Dartmoor Adventures
We all know the 5 D’s of dodgeball: Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and Dodge… but here’s Sophie’s guide to the adventure training weeks we spend in Dartmoor. These three separate trips to Dartmoor make up an essential part of our 15-week Outdoor Instructor Training course, providing trainees with new locations, skills and experiences to make them even more well-rounded activity instructors. Let the 5 D’s of Dartmoor commence…
1: Daytime
Climbing, White Water paddling, Coasteering, Lowland Navigation Walks, RCI Training, NCC Coasteering Training… Locations…
The adventure training weeks we spend down in Dartmoor are intense fun. With access to so many epic activities and locations, we really do make the most of the days we spend in Devon. After a good hearty breakfast, packed lunch made and hot flask filled, we head out for the day. It’s easy to adapt to the weather to make the most of the week with so many amazing locations all within a short mini bus drive away.
2: Downtime
Walking back through the door, rosy cheeks from the day, you can kick off your boots and warm up those toes in the cosy lounge by the wood burning fire. We stay at the Dartmoor YHA in Postbridge, which has that cosy, welcoming, relaxed feeling. Slippers on, chat about your day, read a book, knit a hat, play a game, rest and refuel. Enjoy a Dartmoor Brewery beer that you picked up just a few minutes down the road in Princetown. Only a few mins away is the Life Centre for some evening indoor climbing, plus a great heated swimming pool to keep up that swim fitness or head out on some night navigation practice.
3: Dinnertime
Big days mean big tasty dinners! It’s a welcome change to the Outdoor Instructor Training course to be in a self-catered place – giving the instructors freedom to take control of the kitchen and spend time cooking together. A rota is drawn up – who’s cooking what when and who’s on washing-up duty. With a great open-plan kitchen, it is the hub of the hostel with people chatting, laughing and sharing their stories and learnings from the day. It’s sometimes an education to those less-experienced in the kitchen (!) but learning how to cook for a bunch of hungry adventure buddies is just another skill to add to the CV.
4: Dobble-time
With limited wifi, dark evenings and a cosy lounge, it would be a crime not to educate everyone in the art of Dobble! A crowd-pleasing game guaranteed to make you laugh, cry, sweat and possibly lose your voice / mind.
5: Daytime
With kit nicely dried in the hostel’s drying room and really comfy beds, it’s easy to find the motivation each morning to get out on day 2, 3, 4 and 5 and make the most of each day in Dartmoor. We often employ local instructors and coaches to work alongside our staff team when in Dartmoor; their local knowledge, expertise and passion for what they do is so inspiring for the trainees and can sometimes offer a different perspective or reinforce skills being learnt.
Want to join us?
If Outdoor Instructor Training appeals to you, then we can get you fully qualified and working in the Outdoor Industry in just 15 weeks. It’s hard work, but life-changing!
We have loads of people joining us as career-changers looking for a brand new direction, plus lots of people looking for a career-focussed alternative to university.
Outdoor Instructor Training with Land & Wave lasts 15 weeks and gets you 16 National Governing Body qualifications that are essential for a successful career working in the Outdoor Industry.
Sophie Tanner | Operations Director
