Ackers Adventure Birmingham Adventurous Activity Day Trips

We are situated in 75 acres of diverse woodland just 2 miles from Birmingham City Centre. Ackers has a wide range of facilities including a 100m dry ski slope suitable for skiing, snowboarding and tubing, a toboggan slope, 4 outdoor climbing walls, 2 archery bases, a bush craft survival area, a team building field and a residential centre. Ackers also benefits from the Grand Union Canal, which runs through the site making it an ideal location for canoeing, kayaking and bell boating activities.

Ackers Adventure is able to provide tailor made activities to suit the needs and requirements of school and youth groups. Popular activities include team building, team challenge, staff development and bush craft. Groups can spend one session, a morning, a day or a whole week taking part in activities such as climbing, archery, canoeing and skiing etc.

Ackers Adventure instructors are experienced, fully qualified, first aid trained and hold an enhanced DBS. (training is regularly updated and assessments are carried out on a regular basis)

Ackers Adventure is a registered charity that offers affordable rates to schools and youth groups (Charity Number: 1107240)

We have very experienced instructors who have been with Ackers Adventure for many years. Our instructors know our site and activities inside out and are enthusiastic in giving the best experience to all visitors. We have a number of SEN schools who visit us on a weekly basis varying from physical and non physical disabilities.

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)

• British Canoe Partner (BC)

• Institute of Outdoor Learning membership (IOL)

• Snowsport England

• AdventureMark Award

• NICAS climbing

We have activity packages available but can also tailor your visit with us eg SEN students, timing changes etc. All our activities are able to be included in the activity package.

We can accommodate from 10 to around 100 students for an activity day.

We sometimes take photos for our promotional purposes. However, groups are welcome to take their own pictures and to tag us on social media @Ackersadventure to share your amazing experiences!

All our activities are risk assessed and these are available to all visiting staff.

Julie Hyde, Education Liaison Officer:

julie.hyde@ackers-adventure.co.uk

0121 772 5111

Our full day activity programme is from 10-3pm and prices start from £28pp. On day trips all supervising adults are free of charge (we recommend at least 1:10)

Alternatively for a shorter day visit with us – activities are priced from £99 per activity, per group of up to 10 students.

Get in touch at bookings@ackers-adventure.co.uk or 0121 772 5111 to discuss your requirements and we will be happy to give you a quote.

We recommend all participants wear suitable outdoor clothing appropriate to weather conditions on the day:

Ski Slope: a long sleeved top, long trousers and gloves. If you don’t have gloves these can be purchased from reception for £1 per pair. For skiing we would also recommend bringing long socks and ideally wearing loose fitting trousers so that the trouser legs can go over the outside ski boots.

Outdoor: tracksuit and trainers/walking shoes

Water: complete change of warm clothing (including shoes) and a towel. Jeans are not suitable.

You may get dirty!!

All of our instructors are fully trained in First Aid. We have 2 defibrillators on site also.

• Snack shop

• Selection of hot drinks

• Many picnic benches around our woodland site for lunch

• Toilets at the Ski Centre, ABC Hall & ARC Residential building

• Board room facilities

Our site is accessible to disabled students and adults. We have wheelchairs which can be borrowed whilst on site. We can adapt some of our activities to suit those with limited mobility and have experienced staff that are trained to deliver adaptive sessions. We are experienced in helping SEN students get the best out of their day with us. Our buildings are all wheelchair accessible and we have lifts where needed.

Ackers Adventure is open year-round, and our opening times are suited to whichever groups we have on-site but generally 10am to 8pm.

You’re welcome to come down and see the centre which is open 7 days a week.

If you want a guided tour (between 10-4pm) get in touch at bookings@ackers-adventure.co.uk or on 0121 772 5111

“We had 6 visits over 3 weeks with Year 7 and their form tutor and all were thoroughly enjoyable. Thank you to everyone involved for making our trips a success”

“Staff very helpful, supportive and friendly “

“The team were very helpful. The children were too tired to paddle the bell boat for the whole time. I was very appreciative of the team leader’s flexibility in cutting the boating short, allowing the children to rest & then do a spot of tobogganing. Many thanks, great fun was had by all!”

“Every member of staff we encountered was really helpful, friendly and professional. Laura on bookings was really accommodating and Mike and Will as instructors were brilliant.”

“Excellent support from staff for our group of learning disabled young people”

“Mark was an excellent instructor who built a good rapport with the students very quickly and really engaged them in the ski instruction”

“Would love to thank the staff at Ackers, really accommodated us well and a huge thank you to the staff member (regrettably, I forget his name) who went above and beyond to retrieve a lost mobile phone from the canoeing area.   Really fantastic day and I will be recommending to all other staff members at our school, and other fellow teachers with whom I have contact. Long may Ackers continue to provide these opportunities for Birmingham’s children who often don’t get the chance to experience the things Ackers provide (I attended on a school trip in the late 80s/early 90s myself!)”