Grafham Water Centre (GWC) is an AALA licensed residential outdoor activity centre, set against the backdrop of Grafham Water Reservoir run by Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC), based in the village of Perry, close to Huntingdon and St Neots.
As a Local Authority Service, it wholly subscribes to the Council’s ambition of creating a greener, fairer and more caring Cambridgeshire and express its behaviours in all it does: Lives over Services, Collaborative, Creative and Aspirational, and Accountable. The centre has been offering adventurous activities for over 50 years and welcomes individuals and groups from around the country.
The site is private, enclosed, and secure and is only open to those who have booked. The centre offers a fully inclusive outdoor learning experiences for schools, youth groups, individuals, and other organisations, with a 160-bed residential capacity in fully accessible dormitory style rooms. They also erect a bell-tent village in the summer months to increase their capacity and can welcome camping groups throughout the year on their fields.
As part of the residential experience, they provide high quality 5 star rated catering, providing breakfast, lunch and dinner to meet all dietary needs. They offer a wide variety of land and water-based activities including keel boating, power boating, bush craft, problem solving, raft build, sailing, kayaking, canoeing, climbing, archery, mountain biking, and high ropes.
In all this, they make links to the wellbeing and therapeutic benefits of challenging yourself in a safe and inclusive outdoor environment. Each group is provided with a fully accessible lounge from which they are based for the duration of their stay – this is where they meet as a group during breaks and receive briefings from their course directors and dedicated members of the instructor team. The centre also has a fully heated sports hall with capacity for over 150 people, two large marquees and a variety of other spaces for groups to use around site.
As well as residentials and day visits, GWC offers professional water sports and land-based courses, as well as children’s holiday and weekend provision.
The Centre is a traded service of CCC, meaning they seek to break even every year. Therefore, they have broadened their offer and also welcome groups looking for venue hire, or corporate team building days.
To learn more about the work they do, please visit their website or get in touch with the team via grafham.water@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.