Open Gates Outdoors|Mountain Leader|Guided Walks|Life Coach

Open Gates Outdoors works with our individual partners in the outdoors to;

provide outdoor life coaching,

improve your physical wellbeing and fitness,

improve your sense of belonging by giving you a greater sense of place, and

help you build your confidence as an independent walker so you can follow your own adventures.

See below for more details about how we do this by providing the following services to meet your individual needs;

Life Coaching,

Active Aging,

Developing your outdoor skills so that you can safely explore the outdoors independently,

Rural exploring,

Urban exploring,

Edgelands exploring,

Themed walks,

Forest school for adults,

Navigation skills,

Family walks,

Celebrations,

Night walks, and

Wild camping

What our partners say...

"Fantastic outing. Challenging but not too much. Fulfilling, mindful and cathartic. George’s passion for what he does combined with his fantastic local knowledge made the activity interesting and interactive. Archer Project’s beneficiaries seemed to love the walk and thrive on the challenge”

Chris, Learning Mentor, Archer Project

Life coaching

It is established that life coaching is an effective intervention to support people to make change in their lives and to support them to identify and achieve actions to bring about this change.

The outdoors is a powerful environment in which to participate in life coaching. It’s important to us that conversations in the outdoors are respectful, considerate, and impactful. Open Gates Outdoors has completed training in Health Coaching accredited by the Personalised Care Institute (PCI) and have also completed a Level 5 certificate in Effective Coaching and Mentoring accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM). All coaches acting on behalf of Open Gates Outdoors hold a clear Enhanced DBS certificate.

Active Aging

Whether you are recently retired and are looking for ways to stay active and constructively use your new found time or are looking for a form of gentle exercise to keep fit and well, Open Gates Outdoors will work with you to find a bespoke programme that will maximise your wellbeing.

Rural exploring

We are qualified to lead walks in any mountainous areas of the UK whether it be the Lake District, Snowdonia, the Scottish Highlands or any of our other wilderness areas.

Explore the so called "beautiful frame" of Sheffield, including the Peak District National Park. Sheffield is the only City in the UK to incorporate part of a National Park and this provides a unique resource. Open Gates Outdoors’ qualified guides can guide you round established challenging routes in the Peak District such as the Edale Skyline or the Derwent Watershed

Dark Peak areas close to Sheffield such as Burbage, Froggatt and Stanage can be explored in depth with Open Gates Outdoors together with the more rugged and challenging terrains of Dark Peak areas further afield such as Kinder Scout, Derwent Edge and Bleaklow.

We also provide experiences of the more gentle White Peak in locations such as Dovedale and Lathkill Dale. Find ancient carvings, caves with mysterious pasts, and ruins that you wish could speak! Walks will be of a length and terrain best suited to you and we will work with you to ascertain this before embarking on your adventure.

Urban exploring

Explore urban areas in Sheffield such as the City Centre, Neepsend and the Don Valley. Rummage in Sheffield General Cemetery and learn about the catacombs and the famous and infamous of Victorian Sheffield interred there. Acquaint yourself with the several parks in Sheffield curated in the 1830's by nationally renowned landscape architect Robert Marnock such as High Hazels Park, Botanical Gardens, and Weston Park. These urban landscapes provide a rich source of understanding the unique heritage and culture of Sheffield.

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Edgelands exploring

Explore areas on the edge of Sheffield such as Wincobank Hill, the site of a crucial iron age and roman fort located on the nationally significant "roman ridge". Discover Meersbrook and Gleadless woods, the site of the critical ancient boundaries between Mercia and Northumbria, then later formed part of the boundary of Hallamshire before separating Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

Delve into Moss Valley, a frontier in the Jacobean uprising of 1745. Explore Parkwood Springs, the site of the now defunct Sheffield Ski Village which until the 1970s was a bustling vibrant residential community and has now been re-wilded but still contains tantalising traces of its former life. Trace the industrial landscapes of the Porter, Rivelin and Loxley valleys to learn about the geographical phonomena that made Sheffield perfect for the development of early steel industries in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Themed walks

Let Open Gates Outdoors take you on a walk which develops a theme. Themes could be following in the footsteps of the Sheffield Clarion Ramblers, the original Sheffield rambling club established in 1900 by the legendary GHB Ward, the pioneer of pedestrian rights of way in the early 20th century.

Visit the homes of, and countryside that inspired, not only GHB Ward but also Edward Carpenter, the revolutionary socialist thinker, activist and writer, and member of the Arts and Craft movement. Let us take you on a walk on the theme of protest, for example the Mass Kinder Trespass of 1932, or disaster, for example the Great Sheffield Flood of 1864 (the worst civilian peacetime disaster in Britain).

Navigation training

Will you be safe if your GPS devise fails or there is no mobile signal? Will you be able to compete in an event that does not permit use of GPS? Whether it be to prepare for a specific event or simply to become a more independent and confident walker, let Open Gates Outdoors help you to improve your ability to navigate using a map and compass.

Forest school for adults

Open Gates Outdoors has access to qualified Forest School practitioners who use forest school principals to provide a unique space for skill development and the nurturing of a deep relationship with nature. Our programs will cater to your needs and interests and will allow you to engage in hands-on learning to develop practical skills such as fire-building, shelter construction, and outdoor cooking or softer skills such as a knowledge of local flora and fauna or to simply finding solace in nature. The forest school sessions will encourage you to improve wellbeing by fostering a profound connection with nature, through mindfulness exercises and reflective experiences allowing you to appreciate the beauty and tranquillity of the outdoors.

Walking holidays

If you are on a walking holiday in the Peak District Open Gates Outdoors will support you in getting you beyond the confines of Chatsworth Fairholmes or Longshaw. Open Gates Outdoors’ qualified guides can guide you safely through the most challenging and remote terrain. For example we could take you to the lesser known springs and wells on Kinder Scout or the lesser visited corners of Bleaklow such as the source of the river Derwent or the crucial 1894 boundary stone.

Family walks

There is more to the Peak District than Chatsworth and Bakewell! If you are holidaying in the Peak District Open Gates Outdoors’ qualified guides can provide a fascinating guided walk with plenty of lesser known points of interest and fun for all the family. Let us take you straight to the Peak District's hidden treasures. Perhaps the cave that the legendary Victorian cat burglar and murderer Charlie Peace is reputed to have hidden in before escaping to London. Maybe the so called "rock canon" into which grindstone quarry workers would insert dynamite to play a tune to celebrate a special occasion.

Celebrations

Whether it be a birthday, an anniversary or retirement, Open Gates Outdoors can organise an outing fit for any celebration for all ages, such as spooky caves, special stones, or vistas that inspired great art and literature.

Wild camping

Open gates Outdoors can safely take you wild camping. Experience the liberation of spending a night under canvass in the wild while observing the laws and customs that apply to this amazing experience

Night walks

Experience the unique atmosphere of a walk in the dark. Open Gates Outdoors’ qualified guides can help you to experience safely how sound, texture and smell all become more extreme at night. Bring a torch!

Open Gates Outdoors’ Prices for Individual Partners

Open Gates Outdoors is a not for profit company registered at Companies House as a Community Interest Company. We build into our pricing structure our mission to use funds generated to provide outdoor activities to third sector partners (which individual partners will effectively sponsor) and thereby widen participation in the outdoors. Our prices are calculated to cover our costs and provide for an investment in a third sector activity to support Open Gates Outdoors in its mission to widen participation in the outdoors. Open Gates Outdoors’ prices for activities for individuals are negotiated on a case by case basis based on the nature of your requirements, the number of activities booked and the size of your group. An indication of our prices is as follows;