UCLan Outdoors Division

Our external examiner provided excellent feedback for both the Ba (Hons) Outdoor Leadership and Adventure Sports Caching Degree. During his visit he commented; Both courses remain relevant to the employment needs across the outdoor learning, leadership and coaching sector. The student learning experience remains of a high quality. The degree programmes timetabling and academic content successfully integrates the work placement and practical components. Dissertations are excellent and publishable. Students are encouraged through formative feedback to produce highly innovative and creative work. This provides great support for the new  BA(Hons) Outdoor Adventure Leadership  due to start in September 2017.

Day one – Sunday Our First Journey day! “On Sunday we hiked up towards Buachaille Etive Beag, before turning and heading towards Stob Coire Raineach, learning the basic skills of walking in snow, using crampons and ice axes. Overall it took 5-7 hours, in snow and poor visibility the higher we got up, as well as moderate wind that seem stronger due to the snow and cold. One each took different turns in leading the group and practicing how to walk in snow as it’s different to walking normally. I learnt so many skills for the first time that first day and really enjoyed the day, I know that the others did too.” -Marianne Wilson Day two – Monday Our 2nd Journey day! “For me, Monday was one of the main highlights of the unforgettable trip, we were all pretty equip and knew how to use our crampons and ice axes by then. We also knew how to judge the weather and make sensible decisions on what to do. The instructors kindly gave us the choice of journey or skills, we...

As part of the TL2124 expedition module. Hannah and Abi organised a trip themselves with the facilitation of their tutor Allison Inkster.  The journey was planned, designed and carried out by the two of them working as a team, here the link will take you on their journey, covered in a short video filmed and edited by them too.

UCLan Outdoors students enjoy a range of activities designed to underpin their academic studies. Through our link up with the Plas y Brenin, the National Mountain Sports Centre in North Wales, these activities provide practical, coaching and leadership skills which are designed to develop highly employable outdoor practitioners. Jack Ricketts was one of a group of students who recently completed their second residential week at Plas y Brenin. Canoeing sessions were the focus of the trip, with the students having the opportunity to develop personal and technical skills such as perfecting different canoeing strokes. The group were also able to apply their academic learning in a real world environment. Jack commented: "While these residential weeks are extremely fun and physically demanding, the hardest part is integrating the theory learned in lectures to the decision making processes and methods of teaching used by the instructors. "The emphasis was placed on problem...

Research conducted by the UCLan Outdoors team has been used in a major national study. 'Getting Active Outdoors: A Study of Demography, Motivation, Participation and Provision in Outdoor Sport and Recreation in England' was commissioned by Sport England and produced in partnership with the Outdoor Industries Association. It examines the demand and supply of outdoor provision and takes an in-depth look at the profile of the outdoor consumer. The UCLan research, led by Dr Loel Collins , demonstrates how service providers operate across a range of delivery styles. The model demonstrates the relationship between coaching, instructing and guiding – and how a provider may deliver a blend of all three. To view the study please click here .

Students on our programmes will continue to enjoy practical sessions with the UK's top provider of outdoor adventure activities, following confirmation of an exciting partnership between UCLan and Plas y Brenin . After a successful trial period the University has teamed up with the National Mountain Sports Centre in North Wales, where they will help deliver selected courses over the next three years. Outdoor Leadership and Adventure Sports Coaching students will benefit from the expertise of UCLan and Plas y Brenin staff as they undertake a diverse range of modules. These will develop their practical, coaching and leadership skills via a range of activities including mountaineering, rock climbing, white water kayaking, sea kayaking, mountain biking and canoeing. UCLan's Institute of Coaching and Performance will also work closely with Plas y Brenin on research projects, including understanding the judgement and decision making processes of experts in adventure sport...

This year's European Outdoor Summit (EOS2015) is shaping up to be an unmissable event, with an exciting line-up of motivational speakers, engaging break-out sessions and workshops already announced. UCLan Outdoors Senior Lecturer Dr Mark Hickman has accepted an invitation to deliver a keynote speech at the conference, along with Professor Colin Beard of Sheffield Hallam University. Dr Hickman will look at the need for a focused social gerontology of the outdoors to help understand how the ageing population uses adventure sports and outdoor activities, and how this impacts on the ageing process. His presentation follows on from an appearance at the recent International Adventure Conference where Dr Hickman, along with colleagues Allison Inkster and Helen Hooper, delivered separate papers on the same subject. Former UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg tops an impressive list of speakers, with Professor Greg Whyte from The Centre for Health & Human Performance and Public H...