A New Era for Hindleap Warren as First Guests Arrive at £1.6m New Accommodation Block

Hindleap Warren Outdoor Education Centre, a provider of high quality outdoor education for young people on the edge of Ashdown Forest in Sussex, has this week welcomed the first guests at its new 71 bed accommodation block. 

The Centre which has been operating for 34 years began a £2m development programme at the beginning of the year. The first phase of the project, the building of the new block at a cost of £1.6m, is now complete. The next stage of the development project, the refurbishment of the existing residential block, is now beginning. This will go through till the New Year with half the block being done at a time so that young people are able to keep visiting the Centre throughout.  

Hindleap, which is owned by London Youth, operates year round with a permanently employed, highly skilled staff team and has a reputation that is second to none. Young people from schools and youth groups visit the Centre for a weekend or a mid week period and follow carefully designed programmes of activity provided by qualified Centre staff. The Centre is situated in 300 acres of its own woodland with most of the activities taking place on site. 

Hindleap is also used to host the Activenture project which provides activity breaks for young people with disabilities and special needs. The Centre improvements will allow even more Activenture guests to visit and to take advantage of the superb opportunities that Activenture and Hindleap provide. 

Commenting on the news David Nottidge, London Youth’s Director of Residential Centres, said – 

“The completion of this fabulous new accommodation block signals a new era for Hindleap Warren.  

“Complementing the existing accommodation, this bright and modern building will allow many more children to enjoy the challenging and exciting activities that are on offer.  

“It is incredibly gratifying to know that we will be able to continue providing young people with high quality personal development and outdoor learning experiences for many years to come. 

“This wouldn’t have been possible without significant funding and I would like to personally thank all those who have donated so generously to this project.” 

Phillip Hedger, Deputy Head at Avenue Primary School, said -  

“My school’s been coming to Hindleap Warren for over 10 years now and we’ve always been delighted with the facilities.  

“The new accommodation block will make things even better – the children are really excited and I’m sure they’re going to get a lot out of it” 

Pupils from Avenue Primary School said –  

“We were jumping up and down we were so excited” 

“It’s awesome, nice and colourful and bright. Great views from the two windows” 

“The beds are comfy”