Simonside Outdoor Adventure

Outdoor activities

Climbing (indoor, outdoor and mobile)

With over 150 routes we have climbs to suit every one, from the 30 foot lead overhang to the awesome fast zipline.

You can choose to climb indoors at our climbing wall in South Shields, or join us for a full day to climb some of the best routes in Northumberland and North Yorkshire.

We also have a mobile climbing wall that we can bring to you, providing the perfect opportunity for festivals, schools or private bookings.

Biking

With us you can choose to take on the fast paced trails around Kielder forest, or join us for a more gentle paced scenic ride around the North East.

All of our instructors are SMBLA qualified and can provide professional and experienced tuition.

It it's your first drop-in on single track or your first session out on a mountain bike, we have the skills and equipment to provide a great day out for families, groups or on a one to one basis.

Abseiling

Learn to abseil off our safe and secure platform before moving onto the real thing - The Outdoor Crags of Northumberland and Yorkshire.

Abseiling is travelling down either against a rock wall or maybe hanging free with space under feet. Usually done on crags, we'll give you the chance to lower yourself down a variety of rock faces and walls putting you in control. You can try it indoors at first at Simonside, providing you the perfect opportunity to practice abseiling.

All of our instructors are either CWA or SPA qualified.

Abseiling is the perfect partner to climbing and can be linked into any session. This could be either on a one to one basis, as a school session or as part of your fun day out.

Orienteering

Orienteering provides the perfect opportunity to turn a fun walk into a small adventure.

Collecting controls along the way, orienteering provides an exciting challenge which uses such skills as:

• measuring distance
• timings
• map reading
• compass work

Orienteering is a great way of keeping fit as it can turn long runs into exciting adventures, moving and thinking across difficult terrain. It is often the perfect stepping stone into more challenging map reading and builds your skills for mountaineering and hill walking.

It can be used as a natural progression with schools and D of E groups. With a selection of courses in the North East, you can guarantee that you will have an adventurous and exciting session.

For more information see Orienteering.

Walking and mountaineering

If you enjoy the outdoors but don't have the confidence to head into more remote areas, we can provide essential skills that will have you map reading and happily moving around the most remote regions in the UK.

With over 20 years experience walking and hiking in rural areas such as the Lake District, Northumberland and Yorkshire Dales to name a few, our instructors have a breadth of knowledge about the local flora and fauna, geology and history that makes our part of the world unique and we can't wait to share this with you.

Archery

Using take down Recurve Bows at a size that suits you, you can shoot arrows either 'barebow' or 'freestyle'. Our archery leaders can give lessons in the two styles of archery.

For more information see Archery.

Indoor activities

Climbing (indoor, outdoor and mobile)

With over 150 routes we have climbs to suit every one, from the 30 foot lead overhang to the awesome fast zipline.

You can choose to climb indoors at our climbing wall in South Shields, or join us for a full day to climb some of the best routes in Northumberland and North Yorkshire.

We also have a mobile climbing wall that we can bring to you, providing the perfect opportunity for festivals, schools or private bookings.

Find out more about our indoor climbing wall.

Abseiling

Learn to abseil off our safe and secure platform before moving onto the real thing - The Outdoor Crags of Northumberland and Yorkshire.

Abseiling is travelling down either against a rock wall or maybe hanging free with space under feet. Usually done on crags, we'll give you the chance to lower yourself down a variety of rock faces and walls putting you in control. You can try it indoors at first at Simonside, providing you the perfect opportunity to practice abseiling.

All of our instructors are either CWA or SPA qualified.

Abseiling is the perfect partner to climbing and can be linked into any session. This could be either on a one to one basis, as a school session or as part of your fun day out.

Heart Start / Life Support

Would you know what to do in a life-threatening emergency? Learning Emergency Life Support (ELS) skills can help you keep someone alive until professional help arrives.

Heart Start is designed for everybody and anyone can attend and learn the complete range of Emergency Life Saving skills. This is a essential course for anyone and is ideal for groups and schools to give essential first response advice.

You will learn:

• how to make a 999 call correctly
• how to perform CPR
• how to put someone in the recovery position correctly

Water based activities

Kayaking

The North East has some of the most beautiful coastal waters in the world, some of which can only be explored from the water. One of the best ways to see it is in a Kayak, peacefully paddling into coastal caves, kayak surfing on its blue flag beaches or paddling further a field on perhaps a adventurous kayaking overnight experience.

For more information see Kayaking.

Canoeing

Canoeing is hugely popular due to the variety, freedom and adventure it offers.

Whether it's a relaxed paddle in the safety of our wave trap or a more challenging river trip, our team of BCU qualified coaches are ready to help, whether you have a problem keeping your craft in a straight line or are planning an advanced expedition.

Sessions often take place at our specialist centre in South Shields harbour or if your looking for a more residential experience, then our centre in Kielder can provide the perfect backdrop.

For more information see Canoeing.

Stand up paddle boarding

Our taboo boards range from 10 to 11 foot and also benefit from the taboo specialist paddle adjustment system.

This is the ideal sport for keeping fit and for groups, party and schools all looking to learn a new skill but more importantly to have fun.

For more information see Stand up paddle boarding.

Powerboat

See Powerboat sessions.

Jetski

See Jetski.