Activities

Home › Services › Activities

Be it land-based, water-based or heights based all our activities provide an Outdoor Learning experience that is Fun, Challenging and Developmental.

We believe that the most powerful, meaningful and sustainable learning experiences are often to be found when we venture outside our natural comfort zones and embrace new challenges and experiences.

Our activity programmes are designed around clearly identified needs. To meet these needs our aim is to create a learning process that exploits the opportunity for creative development through four areas:

Relationship Building
Conversation & Dialogue
Participation
Experiential Learning

The primary purpose of our activities is not the creation of excellence in outdoor activities e.g. climbing or canoeing but in using these as tools for greater personal development, self-confidence and group trust. The communication skills of the staff member, their ability to actively show care and their demonstration of belief in the individual together in a shared learning experience is the most important aspect of the work. Therefore we work hard to create the correct learning environment and processes.

Our adventure activities are provided for age 6 + and all ability levels. We have a vast range of activities which allows us to design a programme suited to the age level and abilities of your group.

Our activities are held within the grounds of our 17-acre site as well Castlewellan Forest Park, Tollymore Forest Park, Bloody Bridge and the Mourne Mountains.

Activity Information

Safety Information

Our first priority at Greenhill YMCA is safety, closely followed by as much fun as possible!

At Greenhill we offer outdoor adventure in a safe environment. Our centre operates strict health and safety procedures. All activities and facilities are regularly risk assessed and in addition, independent inspections of all our health and safety procedures and operating practices are carried out regularly.

All of our activities are conducted by our dedicated team of highly trained and qualified staff and our volunteers who join us from all over the world each year.

We take extra special care in recruiting and training our staff. Everyone who joins us is subject to police and AccessNI checks, proof of all qualifications is obtained and at least two references sought.

In addition to all previous professional training, we put all our staff through an intensive induction training programme before they begin to work with our clients and our instructors are continually trained throughout the year. First Aid training is mandatory for all Greenhill YMCA activity staff.

Greenhill YMCA are holders of the AdventureMark Award (Safety accreditation scheme administered by the Adventure Activity Industry Advisory Committee).

Important Information

Session Times and preferred activities

We run up to three activity sessions per day at Greenhill YMCA at the following times –

Morning session 10:00 – 12:30
Afternoon session 14:00 – 16:30
Evening session 19:00 – 21:30

On booking, please specify your preferred activity session times each day and your preferred activities. We will endeavour to meet your specific requirements however due to programming restrictions you may be required to slot in to one of the other session times in order for us to deliver your desired activities and although we will do our very best to give you your selected activities these cannot be guaranteed. Greenhill reserves the right to make adjustments to the programming of activities.

Many of our activities can be offered as a half session and therefore you can do two different activities within one activity session. Please refer to the activity descriptions to find out which activities can be offered as a half session.

*Offsite Activities

Offsite activities are available to book from April – September.

Our offsite activities are canoeing, raft building, Stand up Paddleboarding (SUP), medium and deep bouldering, kayaking, mountain walk and offsite orienteering.

There is an extra charge for our offsite activities. Please refer to our price list for details.

As part of our duty of care policy group leaders must be available to attend offsite activities.

Group Ratios

In order to create a safe learning environment and for safety reasons we keep group numbers to a maximum of 10 people for most of the activities. This includes any leaders (unless qualified in the particular activity and certificates are presented). Please contact us directly if this applies to you.

By keeping groups to a maximum of 10 people we ensure that everyone gets the opportunity to participate fully and get the most out of the session.

Weather dependent/External Factors

Activities cannot be guaranteed and they may have to be changed due to weather or other circumstances.

Clothing & Equipment Information

What to bring with you

This is the centre recommended clothing list for groups participating in activities during their visit. Please bring clothes that you will not mind getting wet and muddy but will keep you warm.

We recommend the following are ESSENTIAL items –

Comfortable footwear
Spare Trainers
Spare pairs of warm socks
2 Complete changes of clothing at least
2 Spare jumpers or fleeces
Hat and gloves (in cold weather)
A warm coat or jacket
Towel and toiletries

If you already have your own waterproof jacket and trousers, please bring them with you. However, we also have waterproof jackets and trousers on site for those that need to borrow any.

Please put your name on all your possessions. This will help while you are here.

N.B. You will need more clothes if you are doing a lot of wet activities. Be sensible, bring plenty of warm things and be prepared for all seasons.