OUTDOORS

OUTDOORS
The newsletter of Mepal Outdoor Centre
Providing affordable outdoor leisure, coaching and vocational training for all
www.mepal.co.uk
Spring 2013
Let’s hear it for Mepal...
Read more about the revitalised
Centre and all it has to offer

Spring 2013
Contents
Page 3
Repairs and Renovations
Page 4
A new staff team
Page 5
Want to learn a new skill
of improve your existing
ones in 2013?
Page 6
Join our club
Party people
Page 7
Activities during school
holidays
Page 8
Shed your shirt and tie...
School Visits
Regular updates from Mepal
Outdoor Centre are now
available on our website, by
Twitter and Facebook
Web: www.mepal.co.uk
Twitter: @mepaloc
Facebook:
mepaloutdoorcentre
- 2 -
2013 is an important year in
the life of Mepal Outdoor
Centre.
The Centre nearly closed for
good in the autumn of
2012, but following a huge
amount of hard work by
trustees, staff and our management partner,
Cambridgeshire ACRE, the Centre is now up and
running again.
2013 therefore signals the Centre’s rebirth and
this newsletter is the just one of the new ideas
we’ve introduced. We’re aiming to produce a
newsletter at least three times a year to tell
those who love Mepal what’s going on at the
Centre and what we have to offer.
Please circulate this newsletter to friends, family
and anyone you know who enjoys the great
outdoors.
You’ve been sent a copy as someone who has
either visited the Centre previously or as
someone who has expressed an interest in the
Centre’s work but if you’d prefer not receive
future editions, please just let us know.
We hope you’ll come to visit the Centre at some
point over the summer and look forward to
seeing you soon.
John Yates, President
Mepal Outdoor Centre Charitable Trust
Affordable outdoor leisure, coaching and vocational training for all

Repairs and Renovations
Whilst the Centre was closed to
the general public over the
winter, we’ve undertaken a
huge programme of repairs and
renovations.
We entered into a partnership
with Seetec, one of the UK’s
largest and most experienced
providers of Government­
funded employment and skills
training programmes. Through
this partnership, Seetec have
provided us with a team of
workers, on site, every day, to
complete all the required
maintenance work at the
Centre. This has ranged from
dismantling and demolishing
some old static caravans,
painting and decorating,
grounds maintenance, installing
fences, improving the car park
area, litter-picking and helping
with moving equipment
around.
The team have worked in all
weathers and have really made
a difference to the look of the
Centre. We are truly grateful to
them – and their supervisor,
Steve – for all their efforts.
Current projects include muchneeded
maintenance on the
campsite shower block and
removing some play equipment
that is no longer fit for purpose.
If you’ve visited the Centre
before, then we’re sure you’ll
notice the improvements on
your next visit.
Affordable outdoor leisure, coaching and vocational training for all
Members of the Seetec team at work
Photo credit: Ely Standard
- 3 -

A new staff team
There’s been lots of changes to the staff team
at Mepal over the last few months and we’d
like to introduce you to some new faces.
Matt Lea (middle, back row) is our new Centre
Manager. Matt is passionate about his sports
and is a very keen sailor (he’s actually the
current Scottish foiling moth champion), being
accredited to a very high level. Matt previously
worked at Arran Outdoor Education Centre on
the Isle of Arran and prior to that at
Lochgoilhead Activity Centre and Grafham
Water Centre.
Jon Page, (right, back row) our Senior
Instructor, joined us from Grafham Water
Centre. Jon’s our expert in all land-based
activities, particularly high ropes, climbing and
archery. He also loves mountain biking and
bushcraft and is working to see how these two
activities might be introduced at Mepal.
- 4 -
Our Instructor team is comprised of three ‘old
faces’ who have worked at the Centre
previously, Ben Chambers (right, front row) ,
Adam Smith (left, back row) and Dani
Richardson, and two new ones, Nichola
Priestley (left, front row) and Douglas Powley.
Graden Smith remains the Centre’s
Administrator and is usually the first point of
contact for customers making enquiries at
Mepal.
Despite only working as a team for just over a
month now, the staff have really pulled
together and are looking forward to what
promises to be a busy summer season.
Photo credit: Pete Johnstone / PJ. elements
Affordable outdoor leisure, coaching and vocational training for all

Want to learn a new skill or improve your existing ones in 2013?
Mepal Outdoor Centre runs regular taster
sessions so that people of all ages and abilities
can try new activities to see whether they like
them and also accredited training courses that
allow people to build and develop their skills.
We run sessions suitable for younger people
and adults at the same time but groups are
coached separately to allow participants to
progress at their own speed, ensuring
everyone gets the most out of their session.
Groups are typically made up of between 6 – 8
participants.
Taster sessions are being run as follows:
• Archery - 19 May
• Climbing - 19 May
• Paddlesports - 2 Jun, 25 Aug and 29 Sep
The following courses being run over the
summer still have places available:
Paddlesports (canoeing and kayaking)
• BCU Passport / 1 Star course suitable for
beginners – 25 May, 23 Jun, 20 Jul, 18 Aug
and 28 Sep
• BCU Discover / 2 Star course suitable for
improvers – 15 & 16 Jun, 14 & 15 Sep
• BCU Foundation Safety & Rescue Training –
22 Jun, 17 Aug
Photo credit: Pete Johnstone / PJ. elements
To join a taster session or course, please visit our website www.mepal.co.uk, click on the activity
you are interested in and book your place on-line.
Affordable outdoor leisure, coaching and vocational training for all
- 5 -

Join our club
Once you’ve begun to develop your canoe and
kayak skills, you might want to think about
joining our club to practice them regularly.
Our Kayak/Canoe Club runs on Saturday
mornings from 9.30am – 12.30pm.
In order to come along, you must book and
pay for your place in advance via our website.
To do this, visit our website, www.mepal.co.uk,
click on the Canoeing & Kayaking page and
follow the instructions on screen.
Party people
We know that holding your child’s birthday
party can be an expensive time. Taking them
and their friends to the cinema or bowling plus
a meal out afterwards can be costly and, not
to mention, exhausting for you!
Why not do something completely different
and book a party at Mepal Outdoor Centre?
There’s nothing that the staff at Mepal like
more than a party and we’re happy to take on
the organisation or your child’s birthday treat.
We offer a number of different party types
from Pirate and Commando-themed
afternoons, to an Activity Party where your
child and his/her guests can try one of our
outdoor adventures. We can accommodate
two party sizes – up to 8 children and up to 16
children and prices start from just £176, which
includes a birthday tea. We’ll even put
together party bags for your guests, for a small
additional charge.
- 6 -
You can book your party by visiting the
Birthday Parties page of our website or call us
to chat through your options.
P.S. We also run parties for older ‘kids’ looking
for something a bit different – why not start
your hen or stag party with a visit to Mepal?
Affordable outdoor leisure, coaching and vocational training for all

Activities during school holidays
Photo credits: Pete Johnstone / PJ. elements
If you want your child to
be able to answer the
question “What did you
do during the school
holidays?” with more than
just “Played on my Xbox
and watched telly” then
why not send them to
Mepal Outdoor Centre
during the school
holidays?
Each day of the school holidays, we run multiactivity
days for children aged 8 – 15.
Drop your child at the Centre for 9am and pick
them up again at 5pm and during this time,
they’ll keep active, learn new skills, make new
friends and, best of all, you’ll know they are
safe and being well looked-after.
The price for a single day is £45 and if your
child comes all week it’s only £165. You can
book your child’s place on our website by
clicking on the School Holidays button.
Our Multi-Activity Days run during the halfterm
holidays (28-31 May and 28 Oct – 1 Nov)
and during the summer holidays (29 Jul – 3
Sep) too.
Spend the summer at Mepal and make
some memories for life
Affordable outdoor leisure, coaching and vocational training for all
- 7 -

Shed your shirt and tie...
Our corporate days allow businesses to try
something totally different with their staff.
Getting your team away from the office
environment can really spark their creativity
and working in groups on some of our outdoor
challenges can really help bring a team
together.
You and your team can either just visit us for a
break from the office routine and enjoy some
of our fun activities or you might like to
consider combining fun with a session in our
meeting room to allow your team the head
space to think about your business’ strategy or
plans for the future.
Talk to our bookings team on 0300 365 1245
to find out how your business could benefit
from a corporate away day at Mepal Outdoor
Centre.
- 8 -
School Visits
A core part of the Centre’s work is hosting
visits from schools and colleges. The following
schools have booked to visit over the coming
months:
• Abbey College
• Abbotsmede Primary School
• Barnardiston Hall Prep School
• Blackbourne Middle School
• Cambridge Academy of English
• Cambridge International School
• Chartwell House
• College of West Anglia
• Comberton Village College
• Cottenham Village College
• Crowfoot Primary School
• Ditton Lodge Primary School
• Duxford Primary School
• Godmanchester Primary School
• Great Chesterford Primary School
• Hampton College
• Hockwold Primary School
• Kings Junior School
• Morton Hall Prep School
• Newnham Croft Primary School
• Oaklands Primary School
• Perse School for Girls
• Sawtry Community College
• Sir Harry Smith Community College
• Solefield School
• Southery Primary School
• St Louis Middle School
• The Kings School
• Thorndown Primary School
• Townley School
• Wisbech Grammar School
We hope these schools all have a fabulous
time visiting us and come back again soon.
If your school hasn’t booked yet, we do still
have availability in 2013, so please call on 0300
365 1245 to enquire and to ask us about prices
– special deals may be on offer for September
and October.
Affordable outdoor leisure, coaching and vocational training for all