A house, a person on a zipwire, people paddling kayaks

The Deanfield Outdoor Centre is a residential outdoor education centre based at Parkend in the Forest of Dean. We are owned and operated by the council's Trading with Schools Service.

What we offer

  • Outdoor Learning Activities including Outdoor Pursuits and Environmental Field Studies
  • Courses for primary schools, secondary schools and corporate groups
  • CPD and Inset Courses for Teachers
  • Residential courses for up to 72 people
  • Day visits for up to 108 students at a time
  • High Challenge Activities including, Zip Wire, Climbing Tower and Leap of Faith
  • Mobile events in schools specialising in team building and peer mentoring
  • Conferencing and meeting room facilities

All courses are bespoke and tailor made to meet your desired outcomes. We also have experience in running Gifted and Talented Courses for clusters of schools and also in developing peer mentor training events.

Courses run right throughout the year and we manage in all weathers.

Activities

Rock climbing, abseiling, mountaineering, hill walking, caving, canoeing, kayaking, raft building, zip wire and high ropes course, gorge walking, bushcraft and orienteering. Many of these outdoor activities, including problem solving, involve teamwork as well as individual challenge.

We are licensed by The Adventurous Activities Licensing Authority (AALA) to provide adventurous activities that include water sports, trekking and caving/mining.

Field Studies

Field Studies include work with GCSE and A' level geography students doing environmental studies such as stream and river studies and town studies.

Day events and meetings

For more information about the facilities for day events and meetings please our  pdf Dean Garden Room leaflet (1.47 MB) .

Costs

Excellent value for money with 5 day residential courses starting at £155 per head and day visits at £12 per head. School based events from £8 per head.

Contact and booking

If you would like to discuss any arrangements for your course or have any other enquiries please feel free to contact either Ian Healey, Centre Manager, or Debbie Ashwood, Centre Administrator. The centre is available throughout the year.

Our contact hours are: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm

Telephone: 01594 562 444
Email: dfsc@bristol.gov.uk
Fax: 01594 564 994
Deanfield Outdoor Centre, Parkend Nr Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4JA

pdf Deanfield Outdoor Centre staff team (82 KB)

Where we are

We are less than an hours drive from the centre of Bristol and less than 40 minutes from Gloucester.

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Our blog

Deanfield Outdoor Centre Blog: a behind the scenes look at our developments and changes