OFFICIAL OPENING OF OUR 2nd ZIP WIRE.
We were delighted to welcome Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, to Woodlands Adventure last August, to perform the official opening of our new zip wire which was installed last year in memory of our former Chair, Neil Aitchison. The project was achieved through donations from Neil’s friends and family as well as a generous donation from The Saintbury Trust.
Andy Street was a great sport, negotiating the climbing tower and stepping out onto the platform, zooming across the zip wire.
He really enjoyed the experience as shown in the picture below. Thank you, Andy, for visiting Woodlands Adventure – we thoroughly enjoyed meeting you.
HELLO
Spring has sprung and many groups have already booked to visit Woodlands Adventure this year. There is still some availability for day visits, camping & residential stays during 2019, whilst bookings for 2020 are already flying in. If you would like to enquire, obtain further information or book an appointment for a walk and tour, please email: action@woodlandsadventure.co.uk or call 0121 353 7329 and a member of the team will be happy to help.
Sadly, a former Chair of our Trustees, Mr John Lloyd, passed away last year. Woodlands Adventure was very close to Mr Lloyd’s heart, and he left us a generous gift which has enabled us to make some improvements to our infrastructure and facilities which will greatly benefit visitors for many years to come.
If you would like to come and see the improvements around the site, please make an appointment and we will be delighted to show you around.
New Brochure
We now have a fantastic new brochure showing all that we offer at Woodlands Adventure. You can download a copy from our website www.woodlandsadventure.co.uk
or you can request a copy by email action@woodlandsadventure.co.uk and we will gladly send it out to you.
New Projects
Woodlands Adventure continues to evolve and improve each year, greatly benefiting all the young people who visit us. This is all made possible with thanks to generous charitable grants and donations.
One of our projects later this year is to make improvements to our High Ropes course. Exciting new elements are to be added including 2 gladiator challenges, a see saw, ships ladders and a leap of faith.
The Bushcraft activity has also been expanded, adding new elements such as bracelet making and whittling items such as tent pegs, spoons, arrows and kazoos. This complements our fire lighting and shelter building elements, and the preparation and the cooking of food on a camp fire will be introduced soon.
With thanks to The Eveson Charitable Trust, we are constructing additional wheelchair-friendly paths to the woodland archery activity, making Woodlands Adventure even more accessible for disabled users. A new portable hoist, shower seats and slings were also purchased from this donation.
Generous donations from the Sutton Coldfield Charitable Trust and the Lord Austin Trust have enabled us to erect new fencing around our site, and our camping field now has its own self-contained section.
A new monkey tree climbing activity is planned for this year, kindly funded by The Norton Foundation-an exciting addition to what we already offer.
Infrastructure Improvements
Keeping a 36-acre site in good condition requires much effort and much hard work by our staff – and a great deal of money. Thanks to generous donations from John Lloyd and numerous charitable trusts, we have been able to make many improvements to Woodlands Adventure, ready for the 2019/20 season.
Residential groups can now benefit from the newly refurbished shower and changing rooms (The Roger & Douglas Turner Charitable Trust and The Saintbury Trust), a new dishwasher, new sinks and vanity units (Grantham Yorke Trust), new kitchen equipment (The Rowlands Trust), a table tennis table (GJW Turner Trust) and replacement mattresses (The Eric W Vincent Trust Fund and The Michael Marsh Charitable Trust). New LED lighting is saving on energy and is more environmentally friendly.
New kitchen equipment
Table Tennis Table
Refurbished shower block
The road within our site has been resurfaced and now incorporates a useful passing place, and all our water pipes have been replaced. Saplings have been planted to help maintain our woodland environment, kindly donated by the Woodland Trust. The second phase of the lake bank repairs has been funded by the Sutton Coldfield Charitable Trust and work will start later in the year. As you can see, a great deal of work has been carried out.
Future Plans
We are always looking for ways in which we can increase access to the many opportunities which we offer to the young people who visit us. One possibility we are currently exploring is the adaption of our under-used Sports Hall to increase capacity and to provide accommodation for small groups of day and residential visitors, rather than accommodating them in our large residential block. We will certainly keep you informed of progress made.
Other Donations
Throughout the year, we are very fortunate to receive many generous donations from charitable trusts and individuals. We would like to record our sincere thanks for the invaluable support they give to Woodlands Adventure. Their generosity enables us to continue with our work. In addition to those already mentioned, we would like to thank: –
Baron Davenport’s Charity – 2nd hand storage container for use by our staff
GJW Turner Trust – Climbing ropes, adult buoyancy aids and lockers
Joseph Hopkins Charity – Scaffold Boards
The Michael Marsh Charitable Trust – Scaffold Boards
Lillie C Johnson Charitable Trust – contribution towards zipline trollies and pulley
Lord Austin Trust – Staff lockers and staff room refurbishment
Miss Albright Grimley Charity – Zipline trollies and pulley
Start Estates – Web site hosting fees
The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust – Storage container for climbing tower and zip wire equipment
The Fitton Trust – Contribution towards a pool table
The Roughley Trust – 2-way radios
The Saintbury Trust – Harnesses, staff uniforms and contribution towards a new office computer server
Also, many thanks to the following donors of unrestricted funds: –
The Loppylugs and Barbara Morrison Charitable Trust, the Whitegates Children’s Trust, Dagny Raymond Charitable Trust, Dumbreck Charity, Mr Breatnach, Rebecca’s Trust, Sir John Sumner’s Trust, The Goodenough Charitable Trust, The Joan Lamb Charitable Trust, The Measures Trust, the family of Mr Robert A Carter, Virgin Money Giving – and some kind anonymous donors.
Do come to visit us soon, we look forward to welcoming you. If you would like to receive a copy of our newsletter, please email: action@woodlandsadventure.co.uk and we will gladly send one to you.