By Eva Best

Your Youth Group Questions, Answered

We get asked lots of questions about our Youth Group activities, so to make things super easy for you, we’ve put this super handy video together. Alternatively, you can read the answers to our most frequently asked questions below.

Our prices start from £20 per person for a two-hour activity and £24 per person for a three-hour activity. You can choose to come along for a single activity if you wish, we can combine activities to fill a whole day with fun, or we can even offer multi-day residentials, with accommodation and catering included as well. When it comes to payment, we require an initial 50 percent deposit to secure your trip and the final payment is then due two weeks before your visit.

We are fully licensed by Hampshire County Council, Learning Outside the Classroom, and the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA). This means that all of our learning programmes have specific outcomes. These include shared learning, social learning, and environmental awareness. We do not require leaders or teachers to participate in our activities but you may need to supervise where required.

We’re more than happy to cater your session to specific objectives, such as group bonding or simply learning more about the local area! We’ll also provide all leaders with an up-to-date risk assessment. We don’t currently offer packages, however, we have our very own Youth Group Co-ordinator on hand to help create the perfect mix of activities for your group.

When you arrive with us you can expect to be greeted by our friendly instructors who will help get you settled in, getting you kitted up for the day. We can work around your schedule and we do offer evening activities, such as orienteering and evening walks.

We also offer overnight residentials, and our campsite can accommodate groups of up to 80 people offering self-equipped pitches. For self-equipped camping, we’ll provide you with the pitch only, and you’ll need to bring everything else with you.

We have a number of other facilities available at our campsite, including purpose-built toilets and showers, washing up facilities, a storage space with fridges and freezers, and electricity points for charging devices as well. It’s worth noting that our tents and pitches don’t have electric hookups next to the pitches.

Day trips can be catered for with packed lunches or buffets delivered to our activity sites by our New Forest catering partner. Additional options are available for those with allergies, intolerances, and other dietary requirements. Most special diets can be accommodated on medical or religious grounds, just let us know when you book!

We provide leaders with a specific kit list to help your students pack for the adventures ahead! For when it’s hot, we recommend wearing a sun hat and bringing sunscreen and a reusable water bottle to protect yourself from the sun. For when it’s cold, your best bet is to layer up with hats, and gloves, and bring along a flask of hot drink. Fleece layers are also ideal! Slip-off shoes like sandals, sliders, crocs, and flip-flops are not permitted on any activities. Make sure your footwear is secure and you don’t mind them getting a little muddy. A pair of old trainers are perfect. To join us for a water activity, the members of your group do not need to be able to swim as we have buoyancy aids ready for each participant.

You are welcome to visit our sites beforehand if you call up the office to organise doing so! We have several different sites within the New Forest - our Canoeing and Battlezone take place on the Beaulieu River at Baileys Hard, our Kayaking at Bucklers Hard, High and Low Ropes and Bushcraft at Hartford Woods, and Archery and Cycling at Hazel Copse Farm. You’ll receive detailed directions to your activity sites when you book with us.

If a participant requires the use of a wheelchair, we will try to make the session as accessible as possible for them. All of our sites have gravel tracks that would be difficult for a standard wheelchair user to travel on so you would need to check that our off-road wheelchair is available for use for your session, or that you’re able to drive your vehicle up the gravel track to the activity. A member of our team can help you with this upon enquiry.

We have a 16-seater minibus available to hire if your party needs transport from activity to activity. We do also have coach drop-off points for larger groups.

In the event of a cancellation, we must receive this in writing no later than 2 weeks before your activity. Full payment will be still required for cancellations made with less than 2 weeks' notice. If any cancellation brings the number in your group below the minimum number to qualify for a particular price, then the price will be adjusted accordingly.

And that’s it! We can’t wait for your group to join us for some fun in the great outdoors! And obviously, if you have any other questions, our friendly office team is always on hand to help at 01590 612377 or info@newforestactivities.co.uk, so do get in touch. And hopefully, we’ll see you real soon.