Head of Centre - Mike Fawcett
Mike is an experienced outdoor educator and qualified teacher with a broad range of working experience including service in the Royal Navy, instructing in residential outdoor centres, lecturing in colleges of Further and Higher Education and peripatetic teaching in the social care sector.
His outdoor passions include all forms of recreational canoe-sport and mountain activities. He is qualified to instruct and lead groups rock climbing, mountaineering, canoeing, kayaking, gorge-walking, orienteering and on all site-specific activities.
He loves adventurous travel and has been actively involved with expeditions to destinations in Europe, Africa and South America. He is an Accredited Practitioner of the Institute of Outdoor Learning (APIOL).
When not busy at the centre he loves exploring the local area with his young family.
Deputy Head of Centre / Operations Manager - Allan Gibbs
Instructors
Ewan MacGillivray
Ewan has been interested in the outdoors from a young age. He has paddled the seas and rivers of Scotland and Wales extensively, has climbed in Scotland and Wales and been skiing in France, Austria and Canada. He has been teaching in outdoor centres for the last 8 years. When not at work he will normally been found indulging his love of the sea.
Sarah Argles
Since leaving University Sarah has spent time working and travelling across the USA and New Zealand. She has also spent a year living in Scotland whilst on an Outdoor Education course. Sarah's main interests are climbing and kayaking.
She is trained in numerous activities and has recently become a qualified instructor.
Assistant Instructors
We have a team of Assistant Instructors, who are usually on their first work placement after a college course. They work alongside our qualified Instructors to gain valuable experience and to develop their qualifications.
Katie Harris
Katie joined the centre team in July 2007 after graduating from Aberystwyth University. She is a qualified kayak coach and an enthusistic climber. Since joining the centre she has become passionate about caving and enjoys spending her spare time underground.
Freelance instructors
Martin Jackson
Martin previously worked at the centre as the senior instructor. He has extensive rock climbing experience in the UK, Spain and France. He loves skiing, snowboarding and mountaineering and has done them for many years.
Martin is a passionate caver and has caved throughout the UK and Ireland. He has explored major caves in Norway, Spain and France and holds the Caving Instructor Certificate and is an an active member of the Association of Caving Instructors.
Mike Wright
Andy Holt
The Outdoor Education Adviser for Northamptonshire is also based at the centre:
Bob Burson
He is an experienced schoolteacher and has worked in full time residential outdoor education since 1975.
He is qualified to instruct and lead groups rock climbing, mountaineering, caving, kayaking and on all site-specific activities.
He has been National Chairman of the Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres; he is Chair of the Mountain Leader Training England executive committee and has been a member of a government review body for outdoor activity training; he advises colleges on their training programmes.
He is an Accredited Practitioner of the Institute of Outdoor Learning (APIOL). He has been on many climbing, caving and canoeing expeditions abroad - in the Scandinavian Arctic, the Pyrenees, the Alps and the Himalayas.