballs!

Friday, 1 June 2012

Half Term Archery


Come join us and try out your archery skills!
Only £2.50 and open everyday during the half-term holiday.
All ages welcome.
For directions visit :
http://www.abilityoutdoors.co.uk/find_us.php
Hope to see you there.

Thursday, 26 April 2012

Bows 'N' Arrows

     Time to start developing another activity this week, this time archery.  Although the area for the range had been felled many moons ago a lot of stone (more stone!) had to be carted in to create a hard, flat area.  The netting which will stop the arrows from going too far is in place now and there will soon be a large shelter, open at the front and with seating at the back which will be able to house a good number of people.  Some of the materials have again been cannibalised from the old centre, the building sides weigh a huge amount for there size and will need a bit of brute strength to lift them into place but if all goes well it should only be a week or two until it is finished.

Tuesday, 24 April 2012

Team Building Challenge Days

     The first team-building groups have been arriving this month.  A large company from the North has brought us three groups of it's staff with another due in a few weeks time.  We gave them a full day of activities in the forest with Team Tasks, Low Ropes, NightLine, Problem Solving and Jacob's Ladder used to give them the experience they were wanting.  The company wanted a slightly competitive edge to the days and so we scored the groups with the highest scoring teams each receiving a bottle of bubbly.
     Everything appeared to go well, with subsequent reports of positive change after the event.  Hopefully more companies in the area will hear about the benefits of our team-building days and allow us to show them what we can do for their business.

Monday, 9 April 2012

Design and Build - Paintball



     Paintballing was always a popular activity at Ability Outdoors and so Dalby Activity Centre is building new painballing areas.  Using the experience gained over the last 10 years we will have many game types suitable for all ages and abilities.


     The tree felling in the paintball areas has been extensive.  All of this area was very thickly wooded only a month ago.  After the trees came down they had to be chipped or moved out of the playing area's.  This involved days of heavy-lifting and hard work, often in the snow and always cold and uncomfortable.  It has, however been well worth it.  We have been left with some wonderful parts of open forest which we are sure will work splendidly.  Constructuion has now begun on the netting to stop paintballs reaching anywhere they shouldn't and the many obstacles, barricades, hutches and buildings that need to be built.

Friday, 6 April 2012

High Ropes Construction





     After decommisioning the old Jacob's Ladder and having prepared an area for a new improved version to be created we set about working on a plan to construct the new activity.

     The plan is to have the ladder constructed between two large trees and suspended above a huge hole, maximising the length and exposure.  The usual set-up has the first pole at waist height and easily accessible but our Jacob's will now sport a rope ladder coming out of the hole.  This will have to be climbed to access the first pole giving a new dimension to the activity.










     Tree's had to be climbed and high belay points set-up so that we could trim the branches with the safety of a top-rope.  A wire was then strung between the two trees, this would be used for winching the ladder up to it's high point.


   



     Keep a lookout on the Blog to see the finished article.

Thursday, 5 April 2012

Design and Build - NightLine

     Nightline is a great team-building activity.  It involves a blindfolded group following a rope through the forest, encountering various obstacles along the way.  We won't give away too much here as we want it all to be a surprise when you visit.
      The activity has been designed to promote communication and listening skills as well as trust and teamwork.  It is challenging for adults and children alike but instruction and constant supervision ensure everyone is kept feeling safe throughout.
     Once finished this will be a great addition to our ever increasing range of activities.  Keep checking the Blog and Website for updates.

Sunday, 1 April 2012

Shooting Aliens

Paintball Target Range Now Open!
     Dalby Activity Centre's Paintball Target Range has been reopened after the winter.  It is located next to the play area at Dalby Visitors Centre and is easy to spot as it's surrounded by green netting.  If in doubt just head towards the loud noises.
     The range costs just £2.50 to shoot 50 paintballs and includes instruction from one of our trained marshalls.  It's a fun activity suitable for all ages.  Children must be accompanied by an adult.


  • Open 11am til 5pm every Saturday, Sunday, School and Bank Holiday (weather dependant)
  • £2.50 for 50 paintballs
  • Marshall instruction
  • Fun for all ages
     We currently have an Alien and Predators theme but keep an eye on our Blog and Website as this may change at short notice.

Saturday, 31 March 2012

Dismantling Day

     The old apparatus can't stay where it is and so we have started taking it all down.  Today we focused on the Jacobs ladder, an extremely heavy log ladder used as a high ropes team-building activity.  Being ??feet high this meant climbing the trees at either side to unfasten the cables that hold it in position.

     It took a little while to formulate a plan as to the safest and quickest way of taking it down and as always we made it slightly more complicated than it perhaps had to be using a system of tensioned ropes that we could release when the the whole thing had been unattached.
     It didn't go without a few small hitches and took a bit longer than expected but we were soon lugging the logs out of the forest to a waiting trailer.

Wednesday, 29 February 2012

A Building Is Born

     So, after extensive tree-felling and ground-works, tons and tons of stones shipped in, tracks built for access and concrete foundations set, the building of Dalby Activity Centres new HQ began in the new year.  Many parts of the old building are being recycled into the new structure (environmentally concious as always) but much new timber's also been needed for the upgrade.  The new HQ will be bigger and better, with a larger undercover seating area.



     Working through a wet and cold winter.






     After the trees came out and the digger had been in to clear out all the stumps and level off the ground the area around the building was a quagmire.  Walking around the site was hard going and everything got dirty.

     The mud will dry out soon enough and then grass seed will be laid to give us a nice grassed area for introductory team building activities and picnics.

   



Sunday, 1 January 2012

Time For A Change

We're packing up and saying goodbye to Ability Outdoors!
     Ability Outdoors started life on a farm on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park 10 years ago.  The aim was to create an outdoor activity centre that could provide outdoor experiences to people with disabilities.
     Since that time the business has grown and diversified to include itineraries suited to people with all different needs.  6 years ago, as it became more popular, Ability Outdoors moved on and to a site deep within Dalby Forest.  The location and extra space were perfect but it had issues with access and was perhaps a little too well hidden away.
     Now, after 10 years the business is moving on again.  We are staying inside Dalby Forest but are moving to a much better location with greatly improved visibility, better access for customers and the ability to build from scratch using all our years of experience.  We will now be able to encourage passing trade and make more people aware of the opportunities available in the forest.  And we're changing our name too... to Dalby Activity Centre.
     Along with the change of name and the building of the new centre we are bringing Dalby Activity Centre into the 21st Century in other ways with a fresh new Website and Blog page.  Follow our progress as we create a fabulous North Yorkshire Moors attraction and keep checking the Website for offers, promotions and special events.
     We hope to see you here soon.