Available on any date throughout the year

To book or for more information please call us on 01978 861912 or email sales@proadventure.co.uk

Matt Fletcher, Courses autumn 2010 and spring 2011

Stood on a crowded, hot and smelly tube train on my way to yet another boring day of fixing problems caused by other people i was musing my next weekend canoe trip.  It occurred to me that i spent almost all of my limited free time in the outdoors canoeing in remote wilderness area's.  A continuing theme in all of this had been a lack of time to do the things i really wanted, as i was stuck in a cycle of working to pay the rent, so that i could live in an area close to work but which i did not really like, so that i could go to a job that i did not really like, which i did so that i could pay the rent to live in that house and area that i did not really like, you can see where this is going.

My first task that day upon arriving in the shiny, glass walled TV company i was working at was to hand my notice in and book an open ended flight to central America.

Months passed, much fun and adventure was had, i returned to the UK with the idea of becoming a leader of expeditions in remote wilderness area's.  Despite having some experience of this already and many of the skills required, what i lacked were the qualifications required to work in what has become a heavily regulated industry.

I got in touch with an old friend, somebody who i had met some years earlier on a canoe expedition in France, it turned out that he was now the Chief Instructor for Pro Adventure and each winter ran a series of intensive instructor training programs.  I signed up, and over the course of six weeks spend almost every day either canoeing, kayaking or climbing.  Not only were my own personal skill's honed, i leaned the fundamentals of coaching which set me up with a clear direction on where i was heading to meet my goals.

I met some very cool people, had a lot of fun, got very wet and very cold at times!, but enjoyed the course so much that after a period of consolidation, i returned for another 5 weeks to hop up the ladder another step and increase my overall qualification level.

I recommend Pro Adventure for these reasons, you will not only receive some of the best coaches coaching around, you will be exposed to the inner workings of an average outdoor centre, warts and all, which is invaluable experience.  You wont be wrapped in cotton wool and ferried around in luxurious vehicles, you will be on the front line of a real world operation, sometimes pushing the minibus to get it going again!.

The harder you work at it, the more rewarding it will be.  The staff are more than helpful, often working outside of their normal hours to continue the days teaching over a coffee afterwards and the phone often beep's with a 'fancy coming boating with us?' message.

You get a lot for your money, and the time flies past.

I have since worked for Pro Adventure as a Bushcraft Instructor.

*****

To book call us 01978 861912, email us using the form.