Mountain day
At Arran Outdoor Education Centre, we are perfectly located to offer you a first class experience in the hills that will not be forgotten.
We can make it what you want it to be. If you would like to spend a day in the mountains with us, please contact the centre.
What we offer
We pride ourselves on our ability to make your day not only safe and fun, but also a day of learning and education.
During the journey, we will inform you on:
- local history
- flora and fauna
- geology
- geography
- the environment
Our experienced instructors can teach you how to navigate effectively by:
- map
- compass
- GPS
We can teach you how to:
- interpret the map
- relate the map to the ground
- plan and navigate a route
There is also scope to visit a geocache or two in the mountains whilst out for the day.
We can offer advice on:
- all aspects of planning and preparing for a day to be safe in the mountains, or on an expedition
- suitable equipment to use, what to buy (and what not to buy)
- what to do if things unfortunately go wrong
We can provide all equipment, outer shells, day sacks, boots and packed lunches.
Education
On an educational basis, we deliver many walks to both pupils and staff of both primary and secondary schools. The main focus of these is on safety, fun and learning.
There is an educational focus on our walks, and in doing this we are able to fulfill many of the learning outcomes within Scotland’s Curriculum For Excellence – in particular, many that fall within the Health and Wellbeing subjects. Even doing something as simple as teaching children the basic use of a compass, allows us to hit numeracy outcomes.
Our staff
Our staff are not mountain guides – they are experienced outdoor education instructors.
Our complement of experienced staff:
- hold both summer and winter Mountain Leaders awards
- have intimate knowledge of the hills
- spend many of their own recreational hours in the high hills, climbing and mountaineering.
In addition, two members of our staff are volunteer members of Arran’s Mountain Rescue Team.
Location
About 450 million years ago a huge explosion took place approximately 2 kilometres beneath the earth’s surface.
The explosion created a metamorphic rock pluton (a blister), which formed and cooled. This was then eroded by the glaciers of various historical ice ages over millions of years to form Arran’s northern hills, which have stood as centurions and custodians of the Island.
An adventurer’s playground, the hills are a paradise for geologists and geographers. They’re also home to many traditional summer and winter rock climbs and winter mountaineering routes, put up by some of Scotland’s most famous climbers and mountaineers.
The A Chir ridge and the Sannox horseshoe are among Scotland’s finest ridge walks and should be on every mountaineer’s to do list.