Here we go, back to writing the Avon Tyrrell Blog and I have
spent time mulling over how to make this an interesting blog that people wish
to read. I have concluded that an honest
chat about life managing Avon Tyrrell might be of interest to start.
Highlighting the ups and downs as well as the achievements, the challenges and
also the frustrations we encounter as a charity who are trying to do the upmost
for young people.
Last year we struggled at times to fulfil our aspirations of delivering
a quality outdoor experience to all our visitors. We introduced a new management booking system
that created more headaches than we anticipated (or could cope with), and there
was a prolonged period of crisis management with staff having to react with
short notice to changes and incorrect information on booking details. But we hung in there, and the staffs ‘can do
attitude’ really saved the day on occasions.
By October, we got to a point of stability and now the IT system is
delivering above expectations. The Cinolla system is a fantastic step forward for
information management, bookings and financial diligence of outdoor centres and
we are glad that we have worked out the kinks.
It was hard finding seasonal instructors last year and so the
activities instructors did a great job covering all of our commitments. Followed were some unfortunate problems as we
saw campers getting upset when it rained and asking for their money back and
hot water not always being available in the campsite. Sadly we also had groups not
paying their invoice, which is not what a charity needs when we operate on very
low margins, to ensure we can offer our facilities at affordable prices.
Not to worry though, we
have had many highs too….
We have introduced a brand new sewage plant ensuring we meet
our environmental legal requirements, we have achieved the renewal of our
Learning Outside the Classroom quality badge, we have worked with 19,000 young
people, developed our vocational centre for our students at our Youth
Achievement Foundation, and gave them a new school building. We also continued
to do some rewarding work with young people with disabilities and their families,
as well as delivering 9470 activity sessions that gave many young people the
opportunity to experience, learn and develop.
This brings me to now….
We have reflected on the past year here at Avon Tyrrell and want
to let you know what we have done to make the Avon Tyrrell experience better
than ever. We have worked with our staff to ensure that customer service sits
at the heart of anyone’s visit and the staffs are currently busy doing as much
as they can to prepare the site and accommodation for future visitors. We are
cleaning, painting and renovating our toilets, increasing the size of our hot
water tank for the campsite toilet and shower block and continuing to work on
making the Grade II listed grounds landscape as presentable as we can.
Excitingly, we have also raised the funds to build a boathouse
of which work has begun to include showers, toilets and boat storage that will
sit by our large lake. Staff numbers
have increased, as has our apprenticeship programme, departments have had some
changes and we are all very motivated for the coming year.
Wait, there is more….
Reception is almost ready having had some changes, and a
coffee machine has almost arrived to support a chill area with Wi-Fi for
visitors in Reception. Our Tyrrell’s Kitchen
has adopted a new packaged meal service with fresh home cooked ingredients, and
we now operate a bike shop (no name as of yet) which comes with a professional
bike mechanic. You can hire or buy bikes, equipment and clothing and we are
developing our disability bike facilities as well. 
So there we are …
An honest assessment of where we were, and where we are now.
I want to extend a big thank you to all of our guests and visitors for
supporting the work that we do. I think it is an exciting time here at the UK
Youth Outdoor Activity Centre at Avon Tyrrell with many excellent additions to help
make our visitors truly experience, learn and develop.
Chat Soon
dw
